The Sons of the Holy Family was founded in Tremp, Spain, on March 19, 1864, by Josep Manyanet i Vives. A Catholic priest and the son of a peasant farmer, Manyanet founded the congregation out of his great concern for children and family life. He believed that Catholic education comprised the "most suitable, simple, and practical means of reforming the family and society with it", and that the Holy Family was the exemplary model for strong Catholic families. Not long afterwards, Manyanet also founded a complementary congregation for women, the Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The founding of the Sons of the Holy Family was part of a wide movement in Spain, as many new religious congregations were being founded in the same period. These congregations were mostly of teaching religious, though lay associations flourished as well. The Sons of the Holy Family received an informal decree of approval from Pope Leo XIII on April 30, 1887, and were given formal approval by the Holy See on June 20, 1901. Manyanet died on December 17, 1901, in Barcelona, only a few months after this formal approbation. Today he is formally recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, as he was canonized on May 16, 2004, by Pope John Paul II.
Expansion
The congregation was well established by 1965, with teaching foundations operating in Spain, Italy, the United States and Argentina. The Sons of the Holy Family had arrived in the United States in 1920, and ministered to the Spanish-speaking population in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Today, the American regional headquarters and seminary is located in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Sons of the Holy Family maintain eight houses in the US, mostly in the southwest. The congregation is present today in several European countries, North and South America, and in Africa as well. It counted about 250 members in 27 foundations worldwide by 2011.
Priests of the congregation describe themselves as "witnesses and apostles of the mystery of Nazareth," by which is meant a contemplation of the so-called "hidden years" of Jesus Christ, during which he lived in the family home in Nazareth and was obedient to Mary and Joseph. As such, the congregation's stated charism is to "promote devotion to the Holy Family and to foster true Christian family life." The congregation aims to achieve this goal through educating and forming young people and building up families.
On May 2012, pope Benedict XVI approved the beatification of Blessed Jaime Puig and 19 Companions, religious and a lay man who were murdered during the Spanish Civil War, between 1936 and 1939.
