Ignorance of the faith -- indifference to it -- outright unbelief. The Church in a state of ruin. A century of violence and political turmoil.

In the eyes of Father Emmanuel d'Alzon, this was the situation in France in the decades after the French Revolution. Yet in 1835 -- three years after the struggle and tragedy of the June Rebellion depicted in "Les Miserables" -- Father d'Alzon had an insight. "They say the world is evil," he wrote to a colleague. "No doubt, passion turns it away from what is good. But I believe most of all that the world is ignorant."

Convinced that the world's intellectual crisis was at the heart of its social and political crises, Father d'Alzon had the inspiration to found a religious congregation that would advance the Kingdom of God through "education in all its forms."

– Would you share a bit about your background: family, childhood, early education etc.?

Bro. Sagar – I was born into a Roman Catholic family in the southern part of India in 1988. My father is a farmer while my mother is a house wife and assists my father daily as he works in the fields. My one brother studied Political Science and Economics, owns his own business and is married with two children. My sister, degreed in Biology, Chemistry and Zoology, is also married with two children. My early elementary schooling and basic catechism classes were under the guidance of the Sisters of St. Anne. Later I attended secondary school, followed by higher education at Kanuka Matha in Govindapuram. I studied Economics, Political Science and Business at Vidyanikethan Junior College from 2004-2006.

Pope Francis, Vatican City, World Day of Consecrated Life, February 02, 2015

Here is a translation of the text of the Pope’s homily given in St. Peter's Basilica at a Mass for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, marking the World Day of Consecrated Life.

We have before our mind’s eye the icon of Mother Mary, who walks with the Child Jesus in her arms. She takes him to the Temple, introduces him to the people, carries him to encounter his people.

The Mother’s arms are as the “stairs” on which the Son of God comes down to us, the stairs ofGod’s condescension. We heard this in the First Reading of the Letter to the Hebrews: Christ “had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest” (2:17). It is the twofold way of Jesus: He came down, made himself like us, to ascend to the Father together with us, making us like Him.

My name is DAMIBA Honoré Ramondgwendé.

I am from Burkina Faso and grew up in the parish of the cathedral, Our Lady of Grace, in Koupela, about 140 km east of Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina-Faso). I got to know the Assumptionists when I paid a visit to Br. Bernard BAMOGO and his community. That's all it took for me to change my mind from entering the diocesan seminary to joining the Assumptionists. I was totally taken up with the way they lived their life together, their charism and spirituality. I enjoy the life in community marked by simplicity, real brotherhood, genuine warmth, mutual respect and support, transparency, and an international character.

Hello! My name is AKPO Dovi Augustin.

Born on June 7, 1987 in Ahassomé (in the Prefecture of Moyen-Mono, Togo), I am the tenth and last child of my family. I would say that my vocation dates back to the age of ten or eleven when I was attending Mass and was deeply impressed by the pastor of Christ the King parish, Fr. Cephas. There was a special reverence with which he celebrated the Eucharist. It was as if he belonged to another world. I wasn't even baptized yet since my father was a non-practicing Catholic and my mother a follower of the ancestral religion. I started preparing to enter the Church and in 2003 was baptized and received First Communion. Afterward I joined many Church groups, all of which nourished my desire to become a priest. These groups got me involved in helping others ----  the handicapped, the sick, prisoners, the homebound. There grew in me a desire to serve God and his people.