Augustinians of the Assumption

North American Province

Also known as: Assumptionists

Suffix: AA

This collection contains the records of the North American Province of the Augustinians of the Assumption, commonly known as the Assumptionists.

This collection is unprocessed and currently closed for research.

Founding Dates

Emmanuel d’Alzon (1810-1880), founder of the Assumptionists

The Assumptionists were born in France, founded in 1850 by the Venerable Emmanuel d’Alzon (1810-1880). The nineteenth century in which he lived was a time of great upheaval in France. The old society was giving way to a new one, and the birth was painful. Emmanuel d’Alzon was to witness a succession of French political regimes, several revolutions (those of 1830, 1848, 1870) and some bloody repressions of labour demonstrations (1848 and 1871). Violent outbreaks erupted regularly in the highly charged political atmosphere. The stakes were high and the victory of the modern secular state conclusive: liberal constitutions, universal male suffrage, the abolition of slavery, laws governing the press and education, early attempts in social and labour union legislation. Yet Emmanuel d’Alzon found something missing in the midst of the modern liberal democratic regime which had proclaimed the Rights of Man – that is, the Rights of God. In the wake of the French Revolution, which defiantly declared the “Rights of Man”, Father d’Alzon was an apostle of the “Rights of God” – the right of God not to be excluded from human society.

-Text courtesy of Assumptio.org, image courtesy of VocationsAA.org.

Charisms of the Assumptionists

The Assumptionists sum up their spirituality in three words: “Truth, Charity and Unity”. In this spirit their work has historically focused on the pursuit of truth through education and media. They are particularly known for running the French national Catholic newspaper La Croix as well as the global publishing network Bayard Presse.

Historical Sketch

Assumptionists arrived to North America first in New York City in 1895, thanks to the diligent work of Assumptionist Fr. Brun. Their major apostolates were their Hispanic ministry centered at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Manhattan and their educational ministry which became Assumption Preparatory School and Assumption College (now Assumption University) in Worcester, Massachusetts. In addition to their ministries in the United States, Mexico and Canada, the North American Province had a mission in Moscow, Russia. The archival holdings of this collection contain rare religious materials created under the USSR.

-Text courtesy of Assumption.us.

For more information:

Please see the official website of the Augustinians of the Assumption, U.S. Region at Assumption.us

To view materials related to the Assumptionist Moscow Mission, highlighted by the American Catholic Historical Association, visit Augustinians of the Assumption Moscow Mission collection (*Please note, the contact information at this link is out of date, please visit Assumption.us if you wish to contact the provincial office).