The Pontifical Association of the Holy Childhood is a Catholic children's association for the benefit of foreign missions.

Foundation

In 1843 Charles de Forbin-Janson

Charles Auguste Marie Joseph, Comte de Forbin-Janson

Charles-Auguste-Marie-Joseph, Count of Forbin-Janson was a French Bishop of Nancy and Toul, and founder of the Association of the Holy Childhood....

, Bishop of Nancy

Roman Catholic Diocese of Nancy

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nancy is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in France. Erected in 1777, the diocese is currently suffragan to the Archdiocese of Besançon...

, France, established the Association of the Holy Childhood (Association de la Sainte Enfance). Popes and other ecclesiastical dignitaries approved the association and recommended it to the Catholic faithful.

Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...

, by a brief of 18 July 1856, raised it to the rank of a canonical institution

Canon law (Catholic Church)

The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...

, gave it a Cardinal protector

Cardinal protector

Since the thirteenth century it has been customary at Rome to confide to some particular Cardinal a special solicitude in the Roman Curia for the interests of a given religious order or institute, confraternity, church, college, city, nation etcetera. Such a person is known as a Cardinal Protector...

, and requested all bishops to introduce it in their diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

s. Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...

, in the encyclical letter

Encyclical

An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...

 Sancta Dei civitas (3 December 1890), blessed it and recommended it again to the bishops.

The affairs of the association were managed by an international council at Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, consisting of fifteen priests and as many laymen. This general council had an exclusive right of general direction and of the distribution of the society's funds.

Later history

The association was probably established in the United States by Bishop Forbin-Janson himself. Several agencies in the East and West managed its affairs for about fifty years. On 1 January 1893, the work was concentrated into one central agency and confided to the Holy Ghost Fathers

Holy Ghost Fathers

The Congregation of the Holy Spirit is a Roman Catholic congregation of priests, lay brothers, and since Vatican II, lay associates...

, with headquarters in Pittsburgh. Father Anthony J. Zielenbach, C.S.Sp., was its first central director for about four years; he was succeeded by Father John Willms

John Willms

John S. Willms, C.S.Sp. was a German Roman Catholic priest in the Congregation of the Holy Ghost. He worked in a missionary capacity among the Catholic population in the United States, serving as the second rector of the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ,...

, C.S.Sp. The Annals of the Holy Childhood was published bi-monthly and issued in a number of languages.

Mission Together

In England and Wales, the Society is known today as Mission Together, and has been active in Catholic schools for over a hundred and sixty years.

The organization encourages children worldwide to pray and share, while also supporting both the spiritual and physical wellbeing of children through prayer and pastoral care. Through the financial contributions of children it carries out educational, medical and welfare projects in the poorest areas of the world.

External links

• The Holy Childhood Association
  • HCA Kids (Children's website)
  • Pontifical Mission Societies
• Mission Together (United Kingdom)
• Sancta Dei civitas (Pope Leo XIII's letter on Mission Societies)