Called together by the Superior General, six directors of the Association of the Miraculous Medal from around the world gathered as a commission December 15 – 20, 1997, at the General Curia of the Congregation of the Mission. Those present at the meeting were: Rev. Joseph Benoit, C.M., from Paris, France; Rev. William O'Brien, C.M., from Philadelphia, PA, USA; Rev. Jesús Rodríguez Rico, C.M., from Madrid, Spain; Rev. Benjamín Romo, C.M., from México City, México; Rev. Charles Shelby, C.M., from Perryville, MO, USA; and Rev. Francisco Vargas, C.M., from Manila, Philippines.

Faithful to the spirit and call of Vatican Council II and the signs of the times, these directors saw the need to revise the international statutes of the Association. Their goals were to:

1. bring the statutes into conformity with the 1983 Code of Canon Law;
2. reflect more accurately the apostolic and Vincentian character of the Association and the Church’s preferential option for the poor;
3. recognize and embrace the reality of the Association as it is organized in the different countries of the world today;
4. create an “essential document” that specifies the purpose and a minimum of structure and activity, leaving to other documents the more specific elements of the Association.

In this commentary, the text of the statutes and the commentary are interleaved. The statutes are printed in Times Roman type, and the commentary is in Helvetica type. The commentary is blocked in, while the statutes are the full width of the page.

The opening paragraph is essentially the same as the 1990 Statutes, except that the Superior General is now Robert Maloney. They differ slightly from the 1909 Statutes in style. All the subtitles below are new in 1998.

In article 1, the word “Association” here translates “Consociatio” in Latin, a term from the Code of 1983. In the earlier statutes the word was “Sodalitas.” Otherwise, article 1 is unchanged. This terminology implicitly sets the Association of the Miraculous Medal as an association of the Christian faithful as described in Book II, Title V of the Code. Specifically, the Association of the Miraculous Medal is an international private association of the Christian faithful with statutes approved by the Holy See (Chapter III, Canons 321-326).

The phrase, “and also the sanctification of its members, integral formation in the Christian life, and the apostolate of charity especially to those most abandoned” is new to these statutes. The earlier statutes continued the purpose by specifying, “by the practice both of their own sanctification and of the apostolate.” Even without specifically mentioning Saint Vincent, the new wording sets the Association firmly in the context of the Vincentian Family. For clarity, the Latin subordination was replaced with two sentences.

The new statutes divided what had previously been a one-part article 3 into three sections. (The section subtitles of articles 3 and 4 are not in the official Latin version.)

There has always been a Director General; however, the statutes of 1990 specifically state that he is the Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission and of the Daughters of Charity.

The National Director, or President, is new to these statutes. He or she is a reality in the six countries represented in the 1997 Commission and is required by the national statutes of Spain. The statutes specify that the Director General appoints the National Director, but they say nothing about the process of nomination or selection leading to the appointment. This section begins the integration of the Association at the national level into the international Association.

The section on the Diocesan Advisor replaces the section on the Diocesan Director in the earlier statutes. The statute retains the appointment of the diocesan advisor by the bishop, but directs all accountability to the National Director. The “proper spirit, laws, and customs” (of the association canonically erected in a diocese) mentioned in the earlier statutes are replaced here by article 5 on particular statutes. The directors gathered at Rome in consultation with the Director General were not aware of any active diocesan associations in the world.

The article on membership was article 5 in the earlier statutes. The 1990 statutes incorrectly used the term “membrum” for member. These statutes use the term “socius,” which is used in the Code of Canon Law. In the 1909 statutes, those were members who wore a blessed medal imposed by a priest according to the proper rite. The 1990 statutes removed the requirement of imposition, but described it as laudable or desirable, but not required. In addition, the 1990 statutes allowed a layperson to impose the medal blessed by a priest. A unique characteristic of the Association of the Miraculous Medal is that there is no requirement for a register of members’ names to be kept. This makes it virtually impossible to specify how many people are members of this association.

These 1998 statutes describe two kinds of membership. General members are those who were members according to the earlier statutes. Particular members are new to these statutes. This section acknowledges the reality of registered members in particular areas of the world. However, it leaves the specifics of particular membership to particular statues.

Article 5 is new to the statutes. It acknowledges the reality that the Association exists in specific countries or areas. In those countries it has specific organizational structures, practices, and apostolates. The international statues, however, do not limit the Director General in setting up how the Association is organized. The Association is able to adapt to the local culture and legal structures wherever it exists.

Since the international statutes provide for particular statutes, there is no need to approach the diocesan bishop or national conference of bishops for approval of national statutes. And the particular statutes do not create a new association; rather they locate the particular members within the one international Association.

1. on the day of investiture,
2. on the feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal,
3. on the feast of the Queenship of Mary,
4. on the feast of St. Catherine Labouré,
5. on the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, and
6. on the anniversary of the establishment of the Association.

The section on indulgences was article 4 in the earlier statutes. For a period of time after Vatican Council II, the Vatican granted the indulgences for a limited period; however, in 1995 they were granted in perpetuity, allowing them to be specified in the statutes as above. Previous international statutes described the indulgences more generally.

Article 7. Liturgical Feast Day
The principal feast of the Association is November 27, on which the apparition of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is recalled.

Article 7 is brought over from the earlier statutes.

The closing exhortation is from the statutes of 1990, which brought in the quotations from Lumen Gentium. In the 1909 statutes, there was simply a sentence saying that the members have no new obligations but are exhorted to recite often the prayer on the medal.

Approved by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
February 19, 1998

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