God, our Father, source of all goodness and wisdom, we adore You.

You have called us, CICM – Louisians, with a sense of mission.

UNIVERSITY
PRAYER Dedicated to the Incarnate Word and under the protection of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, our model of discipleship,

we dare to go to places where the Gospel values are most needed,

where people are excluded and marginalized, and where culture or
justice is neglected. And for those times that we have failed to do
Your will, we humbly seek Your mercy and forgiveness.

1
UNIVERSITY PRAYER

We thank you for the opportunity to be part

of Saint Louis University. As we pray for our beloved

university, may we be inspired and united in heart and
in soul to follow the living and pioneering example of
Father Theophile Verbist and Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
in the care of the abandoned in our midst.
UNIVERSITY PRAYER

• As you restore our strength and dignity,

give us the grace to help make Saint Louis
University a real home and a place of
peace, hope, and love where we work
together for academic excellence and
missionary spirit.

3
UNIVERSITY PRAYER

• Through your Holy Spirit, guide us along the path to

holiness, as we aspire to become Christ’s image to one
another in the realization of your Kingdom here on
Earth.
• We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
• Amen.

4
 Remembering the CICM
Missionaries (CICM of
yesteryears)
Situating the CICM (CICM of
Outline Today)

Envisioning the CICM (CICM of

yester tomorrow)
The Mission
is good and
beautiful...
Fr. Theophile Verbist
I.
REMEMBERING
THE CICM
MISSIONARIES
MODULE 1:
THE HUMBLE
BEGINNINGS
 Congregation of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary
(Congregatio Immaculati
Cordis Mariae) CICM
CICM is an abbreviation that came
from the initial letters of the Latin
name
“Congregatio Immaculati Cordis M
ariae,” which is Congregation of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary in
English. It was founded in 1862 by
Fr. Theophile Verbist, in Scheut,
Anderlecht, and a suburb of Brussels,
Belgium. The CICM Constitution
affirms that, “the congregation is an
international religious missionary
institute. It is dedicated to the
Incarnate Word, under the name
and patronage of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary” (Art 1
Other Names attributed to the
CICM:

• SCHEUT
MISSIONARIES/
• SCHEUTISTS
• MISSIONHURST
MISSIONARIES
• BELGIAN FATHERS
 Congregation of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary
(Congregatio Immaculati
Cordis Mariae) CICM

As a missionary
congregation of priests and
brothers, it is an instrument
of the Church in
proclaiming the Good
News. There is no doubt; it
has performed this mission
with vigor and dedication
since its foundation.
Hence, it would be very
interesting to know how the
CICM came about.
A GLIMPSE
OF THE
CICM BIRTH
PLACE
LESSON 1:
THE
FOUNDER
FR. THEOPHILE VERBIST
 The Founder
Theophile Verbist was born
in Antwerp, Belgium into a
large family of seven
children. In 1819, Guillaume,
his father, got married again
to Catherine Troch, the
daughter of a surgeon. Six
children were born out of this
marriage. The twins
Theophile and Edmond were
born on June 12, 1823.
The Founder
 The Founder

POSITIONS HELD:
Diocesan Priest
Supervisor at the minor seminary
Chaplain at the military school
Chaplain of the Sisters of Notre-Dame de Namur
Director of the Holy Childhood
Founder of the CICM

The Treaty of Peking was signed on October 25, 1860. The treaty opened the gates of
China to the missionary work of the Catholic Church. With this event, Fr. Theophile
Verbist was determined to establish a Belgian mission in China with the aim of taking
care of the orphaned Chinese children.
 The Founder
After a rigorous preparation, on
November 28, 1862, the Congregatio
Immaculati Cordis Mariae (Congregation
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) was
founded. In 1865, Theophile Verbist and
four companions: Alois Van Segvelt,
Ferdinand Hamer, Francois Vranckx and
Paul Splingaerd (a layman) arrived in
Xiwanzi, inner Mongolia and took over
the Vicariate Apostolic from the Lazarists.
Being new to a foreign land, they had to face
many difficulties – the harsh terrain, severe
weather, vast distances, culture of the people
and unfamiliar diseases – to name a few.
 • Departure for China, mission and death

• In 1865, Théophile Verbist and four

other companions set out for their
mission in China. On December 6,
they arrived in the village of Xiwanzi,
in the Province of Inner Mongolia,
north of the Great Wall.

• There they set up a base, getting to

work immediately on plans to
administer the vast territory that lay
before them: organizing small
Christian communities, attending to
an orphanage and school, and
training seminarians. These
missionaries also faced many critical
situations, including famine, sickness,
accidents, and martyrdom. Father
Verbist himself died of typhoid
fever at Laohugou, China on February
23, 1868, at the age of 44, less than
three years after arriving in Inner
The Founder Mongolia. His companion, Father Van
Segvelt, had succumbed to the same
dreaded disease a year earlier.
 In 1930, Constant Daems,
the Superior General
decided to bring back the
remains of the Founder to
Scheut-Brussels “so that his
tomb may be for everybody
a privileged place of true
apostolic spirit and total gift
of self.” His remains were
placed in a splendid coffin,
Chinese in shape and
oriental in decoration. It
arrived at Scheut on Sunday,
The remains of May 10, 1931.
Théophile Verbist
SYNTHESIS:
THEOPHILE
VERBIST
THEOPHILE VERBIST HYMN
 LESSON 2:
THE INSTITUTION
Congregatio Immaculati
Cordis Mariae

•THE NAME
 • The CICM Statutes
recognized that the
Congregation is “dedicated
to the Incarnate Word,
under the name and
patronage of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary
(Art 1).” This means that by
the will of the founder,
Theophile Verbist and his
companions, the
Congregation would carry
the title “Immaculate Heart
THE NAME of Mary,” their patroness.
 • Theophile Verbist and his
THE NAME companions chose the name
“Congregatio Immaculati
Cordis Mariae” because of the
inspiration from the growing
public devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary
during the nineteenth century
in Belgium. The rapid spread
of this Marian devotion in
Belgium finds its turning point
when the dogma of the
Immaculate Conception was
declared in 1854 by Pius IX It
was then that its liturgical feast
was adopted about
everywhere in the world
 • Given such current of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at that
time, Theophile Verbist and his companions chose the name CICM. As a
THE NAME devotee himself since his young age, Theophile Verbist encouraged the
CICM missionaries to always relate to Mary and to entrust themselves to
the Immaculate Heart as a sign of fraternal unity.
The Name: Congregatio Immaculati Cordis
Mariae
• Congregation of the Belgian Mission for China
dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
• Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, Scheutveld, Missions in China, Mongolia
and Congo - 1891
• Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, Scheut - 1993
• Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary - present
 • THE MOTTO

Cor unum et anima una (One

Heart, One Soul)
THE MOTTO

• Theophile Verbist, who died barely five

years after founding the CICM, did not
create a motto for the Congregation. The
creation of CICM motto was under the
Generalate of Fr. Constant Daems (1930-
1934). The motto “Cor unum et anima
una,” (One Heart and One Soul) was first
included in the coat of arms of the
Congregation on October 5, 1933.
 The motto was taken from the Acts of the Apostles: “The whole
group of believers was united, heart and soul” (4:32). This
THE MOTTO quotation expresses God’s vision for humankind, for his
creation. This means that Jesus came to reveal that God is our
Father. This is the core of the Gospel message. In Jesus, we
become God’s children through the Spirit’s power.
Consequently, we are brothers and sisters of the same family.
 THE MOTTO
• The CICM chose this missionary motto to
become witnesses and instruments of
universal brotherhood. The CICM
Constitutions affirmed, “Religious
missionaries of different races and cultures,
we live and work together as brothers.
“One heart and one soul”, we witness to the
Father’s will that all men and women be
brothers and sisters in Christ. We are a sign
of solidarity among the particular churches
in their universal mission (Art. 2).”
The Motto: Cor Unum et Anima Una

• “Cor Unum et Anima Una”, or

as adopted in the Philippines,
“Sampuso, Sandiwa”
The Motto: Cor Unum et Anima Una
• The Brotherhood of the CICM Missionaries despite
coming from different nations.
The motto “One Heart and One Soul” obviously
refers to a fundamental aspect of the vocation of
CICM priests and brothers who are joined to live and
work together out of diverse nationalities and cultures.

• As such, “…they are a sign of solidarity among the

particular Churches in their universal mission” (Article 2,
Provisional Constitutions of 1968), and hence, they
witness universal brotherhood.
THE LOGO/EMBLEM
The emblem of Fr.
Constant Daems:
He renewed the
Congregation’s coat of arms
and seal, and added the
motto Cor unum et anima
una. It was approved at the
Council’s meeting (of the
General Government) of
October 5, 1933, shortly
before his departure for
China and the Philippines.
 THE LOGO/EMBLEM
The trunk with the Virgin and Child:

This is the oldest element found in all

the CICM coats of arms.

It was at Scheut, near the sanctuary

of Our Lady of Grace, where the CICM
was born. Our Founder and his
companions lived there; they met
there many times, they immersed
themselves in the history of the
sanctuary; and they prayed to our
Lady of Grace. It was there, too,
where they prayed one last time
before departing for mission.
THE LOGO/EMBLEM
The heart surrounded by twelve
stars:
The heart of the twelve stars
comes from a text of Revelation
(12:1): “And a great sign
appeared in heaven, a woman
adorned with the sun, with the
moon is under her feet, and on
her head a crown of twelve
stars”. Our predecessors opted
for a traditional Catholic
interpretation and saw Mary,
the Woman with twelve stars.
THE LOGO/EMBLEM
The trunk with the Virgin
and Child) on an ermine
background:
In heraldry, an ermine refers
to a black spot on a white
background. This animal has
long symbolized courage,
nobility, and purity.