2010 Coloquio de historiadores en Zaragoza (Historian Colloquium in Zaragoza)
This weekend has been dedicated to a DC-CM historians’ colloquium sponsored by the Zaragoza Province. Normally a quiet, rather empty place, the
Casa Provincial today resounds with conversation, laughter, friendly shouting matches, and
life.
Juan Julian D. Catalán welcomes the steady stream of guests,
Jaime Corera facilitates the sessions attended by some 17 or so historians, both CMs and DCs, many with presentations to deliver. It’s not a bad turnout from four Spanish CM provinces and nine DC provinces.
I asked to sit in on two afternoon sessions. There were three presentations, about an hour each: first from
Teodoro Barquín, then
John Rybolt, and finally from (Sr.)
Carmen Hernandez. The talks seemed "compressed". As more than one participant commented, the subject matter was vast, although "limited" to Spanish CM and DC 19th century provincial history (ranging from suppression due to changing governments, to struggles between Spanish CMs/ DCs and Fr. Etienne's leadership, to the dynamic relationship between DCs and CMs, to spectacular growth in numbers and new houses..). It could easily have filled a week-long colloquium (especially if it were not limited to what has actually been written and published!).
Now with two months of conversations and new friends here I know that our Spanish confreres (and sisters) feel as passionately about their history as about their futbol teams (well…close). Although not a member of this club, I felt welcomed today and appreciated being able to listen in, which, even with my re-tuned Spanish, was not always easy! Within a couple hours, however, I could only marvel at the barely restrained energy in the room, especially after the heavy afternoon comida! Their enthusiasm and commitment during the sharing, exchanges and discussions (which could be arduous at times, needing
Jaime Corera to referee), well, all that made sense to me. But what about the endless hours spent, (mostly alone) doing research and writing draft after draft in preparation for these few hours?
More to the point, from a marketplace perspective (I'm a bit embarrassed to add), who reads this kind of stuff today? How many of us – Daughters and CMs -- actually study these publications?
Is it – our history – really worth the effort?
For some the answer will be, of course, a resounding YES! This colloquium overflows with believers in history who have spent their lives developing and perfecting the difficult, often lonely disciplines of writing, translating and commenting on others’ writing. In our two United States provinces we have our own dedicated and professional historians as well, happily more organized than ever.
But what about the rest of us? We who are the “field workers” such as pastors, preachers, seminary and university instructors, formators, administrators, the growing number of Vincentian Family collaborators... we people who already are busy enough, thank you very much?
Personally, I’m fascinated by history, especially that of our Congregation (although it’s taken me a few decades to develop a taste for it). But I’m also overwhelmed by the endlessly growing mountain of information that needs to be sorted out, interpreted, prioritized, contextualized, and – especially in our times, discarded. Like any good research, such critical, tedious work is necessary to develop a narrative that is instructive, compelling, and in some real way worthwhile to the present generation and (hopefully) to those who follow us. But there’s something more critical here particularly during times, like ours, of rapid, even violent change. Certainly (hopefully?) church leaders worldwide today are learning some valuable lessons from past mistakes: whether remaining passive while ignoring events (both present and past), or reactive and just plain shoddy in our interpretation of these events is dangerously irresponsible and can lead to ruin.
Bob Maloney, one former Superior General, has said:
“Knowing its history enables a Congregation to understand who it is, what its mission in the Church is, what its strengths and weaknesses have been over the centuries, how it got where it is right now and where it might go in the future. A group that knows its history well knows, in seed, its future.”
The need is clear. Increasingly, the Congregation encourages us to develop into amateur historians (as well as theologians, mystics, and poets!) through programs such as CIF, seminars in or outside our community, prioritized values in provincial and house plans, on and on. (Not to mention, sabbaticals such as mine!) The invitation to know ourselves more deeply and responsibly is open and constant. For each of us, then, it’s a matter of choosing, of making time for history.
Or, as we Americans (famous for looking forward, rather than backward) might quip,
"history is, in the end, all about the future!"
DPB
