Society of Christian Doctrine

Contents

The Society of Christian Doctrine (Latin: Societas Doctrinæ Christianæ, Italian: Società della Dottrina Cristiana, Maltese: Soċjetà Duttrina Nisranija; abbreviated SDC),[1][2] better known as MUSEUM, is a society of Catholic lay volunteers, made of men and women, teaching catechism in the Christian faith formation of children and adults.[3] The society was established by George Preca in March 1907, in Malta.[4] It has eventually spread around the world, first among Maltese migrants in Australia, then in Albania, in North Sudan, and other countries.[5]

Name

MUSEUM is the abbreviation for "Magister Utinam Sequatur Evangelium Universus Mundus" as meaning "Master, may the whole world follow the Gospel."[2][5]

Centres

In Malta, the society has forty-six catechism centres for males and forty-three for females.[6]

By 1961, the society spread in Gozo, and became successful after a visit for a fishing session. That same year catechism started for males, and in 1962 it was followed by the female branch.[7] There are now nine catechism centres for males and seven for females in Gozo.[6]

The objectives of the religious society is catechetical work in the parishes.[6] Members may participate in the activities in six days every week.[6] The society often organises recreational activities for minors and educational courses for adults.[6][8]

Members of the society are invited to participate for a meeting every Wednesday at the mother-house of the society, in Blata l-Bajda, Marsa.[6] The mother-house is the prominent Church of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.[4] The main scope for teaching catechism is to religiously prepare individuals, generally minors, to receive the sacraments according to the Roman Catholic tradition.[6]

Superiors General

This is a list of former and present superiors general of the society:

  • Eugenio Borg (1911–1967);[9]
  • Francesco Saliba (1967–1983);[10]
  • Victor Delicata (1983–2009);[10]
  • Natalino Camilleri (2009–2021) and
  • Roberto Zammit (2021–present)[11]

References

  1. 1."Only registered NGOs to benefit from funding". Times of Malta. 3 October 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015.
  2. 2.[2.2]Rountree, Kathryn (2016). Crafting Contemporary Pagan Identities in a Catholic Society. Routledge. p. 22. ISBN 978-1317158684.
  3. 3.Andreassi, Diane Gale (2011). Maltese in Detroit. Arcadia Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 978-0738583372.
  4. 4.[4.2]Santaro, Nicholas J. (2011). Mary In Our Life: Atlas of the Names and Titles of Mary, The Mother of Jesus, and Their Place in Marian Devotion. iUniverse. p. 104. ISBN 978-1462040223.
  5. 5.[5.2]Lanfranco, Guido (2000). "It-Taghlim tad-Duttrina fil-Gzejjer Maltin; Ftit ta' l-Istorja" (PDF). L-Imnara (in Maltese). 6 (3). Rivista tal-Għaqda Maltija tal-Folklor: 107. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016.
  6. 6.[6.2][6.3][6.4][6.5][6.6][6.7]"Malta and Gozo". Society of Christian Doctrine. 2010. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017.
  7. 7."Socjeta tad-Duttrina Nisranija M.U.S.E.U.M. (L-Iben t'Alla Sar Bniedem)". Xaghra Parish. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017.
  8. 8."Is-Soċju tal-Mużew jingħata l-liberta' proviżorja". Net News. 2 September 2014. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017.
  9. 9.Borg, Eugenio (1963). "Eugenio Borg 1886-1967". Preca Calling. Archived from the original on 27 November 2003.
  10. 10.[10.2]"MUSEUM Superior General resigns". Times of Malta. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  11. 11.Camenzuli, Mark (8 August 2021). "New Superior General for the MUSEUM Society". Newsbook.