Passionists

The Passionists, officially the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, are a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720, with a special emphasis on devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ marked by an emblem of the Sacred Heart surmounted by a cross sewn into members' habits. Paul of the Cross, born in 1694 in Ovada, Italy, drafted the congregation's rule between November 1720 and January 1721, and Pope Benedict XIII formally granted permission for the congregation on 7 June 1725, the same day ordaining Paul and his brother John Baptist Danei as priests. The community began at a small hermitage on Mount Argentario in Italy. As of 2020 the Passionists comprised about 1,890 members, including 1,423 priests, headquartered in Rome.