And now a word from our founder.

No wonder so many follow the path of this saint who was a mystic and a man of action.

ANTHONY MARY CLARET IS THE KIND OF SAINT WHO HAS suffered especially at the hands of traditional hagiographers. He was not a martyr, although he suffered greatly the impositions of both friends and enemies. He wrote prodigiously, but he was not a scholar like Thomas Aquinas or an author whose wisdom, like Augustine's, would echo down the corridors of time. Although a man of affairs on two continents, the dramatic confrontations of a Thomas More were not to be his. Not even the easily conceptualized "little way" of a Therese of Lisieux or a Cure of Ars could be ascribed to him.

So what could his biographers say of him? Predictably, they have said that he was pious, chaste, industrious, unselfish, and humble (some were not too sure about the latter virtue), all good Boy Scout or--less charitably--bourgeois virtues. In viewing him superficially, they, in the words of an American folk song, have "done him wrong."

Saint Claret founded the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, known popularly as the Claretian Missionaries, in 1849. His many followers (more than 3,000 in 56 countries) are thus celebrating the sesquicentennial of that memorable event this month. It is a cause for rejoicing, so widespread and fruitful have missionary sons and daughters of the saint been.

The reputation of a religious-order founder, of course, can sometimes suffer when loyal sons and daughters take pen (or computer) in hand to sing the praises of the holy founder. Overwhelmingly edified, they feel it unnecessary to seek out the truly distinctive attributes of the holy person. The beloved subject of their well-meaning labors is thereby placed at the pinnacle and unenviably required to rise above it.

Of one thing we can be certain. Claret's apostolic labors were of heroic proportions. Reading the accounts of his personal activities, we are reminded of Saint Paul's own accounts of his prodigious apostolate.

As a young priest in Spain, the diminutive Claret (barely five feet tall) begged permission from his bishop to be a roving missionary in addition to his parish duties. Apparently a speaker of exceptional magnetism, he attracted huge crowds, including many who came from great distances. "Once they heard him," we are told, "they waited outside his confessional for hours, even for days, with lunches brought from home."

The prodigy of Claret's work reached its ultimate when he was sent to Cuba to become archbishop of Santiago, a diocese that embraced one half of the Cuban island. One terse summary of his four-year episcopate there is enough to indicate the staggering breadth of his apostolate: "Reforms the clergy, creates new parishes, sends missionaries to preach continually throughout his diocese. He himself makes three pastoral visits to the whole diocese, traveling on muleback and on foot. With Mother Antonia Paris, founds the Teaching Sisters of Mary Immaculate. He sets up credit unions and establishes the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. He continues writing and distributing books and pamphlets."

Claret's extraordinary courage was demonstrated in Cuba when he forcefully confronted racial injustices. Slavery was an important fact of economic life, a necessity dear to the hearts of the rich and powerful. Although interracial marriage was expressly forbidden, interracial concubinage was common. Without hesitation, Archbishop Claret rejected this injustice and legalized more than 10,000 interracial marriages. On one of his pastoral visits, a fanatic embittered by this action attempted to kill him and seriously wounded him.

The chronicle of Claret's apostolic work would require many more pages than we have here. His writing and publishing work can truly be described as monumental. And the latter work is carried on faithfully by his followers today (pace just one example, this magazine).

But for all the grandeur of Claret's tireless accomplishments, the simple directness of his lifetime mission was perhaps the most notable. In the fine new video about his work and spirit produced by the Claretians (for more information see page 23), the recurring picture of the archbishop--anything but high and mighty--trudging along harsh and dusty roads on foot, a walking stick in one hand and a bag containing bread and cheese in the other, stands out starkly.

Saint Anthony Claret's practical work makes him a saint for our times; his generosity of vision makes him a saint for all seasons.