The chapel where Fr. José Xifré was ordained priest in 1840

 

Until recently there was an inherited tradition about the priestly ordination of Fr. José Xifré in Rome, that is to say about the exact place where this important event in his life took place. Traditionally it was supposed to have been celebrated in the private chapel of the Vicariate of St. John Lateran, which was the usual place for such ordinations. However, in the first of the three volumes of the life of Xifré by Fr. Jaume Sidera, the historical truth clearly appears: the ordination took place in the Chapel of the Nobles, located in the then General Curia of the Jesuits, next to the Gesù, where St. Ignatius lived his last 14 years[1].

This chapel belongs to the Marian Congregation of the Assumption, born in 1593. It was a work promoted by the Jesuits. From the beginning of its activities, the headquarters of the congregation was a small chapel adjacent to the church of the Gesù, incorporated into the Jesuits’ Professed House. In addition to devotional and worship practices, the congregants had to assume a commitment to social assistance. Because of its numerous charitable and devotional activities, the Marian Congregation of the Assumption attracted from its foundation the members of the most important families of the historical nobility (Aldobrandini, Altieri, Altemps, Barberini, Boncompagni, Borghese, Chigi, Colonna, del Drago, Doria-Pamphilj, Gonzaga, Massimo, Odescalchi, Orsini, Rospigliosi, Ruspoli, Sacchetti, Serlupi) and so it is commonly known as the Congregation of the Nobles. The historical list of the congregation includes members of royal houses, ecclesiastics, diplomats, scientists, artists, among them 9 saints, blessed and servants of God, 18 supreme pontiffs, 300 cardinals, Grand Masters of the Order of Malta.

Since the fact of Xifré’s ordination in this chapel is not known, it is natural that until now no Claretian would have been interested in visiting it. It is, moreover, a private space not guarded directly by the Jesuits, but by the Congregation of the Assumption.

Xifré’s ordination in Rome and, in particular, in that chapel, an unusual event. The reason for the choice of Rome for his ordination is a relatively well-known fact. Because of the political situation in Spain, many seminarians could not be ordained in their own dioceses, since the Spanish bishops were forbidden to confer holy orders, and so, once they had finished their studies, many ordinands crossed the frontier and sought bishops in the south of France or in Rome. Those who arrived in Rome usually stayed at the convent of St. Basil, a favourite place especially for Catalans. And that is where Xifré, who was 22 years old at the time, stayed. Claret, 32 years old, was also in San Basilio since October 1839, that is to say a few days before the arrival of Xifré, but he would be there for a short time.

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