The beginnings in Spain

The first Brothers of the Holy Family arrived in Spain from France in the year 1909. The support of the Mambrilla-Prado family in La Horra (Burgos) permitted the Brothers Martin Dumas and Gerasime Christoud forming the first Community and opening a formation house.

From 1909 to 1933, the small Communities of Spain were directly dependant of the General Council. The majority of the new Spanish Brothers were sent to work in the schools of America.

In 1933 it was created the European Province, which comprised the Communities of France, Italy and Spain.

The way to the creation of a Province

The growth of the Brothers in the Spanish Communities led to form in 1947 the Vice-Province “Our Lady of the Assumption” which comprised the houses of the Congregation in Spain. At that moment, there were four Communities: The formation houses of La Horra and Sotillo de la Ribera (in the Burgos District) and the schools of Madrid and Valladolid.

In 1951 it was erected the Province Our Lady of the Assumption as an autonomous jurisdiction formed by the Communities of Spain.

The building up of the Province

 The growth of the number of Brothers in the decades of the 50s and 60s made possible the creation of the schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Burgos and Gavà (Barcelona), and the formation houses of Valladolid, Sigüenza and Salamanca. It also kept the sending of a large number of Brothers to the works that the Congregation had in Uruguay and Argentina.

The sensitivity of the decade of the 70s to be nearer to underprivileged realities led to the opening of Communities in El Pozo del Tío Raimundo (Madrid), Santa Juliana (Madrid), Llobregós (Barcelona), Finisterre (La Coruña); Brasilia, the new capital of Brazil; Colombia, though later on it passed to Lago Agrio (Ecuador) and Navaluenga (in the Gredos mountain, Ávila).

Facing the new times

The crisis of vocations was strongly noted in the decade of the 80s and the work was focused in the established works. Despite all, the Province took charge of some schools of other institutions in Puyo and Guaranda (Ecuador) and Palma de Mallorca (Spain), and opened the formation houses of Puyo and Quito (Ecuador), Begues (Barcelona) and Villalón (Burgos).

The last years of the decade of the 80s and the decade of the 90s and 2000, the work was focused in the shared mission, making responsible the lay people in the educational and pastoral tasks from the identity and the Educational Project of the Congregation. In 1993 it was created the Association Nazarene Fraternities, inviting the lay people to participate also of the spirituality of the Institute.

A sensitivity more universal

In 2003, it was created a new Community in Madurai (India) and in 2006 another new Community in Bucaramanga (Colombia). In the last years, while in Spain the entrance of new Brothers is diminishing, in India, the growth of vocations of Brothers has permitted opening Communities in Eluru and Kurdeg. The closure of the Community of Lago Agrio (Ecuador), which directed a big school, has been compensated by the opening of  a new school in the city of Ambato, with the desire of maintain the educational commitment in Ecuador.

The apostolic work is carried out in the Christian education and the school and parish pastoral, which cares for some 10,000 students.

At present

The biggest part of the Communities live in an educational atmosphere and formation houses, and they animate, in collaboration with the lay people, a large number of educational initiatives, catechesis, youth pastoral, liturgical animation, cultural and missionary activities…

The Communities that live in the rural ambience collaborate with the parishes in the liturgical animation, the teaching of Religion, the catechesis, etc.