From Tiny Beginnings, Catholic Charismatics Celebrate 53 Years of Holy Spirit-Led Renewal
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- [Narrator] Pope Francis began
Pentecost 2017 celebrationswith a prayer and praise vigil
at the ancient Circus Maximus in Rome.
Thousands of Christiansfrom around the world
joined the Pope to mark the 50th Jubilee
of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
(crowd singing)
The college-aged Americanpioneers of the Renewal
are now its elders andmany were in attendance.
In their lifetime, the Renewal has sparked
a new Pentecost among Catholics worldwide.
The movement began in 1967,
when the gifts of theHoly Spirit were bestowed
upon a group of DuquesneUniversity students
on retreat at The Ark and The Dove.
Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan remember
when friends first told themabout the Duquesne outpouring.
- My reaction here was prettynegative and so was Dorothy's.
But we knew these people well.
I mean they were solid, responsible,
renewal-minded Catholics,and they were scholars.
I mean we were all inthe intellectual life.
We were all students or professors
in Theology, Church History, Philosophy.
- And so we could seethat even in their faces,
there was something changed and different.
And so, although we wanted todiscount what they were saying
as sounding a littlefringy, we could not deny
the experience we saw theyhad had, had changed them.
And whatever it was I think we came to see
we wanted that too.
- [Narrator] Newly married at the time,
Kevin taught Theology at St.Mary's College in Indiana.
Dorothy was a Catholichigh school teacher.
Both earned Master's Degrees in Theology
from the University of Notre Dame.
After hearing about hiscolleagues at Duquesne,
Kevin embarked on a sixweek study of the scriptures
and received the baptismin the Holy Spirit
at a Bible study, among fellow Catholics.
- And it was so changing.
I mean suddenly, even thatnight scripture was alive,
my faith was renewed, filled with joy.
- [Narrator] Dorothy received the baptism
the next day alone in a chapel.
- It was like the Lord planted a flag
in the center of my life and said,
"This is permanent.
"Hang on to this," ya know.
And it changed everything.
- [Narrator] The couple sought out
the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship,
an organization withroots in Pentecostalism,
to learn how to usethe gifts for ministry.
- And I can't imagine how hereacted to this phone call.
"Hi, we're a bunch ofCatholics from Notre Dame
"and we've just beenbaptized in the Holy Spirit,
"and we would like to findout about the spiritual gifts.
"Can you help us?"
- [Narrator] After spending some time
with the Full Gospel Business Men,
the Ranaghans began to lead meetings
on the Notre Dame campusand witness the gifts
of the Spirit flowing freely.
- Well we had these large prayer meetings
sometimes 400 people every week.
They were amazing meetings in that
we were all so new to this.
- [Narrator] Just after Easter in 1967,
Catholic students fromtop American universities
met at Notre Dame
to learn more about theDuquesne outpouring.
Ralph Martin, a NotreDame Philosophy graduate,
was a campus ministryleader when he brought
40 students from MichiganState to the gathering.
- They called it the FirstInternational Catholic
Charismatic Conference because
there was one nun from Canada who came.
(laughs)
- [Narrator] That summer several
Duquesne University studentslived with Lutheran Pastor
and founding CBN boardmember Harold Bredesen
in his parish home near New York City
to learn street evangelism.
- We realized that wehad a responsibility,
not just to preach the gospel,
but to learn how to do it well
and to be effective at it.
Not just kinda throwing it at people.
- [Narrator] Back at NotreDame, Catholic Priests, nuns
and lay leaders attendedthe Renewal meetings
while on campus, for continuing education.
- When they went home,they took this with them.
They went all over the United States.
They went to Australia.
They went to the Philippines.
They went to various countries in Europe.
- [Narrator] After theNational Catholic Reporter
ran newspaper coverage ofthe outpouring, Pope Paul VI
sent Cardinal Suenens of Belgium,one of the four moderators
of Vatican II to evaluatewhat was happening.
The cardinal met withRalph Martin and observed
various student groups.
- "So all my life," hesaid, "I've been searching
"for wherever the Holy Spirit's working,
"trying to understand what's happening.
"I came here.
"I see the Holy Spirit's working.
" I wanna do whatever I canto help you integrate this
"and open the wholeCatholic Church up to it
"and bring you into thevery center of things."
- [Narrator] CardinalSuenens invited Ralph Martin
and his young familyto Belgium to help lead
the Renewal in Europe.
By 1975, 10 thousand Catholic Charismatics
from around the worldjoined Cardinal Suenens
in Rome for Pentecost.
(crowd applauding)
- Be a sign to the world andshow them, by the radiance
of your faith that Christ is risen!
(crowd cheering)
- [Narrator] Pope Paul VIentered St. Peter's Basilica
and addressed the movementas a chance for the church.
The Renewal also birthednew religious orders
and increased the number ofthose called into ministry.
In the early 1970s,Father George Montague,
a Pauline Scholar and professorat St. Mary's University
in Texas, received thebaptism in the Holy Spirit,
after a nun who had attendedthe Notre Dame meetings,
demonstrated spiritual gifts.
- Well here's the New Testamentalive, right in front of me.
(laughs) As it happens, theHoly Spirit is coming right,
right in front of me.
Ya know, I had been a, I hadbeen baptized and confirmed.
I had made religious vows.
I was ordained as a priest, ya know.
And so, all those things kindof blocked me a little bit
because ya know, what more do I need?
- [Narrator] After 25 yearsof ministry in the Renewal,
Father Montague, alongwith Father Bob Hogan
formed Brothers of the Beloved Discipled,
to serve in San Antonio Texas.
- The Holy Spirit empowers our ministry
through the spiritualgifts so that God can,
people can say, "Wow!Truly God is in your midst.
"Truly Jesus is reaching out to me."
- [Narrator] Today morethan 120 million Catholics
in 240 countries enjoy life in the spirit.
(crowd singing and worshiping)
As the pioneers of themovement recall their history
they anticipate greater HolySpirit-inspired wonders ahead.
From Sister Elaina'surgent letters to Pope Leo
to the 1901 outpouring in Kansas.
To the Azusa Street Revival,to the Duquesne weekend
and beyond.
All of these events declarethe gifts of the Holy Spirit
are intended for every generation.
As the Spirit works to uniteall Christians to Christ
and to each other, inorder to reach the world.
- It's a surprise of theHoly Spirit that's opening up
great new possibilities.
And we don't know what's next.
We have a sense, I knowwe have a sense here.
The Lord's getting readyto do something big.