Timeline
December 9, 1767 – Rev. Jacques Dujarié born in Rennes-en-Grenouilles
1789-1799 – French Revolution
December 26, 1795 – Dujarié secretly ordained a priest in Paris
February 11, 1799 – Rev. Basile Moreau born in Laigné-en-Belin
September 1820 – Dujarié establishes the Brothers of St. Joseph to teach in rural parishes
August 12, 1821 – Moreau ordained a priest for the Diocese of Le Mans
1823 – Dujarié invites Moreau to give the annual retreat to the Brothers of St. Joseph
August 1835 – Moreau founds the Auxiliary Priests to preach parish missions, provide parochial assistance, and teach in the Diocese of Le Mans
August 31, 1835 – Dujarié turns over the leadership of the Brothers of St. Joseph to Moreau
November 1, 1835 – Moreau moves the brothers’ Novitiate to Sainte-Croix, which would become the headquarters of his new religious congregation
August 1836 – First Brothers of St. Joseph make their Profession of Final Vows
November 1836 – Moreau founds the boarding school of Notre-Dame de Sainte-Croix in Le Mans
March 1, 1837 – Moreau establishes the Association of Holy Cross by uniting together the Brothers of St. Joseph and the Auxiliary Priests
February 17, 1838 – Dujarié dies
April 28, 1840 – Holy Cross inaugurates its first foreign mission as Moreau sends religious to Algeria
May 1840 – Ground broken on the Congregation’s conventual church at Sainte-Croix
August 15, 1840 – Moreau makes his own Profession of Final Vows to Bishop Bouvier, then receives the Final Professions of four priests
1841 – Moreau establishes the sisters of Holy Cross, known as the Marianites, thus completing the religious family of Holy Cross
August 5, 1841 – First missionaries to the United States depart
August 9, 1845 – Alfred Bessette (later Brother André) born in Quebec, Canada
April 25, 1847 – First missionaries to Canada depart
November 9, 1850 – Two foundations established in Rome
November 27, 1852 – First missionaries to East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh and India) depart
May 13, 1857 – The Constitutions of Holy Cross are approved by the Holy See, making the Holy Cross priests and brothers an official Religious Congregation (with the sisters separated as their own community)
June 17, 1857 –The Congregation’s conventual church in Sainte-Croix is consecrated
June 14, 1866 – Moreau resigns as Superior General and is succeeded by Bishop Pierre Dufal
1868 – Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., elected Superior General
January 20, 1873 – Moreau dies
February 2, 1874 – Br. André Bessette makes his Profession of Final Vows
October 1893 – Rev. Gilbert Français, C.S.C., becomes Superior General on the death of Fr. Sorin
October 19, 1904 – Br. André opens the original Oratory to St. Joseph in Montreal, Canada
1926 – Rev. James W. Donahue, C.S.C., becomes Superior General on the resignation of Fr. Français
January 6, 1937 – Br. André dies
1938 – Rev. Albert Cousineau, C.S.C., elected Superior General
1940 – Br. André cause for canonization opened in Montreal
March 1, 1943 – First missionaries arrive to Chile
December 1943 – First missionaries arrive to Brazil
September 8, 1944 – First missionaries arrive to Haiti
1950 – Rev. Christopher O’Toole, C.S.C., elected Superior General
1954 – Holy Cross Generalate moved to Rome
1955 – Moreau’s cause for sainthood introduced in Rome
1955 – Main Basilica of the Oratory of St. Joseph consecrated
December 1957 – First missionaries arrive to Ghana
November 4, 1958 – First missionaries arrive to Uganda
1962 – Rev. Germaine-Marie Lalande, C.S.C., elected Superior General
September 1963 – First missionaries arrive to Peru
1974 – Rev. Thomas O. Barrosse, C.S.C., elected Superior General
1978 – Congregation’s work in East Africa expands to Kenya
1978 – Br. André declared Venerable by Saint Paul VI
1986 – Rev. Claude Grou, C.S.C., elected Superior General
1987 – Congregation accepts responsibility for parish in Mexico
1988 – Current Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross approved by the General Chapter
May 23, 1982 – Br. André beatified by Saint John Paul II in Rome
1998 – Rev. Hugh Cleary, C.S.C., elected Superior General
2000 – Congregation’s work in East Africa expands to Tanzania
2001 – Rev. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., declared Servant of God
April 12, 2003 – Moreau declared Venerable by Saint John Paul II
2006 – Bishop Vincent McCauley declared Servant of God
2006 – Bishop Theotonius Amal Ganguly declared Servant of God
September 15, 2007 – Moreau beatified in Le Mans, France
2009 – Br. Flavian Laplante, C.S.C., declared Servant of God
2010 – Rev. Richard V. Warner, C.S.C., elected Superior General
October 17, 2010 – Br. André canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, becoming first canonized saint in Holy Cross
July 18, 2016 – Rev. Robert Epping, C.S.C., elected Superior General
November 19, 2016 – His Eminence, Patrick D’Rosario, C.S.C., Archbishop of Dhaka, created Cardinal by Pope Francis
December 26, 2017 – Rev. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., declared Venerable by Pope Francis
July 1, 2022 – Br. Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C., elected Superior General, the first Holy Cross Brother to serve in that role
January 1, 2023 – Four new Provinces created: East Africa, Saint André (India), Tamil Nadu, and West Africa