| Latin:Institutum Parvolorum Fratrum Iesu French:Petits Frères de Jésus | |
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| Abbreviation | PFJ |
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| Formation | 1933 |
| Founded at | Paris,France |
| Type | Religious congregation ofpontifical right for men |
| Headquarters | Brussels,Belgium |
| Membership | 155 (38 priests) (2020) |
Superior General | Rodrigo González, PFJ |
Parent organization | Catholic Church |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Little Brothers of Solitude |
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TheLittle Brothers of Jesus (Latin:Institutum Parvolorum Fratrum Iesu;French:Petits Frères de Jésus; abbreviatedPFJ)[1] is a malereligious congregation within theCatholic Church ofpontifical right founded on the example ofCharles de Foucauld. Founded in 1933 inFrance, the congregation first established itself inFrench Algeria,North Africa.
As of 2020, the congregation had 155 members, of whom 38 were priests.[2]
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The congregation was founded at theBasilique du Sacré-Cœur inMontmartre,Paris, in September 1933 by five seminarians fromIssy-les-Moulineaux, first taking the name of Little Brothers of Solitude; the five were:René Voillaume, Marcel Bouchet, Marc Gerin, Guy Champenois and Georges Gorree.[3] Led by their first superior Voillaume, and with the support of scholarsLouis Massignon andLouis Gardet, they left Paris to found their first 'fraternity' in theEl Abiodh Sidi Cheikh District in southernOran at the edge of theSaharan Desert;[4] in 1936, Bishop Nouet of Algeria named it as a diocesan congregation. There they took on their present name and areligious habit of grey embroidered with a heart and an outcroppedcross and modifiednomadic garb. The first years were marked by tracing the intuitions of Foucauld, settling and adapting his original 'Directory' or Rules, and establishingnovitiates for the first generation of their religious congregation.
AfterWorld War II, the members decided to move toward a greater witness outside of Algeria into the post-war world. By modifying their original monastic idea to fit new circumstances while retaining a contemplative approach to life and prayer they split into small fraternities based on the simple rule of adoration of theEucharist and prayer in their dwellings; this was to be coupled with a life of ordinarymanual labour, friendship, and solidarity with those amongst whom they lived and worked.[5] Their traditional habit was replaced with the appropriate plain clothes to help assimilate into their work and neighborhood roles.
This revised congregation became somewhat linked to theWorker-priest movement in France at that time for the non-traditional setting of religious life apart from overt mission,religious education, pastoral service, or direct evangelization before theSecond Vatican Council.[6]
In 1952, Brother Roger travelled to Leeds and became the first Little Brother in Britain;[7] several brothers joined him.
On 13 June 1968,[8] the Little Brothers of Jesus were recognised byPope Paul VI as a congregation ofpontifical right. This was confirmed again in 1987 byPope John Paul II after a revision of the community's constitutions.[9]
Each member of the congregation professes the vows ofpoverty, chastity and obedience, and undergoes a period of formation lasting several years including apostulancy which is followed by anovitiate. Afterwards, there are some years of formal study which includeChristology,Sacred Scripture,Theology,Philosophy,ChristianSpirituality amongst other subjects - all ongoing within a fraternal setting of daily work.[citation needed]
The Little Brothers of Jesus live in small communities in similar size to families known as 'fraternities'. Some members are ordained as priests to celebrateMass for their fraternity.[10]
The Little Brothers of Jesus were featured in the fourth episode of theBBC's documentary seriesThe Long Search titled 'Rome, Leeds and the Desert'.[11]
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