The Founders

When the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit were born in the Church, there were two people in Mexico with a reputation for saints, One, a laywoman, another a French Marist priest. For years they had received from the Lord the promise of this future foundation, and they had worked tirelessly to obtain it.

Blessed Concepción Cabrera (Conchita)
Concepción Cabrera Arias (Conchita) was born on December 8, 1862, in San Luis Potosi (Mexico). She was the seventh of twelve children of Octaviano Cabrera Arias Lacavex and Clara Rivera. Since childhood, Conchita was attracted to God, especially in the Eucharist, and distinguished herself for her purity, humility, and spirit of sacrifice. On November 8, 1884, she married Francisco Armida Garcia. Together they had nine children.
In 1889, Conchita attended her first spiritual exercises. There she discovered her mission: "to save souls" Thanks to the guidance of Fr. Alberto Mir, SJ, she advanced significantly in her spiritual life and began to write a spiritual diary.
On January 14, 1894, moved by the desire to belong to Jesus Christ entirely, she marked her chest with the monogram "JHS." A spontaneous cry came from her lips and heart, "Jesus, Savior of all people, save them" That day is considered the birth of the Works of the Cross. A few days later, she had a vision of the Cross of the Apostolate, the symbol of the Spirituality of the Cross, which God gave the world through Conchita. On May 3, 1894, the first Cross of the Apostolate was erected in her family's hacienda of Jesus Maria. Today, many faithful come on pilgrimage to this holy place seeking God and to venerate the cross.
On May 3, 1895, with Bishop Ramón Ibarra's approval, the Apostleship of the Cross was founded in the Diocese of Chilapa (Mexico). On May 3, 1897, with Fr. Mir's help, she founded the Sisters of the Cross of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In 1901 Francisco died, and Conchita became a widow raising her children.
On February 4, 1903, she providentially met Fr. Felix Rougier, a French Marist, who was to be the founder of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit.
On March 25, 1906, God granted Conchita the grace of the mystical incarnation, a grace of transformation into Christ, and great spiritual fruitfulness.
With the support of Msgr. Ibarra, then Archbishop of Puebla, founded the Covenant of Love with the Sacred Heart of Jesus on November 8, 1909, and on January 19, 1912, the Fraternity of Christ the Priest.
In 1913 Conchita traveled to the Holy Land and Rome on a pilgrimage organized by Msgr. Ibarra. There, she met with Pope St. Pius X in a private audience. The Holy Father granted permission for the foundation of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, and they were founded on December 25, 1914.
In 1925, Msgr. Luis Maria Martinez became Conchita's last spiritual director. He was instrumental in bringing to maturity the work of sanctification of this mystic and apostle. Conchita died in Mexico City on March 3, 1937, with a reputation for holiness.

One of the great treasures that this laywoman gave to the Church are her numerous mystical and autobiographical texts, her letters to different recipients, and her catechetical and devotional writings. In 1956 her canonization process was initiated. On December 20, 1999, Pope St. John Paul II acknowledged her Christian virtues to be those of a heroic degree and declared her Venerable.

Venerable Servant of God Felix of Jesus Rougier
Felix Rougier was born in Meilhaud, France, on December 17, 1859. After completing his primary studies, Felix entered the school-seminary of Le Puy. At age 18, during a talk on the missions in Oceania, he felt God's call and decided to become a missionary and entered the novitiate of the Marist Fathers. Felix was ordained to the priesthood on September 24, 1887. After his Ordination, he was assigned to the Marist Scholasticate in Barcelona, Spain, where he taught Sacred Scripture for eight years. On July 12, 1895, Fr. Felix was sent to Colombia. There, he developed a most fruitful ministry as a teacher, preacher, an apostle of the poor, military chaplain, local superior of his community, and the interim Vicar General of the Diocese of Tolima. At that time, Colombia's civil war was escalating, so the Marist superiors decided to send their religious to Mexico.
In 1901, Fr. Felix was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Mexico City. While serving the French community in the Mexican capital, he experienced a growing desire for a deeper spiritual life and asked the Holy Spirit to lead him. Fr. Felix's first encounter with Venerable Mrs. Concepción Cabrera occurred on February 4, 1903. That first meeting with such a holy woman of God reinforced in him the desire to live a life of perfection.  At this time, Fr. Felix added Jesus to his name as a sign of his complete belonging to the Lord.
Feeling called to begin a new religious community, Fr. Felix began a long and serious discernment process, openly consulting with many ecclesiastical officials. Fr. Felix left for France on July 16, 1904, to ask his superior's permission to start the foundation of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. His request was denied, and he was ordered to cut communications with Mexico. Heroically, he obeyed his superiors, and for the following ten years, he lived what he described as his "exile" in Europe. In 1913 Pope St. Pius X permitted the foundation. Fr. Felix returned to Mexico, and the Congregation was founded on December 25, 1914.
Fr. Felix's apostolic zeal also led him to the foundation of three religious communities of women: The Daughters of the Holy Spirit on January 12, 1924, the Oblates of Jesus the Priest on February 9, 1924, and the Missionaries Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit on September 15, 1930. Fr. Felix had a special love for priests and the priesthood. In times of religious persecution in Mexico, he promoted an inter-diocesan seminary in the United States and founded a house for priests in Mexico City.
On September 24, 1937, Fr. Felix celebrated his priesthood's golden jubilee, surrounded by the love of his spiritual daughters and sons. He had earned a reputation for his holiness of life, and people recognized him as a man of God. At the end of his life, he said, "In my life, Jesus has done it all" and” “With Mary everything, and without her, nothing" Fr. Felix of Jesus Rougier died on January 10, 1938. In June of 2000, Pope St. John Paul II acknowledged his Christian virtues to be those of a heroic degree and declared him Venerable.