How did the first pentecostals come
The Pentecostals would compare their experience to
Pentecost itself, hence their name. This was when the
Holy Spirit fell in power on the apostles as they prayed
in the Upper Room, and they were anointed and empowered
with charisms for ministry. The Acts of the Apostles
and the Letters of Paul, all speak of a Church that
moved in the power of the Holy Spirit, and where tongues,
healing and prophecy, among other gifts were all a normal
part of Church life.
Throughout history since then, there have been various
spontaneous revivals and outpouring of grace, whenever
the Church seemed to be getting too institutionalised
and dying. It is also obvious from the writings of the
saints and the early Church Fathers, that they too experienced
many of what are today considered charismatic phenomena.
For ordinary Christians, however, at the turn of the
20th century, charisms like healing and tongues were
things of the distant past and not to be expected in
their every day Church life.
The first stirring of what we today call the Pentecostal
movement, began at Topeka, Kansas, in the USA in 1901,
when a group of students of a Bible school had an evening
of prayer to the Holy Spirit. One of the woman students,
Agnes Ozman, asked to have hands laid on her as it is
mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. As they prayed,
she broke out into the gift of tongues.
It wasn't until 1906, however, that a spontaneous revival
broke out in Azusa Street, Los Angeles. News of this
spread across the United States and all over the world,
including England. Although these early Pentecostals
grew rapidly in number they were not accepted in the
Churches and gradually began to form themselves into
As the years went on, there was little contact between
the Pentecostals and other Christians and it wasn't
until the 1950's that through individual personal contacts,
the Pentecostal revival began to seep back into the
mainline Protestant Churches. Encouraged by Pentecostal
leaders like David Du Plessis, these Neo-Pentecostals
or Charismatics as they became known, chose to stay
within their denominations, believing that the Baptism
in the Spirit that they had received, with the accompanying
charisms, was merely the fullness of the Christian experience,
and not something that contradicted their denominational
THE ORIGIN OF THE CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL
The outpouring and manifestation of the
Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost continues in the
Church today. The gift of the Spirit, as promised by
Jesus and sent by the Father, is for all believers.
It is God’s Spirit that transforms us to be children
of God. It is in the power of the Holy Spirit that great
renewals, revivals and evangelisation occur.
In August of the year 1966, some lay Professors of
the Duquesne University (pronounced as ‘Do Cain’)
attended the Congress of the Cursillo Movement. They
were looking forward for a new experience and hoped
to achieve the full power of Faith and wished to find
it in this spiritual formation movement, which had just
started after the Vatican Council II in Spain. They
had come to this movement after having been frustrated
in their search in liturgical, ecumenical, apostolic
and peace movements. At the Cursillo Congress, they
got acquainted with Steve Clarke and Ralph Martin, co-ordinators
of student activities at St. John's Parish, East Lansing,
Michigan. It all began for them with the reading of
two books: "The Cross and the Switchblade"
by David Wilkerson, an autobiographical story of a Protestant
Pastor who was led by strong inner impulses to abandon
the life of a salaried Parish Minister and embark on
a dangerous mission to the delinquents and drug addicts
of Brooklyn in neighbourhoods, into which the average
American would not venture at night, or even by day
for that matter. The 2lst chapter of the book was, "The
Baptism in the Holy Spirit" which formed and penetrated
the hearts of the readers. The Duquesne Professors found
what they had been missing in other movements. At this
time one of the organizers of the meeting was Ralph
Keifer who came across a book on Pentecostalism by John
Sherrils which was titled, "They speak in other
tongues" which became the source book, for those
who had gathered for the meeting.
In the fall of the same year, this group met again
for a period of deeper prayer and in it, "Come
Holy Spirit" was recited and an important place
was given to the Holy Spirit. Since these Catholic laymen
wanted more clarification on the topic, some approached
the Pentecostals, despite the somewhat repute of their
doctrinal beliefs. W. Lewis an Episcopalian Priest,
put this group in touch with a woman involved in Charismatic
Movement. In January 1967, an invitation was given to
them to attend a prayer meeting on January 13th, which
was the day of the Baptism of Our Lord. At that meeting
more anxious doubts arose at the way things were done.
Ralph was confused by the prayer meeting. No doubt,
he was positive about the high level sharing and lively
theology, but his intellectual mind was scandalized
at the literal interpretation of the Scriptures and
the idea of direct communication with God. Out of these
four who attended the meeting, only Ralph returned the
following week, but had brought with him another Professor
of Theology, Patrick Bourgeois and at the end of the
meeting, the two men asked to receive the Baptism in
the Holy Spirit. One group prayed on Ralph, imposing
their hands and the other group on Patrick. Ralph was
asked to make an act of faith for the power of the Spirit
to work. He prayed in tongues rather quickly. Ralph
and the group began to have some deep and wonderful
experiences of prayer. The result of all this was to
seek an interdenominational and quite informal prayer
group, who had undergone the experience called "The
Baptism in the Holy Spirit" (the Acts of the Apostles
and I Cor Chpts 12-14 were
read literally by this group). The follow-up was on
18th and 19th February 1967 where about twenty-five
students and University theology professors from Duquesne
University got together for a retreat weekend at the
Ark and the Dove retreat house outside of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania to study the Acts of the Apostles and consider
the claims of the Pentecostals as described in the two
books, "The Cross and the Switchblade” and
“They speak with other tongues.” They were
praying for a new Pentecost throughout the weekend.
The Saturday night of the weekend had been set aside
for relaxation. It was planned to celebrate a birthday
party of one of the priests, but the party was rather
slow in getting started, so Patti (Gallagher) went to
gather people to come. On her way, she stopped in the
second floor chapel. She remembers, "I wasn't going
in to pray, just to tell any students there, to come
down to the party. But as I entered into the presence
of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and knelt there, I
was filled with a sense of awe. I had always believed
by the gift of faith, that Jesus is really present in
the Blessed Sacrament, but I had never experienced His
glory. As I knelt there, my body literally trembled
before His majesty. I felt really scared and said to
myself, 'Get out of here quick because something is
going to happen if you stay in the presence of God.’
As I knelt there before the Lord, for the first time
in my life, I prayed what I would call a prayer of total
surrender. I said, 'Father I give my life to you and
whatever you want of me, that's what I choose. If it
means suffering, then I accept that. Just teach me to
follow your Son Jesus and to learn to love the way He
In the next few moments Patti found herself prostrate,
flat on her face before the tabernacle. No one had touched
her but her shoes had come off. This was Holy ground.
She was filled with an awareness of God's personal love,
a love so completely undeserved, so utterly foolish,
so lavishly given, that the only word that came now
Though she wanted to remain in the chapel, she knew
that if she could experience God's love in such a profound
way, others could too. She told the other two students
in the chapel, 'I pray that this will happen to you',
then hurried to tell the priest-chaplain what had happened.
As she left him, a few students asked 'What has happened
to you? Your face looks different!' Patti told her story,
then took them by the hand to the chapel. There she
prayed, 'Lord, whatever you just did for me, do it for
them!' Within half an hour, 12 of the 24 students were
in the chapel. They stayed singing and praying from
10 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following morning and during that
night God touched each one in a unique way. Some felt
God's love so deeply, that they couldn't do anything
but weep. Others laughed and laughed. Some including
Patti, felt a tremendous burning in their hands or going
through their arms like fire. Others experienced a clicking
in their throats or a tingling in their tongues. "You
have to remember, we didn't know about the gifts of
the Holy Spirit", said Patti.
In the weeks that followed, the students gradually
learned about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They told
their friends and colleagues about it and within a few
months the Catholic Pentecostal Movement, as it was
known then, had spread to half a dozen other campuses
and within a few years, there were prayer groups and
meetings all over America.
Pope John XXIII’s prayer in preparation for the
Vatican Council was, “O Holy Spirit pour forth
the fullness of your gifts, renew your wonders in this
our day as by a new Pentecost.” On 8th December
1965, the council ended. A great renewal for the Catholic
Church began, a renewal that would encompass the entire
Church: clergy, religious, laity. In just little over
a year, 1 year 2 months after Second Vatican Council
ended, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal began and it
is one of the many spiritual renewals and the fastest
growing movement in the Catholic Church. The Charismatic
movement derives its name from the Greek word charismata
meaning “gifts of the spirit.” These gifts
include, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues,
prophesying, gifts of healing, etc. The movement teaches
that the Holy Spirit who first manifested these gifts
and powers to Christians in the apostolic age, still
grants them to believers today.
In May l968, at the first national leaders conference
at Ann Arbour, Michigan about 150 people turned up;
in the beginning of 1969 there were about 450 for the
conference; in 1971 there were 500 and the movement
spread in leaps and bounds, and the attendance steadily
came up. A stencilled Pastoral Newsletter for leaders
in the movement was started in Michigan on1st May 1969.
In June 1970, it became an eight page printed publication,
which climbed to a circulation of 1200 in the US and
abroad. It was renamed New Covenant in July 1971, and
it continues today with an ever increasing circulation
and 64 page publication.
The International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services
(ICCRS) is based in Rome and acts as the centre of communication
within the worldwide Charismatic Renewal. It also serves
as liaison between the Charismatic Renewal and the Vatican.
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is active in 130 countries
and is fully supported and encouraged by the Bishops
of the Church. Over the weeks, months and years that
followed, the Charismatic Renewal made inroads into
every aspect of the Church worldwide. By 1990 the movement
had grown to include more than 72 million Catholics
worldwide, over 15 million in America. Many believe
that this renewal is a direct result of Vatican II and
Pope John XXIII’s prayer. Some of the Catholic
leadership of the new movement were Ralph Martin, Steve
Clarke, Kevin Ranaghan and Fr. Jim Ferry.
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal centers on the renewal
of individual commitment to the person of Jesus Christ
in His Church, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This commitment has been the centre of every authentic
renewal in the history of the Church. The commitment
begins by the re-anointing with the presence of the
Holy Spirit what is sometimes called, “The Baptism
in the Holy Spirit.” This occurs when individuals
ask Jesus Christ, who is the One who gives the Holy
Spirit, to stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit within
their hearts. Paul said to Timothy in II
Tim 1:6, “I remind you to stir into Flame, the
Gift of God that you have through the imposition of
my hands.” This is primarily the renewal
of gifts received in baptism and confirmation. The results
are many. Along with the reception of the charisms,
people who have experienced this renewal in the Holy
Spirit, talk of a new and deeper personal knowledge
of Jesus. They find new power and meaning in all forms
of prayer, a new love of scripture, a new and deeper
appreciation of the Church, of the Liturgy, of the Sacraments,
of the Pope, of Mary, of Mass, Rosary and the Way of
the Cross. These characteristics of the Charismatic
Renewal have led Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II
to actively encourage the faithful and the clergy to
become involved in the Charismatic Renewal. Clearly,
the Charismatic Renewal is in and for the Church, not
alongside the Church.
In 1972, Leo Joseph Cardinal Suenens Archbishop of
Malines, Brussels in Belgium, personally encountered
the Charismatic Renewal during a visit to the U.S. He
said, “Rather than a movement, C.R. is a moving
of the Holy Spirit which can reach all Christians lay
or cleric.” Cardinal Suenens was invited by Pope
Paul VI to lead and encourage the C.R. worldwide. In
his book ‘A New Pentecost’ he says “It
is comparable to a high voltage current of grace coursing
through the Church.”
In 1975, Pope Paul VI personally invited the renewal
to hold its annual conference, ‘World Congress’
in Rome where 10,000 charismatics gathered. In a special
session during that conference, the Pope stated, “Nothing
is more necessary to this more and more secularized
world, than the witness of the ‘spiritual renewal’
that we see the Holy Spirit evoking in the most diverse
regions. How then could this spiritual renewal not be
a ‘chance’ for the Church and for the world?
And how, in this case, could one not take all the means
to ensure that it remains so?”
Pope John Paul II met with groups of charismatic people
and at one such encounter said, “Remain in an
attitude of constant and graceful availability for every
gift, that the Spirit wishes to pour into your hearts.”
The emergence of the Renewal following the Second Vatican
Council was a particular gift of the Holy Spirit to
the Church. It was a sign of a desire on the part of
many Catholics to live more fully their Baptismal dignity
and vocation as adopted sons and daughters of the Father,
to know the redeeming power of Christ our Saviour, in
a more intense experience of individual and group prayer
and to follow the teaching of the Scriptures by reading
them in the light of the same Spirit, who inspired their
writing. Certainly, one of the most important results
of this spiritual reawakening has been, that increased
thirst for holiness which is seen in the lives of individuals
and in the whole Church.
Pope John Paul II
Encouraged by the leadership of Popes Paul VI and John
Paul II, many Catholic Bishops of the United States,
Canada and many Bishops in South America and Europe
have written pastoral statements supporting and encouraging
the renewal. The Bishops of the United States in their
pastoral letter to the American Church and the Charismatic
Renewal, wrote the following in 1984. “The Charismatic
Renewal is rooted in the witness of the Gospel tradition,
Jesus is Lord by the power of the Spirit to the Glory
of the Father.
It is in and for the Church not alongside the Church,
because the CCR is at the heart of the Church, it also
has a role in parish renewal.
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa
Preacher to the Pope for over 18 years said, “The
sacraments are a gift given to all Christians, but the
charisms are given to all Christians for the sanctification
and good of the entire Church. It is like two channels
that interweave in the Church, the living Body of Christ.
The grace of the Holy Spirit flows through them both.
A body breathes with both lungs and the lungs of the
Church are the sacraments and the gifts.”
The Baptism in the Spirit
The primary grace of the Charismatic Renewal is the
Pentecostal grace known as, “The Baptism in the
Spirit”, which brings about a deeper conversion
to Christ and releases the Holy Spirit to work in an
individual’s life in a more powerful way. This
is often accompanied by the charisms mentioned in the
Acts of the Apostles and the letters of St. Paul.
The Baptism in the Spirit is not a sacrament, but revitalises
and makes real the graces received in the sacraments
of initiation, namely baptism and confirmation. At the
beginning of the Church, baptism was such a powerful
event in the individual’s life, that there was
no need for a new effusion of the Spirit as we need
today. In fact, baptism was only conferred on adults
after a lengthy catechesis and only when there were
clear signs of conversion working in the person’s
Recent research by scholars Fr Kilian McDonnell OSB
and Fr George Montague SM, have shown that what are
considered today as extraordinary charisms, were a normal
part of Church life until the 8th century, and the experience
known in the Charismatic Renewal as ‘the Baptism
in the Spirit’ was the normative Christian experience.
The findings of these scholars have been summarised
in a small booklet called ‘Fanning the Flame’
produced by the National Service Committee for the Catholic
Charismatic Renewal in the United States. They state
in their introduction “We believe that this gift
of Baptism in the Holy Spirit belongs to the Christian
inheritance of all those sacramentally initiated into
the Church” and “This life in the Holy Spirit
is not, therefore, one spiritually up among others in
the Church. It is the spirituality of the Church.”
Vatican II & St. Paul: “It is not only through
the sacraments and Church ministries that the same Holy
Spirit sanctifies and leads the people of God. He distributes
special graces among the faithful of every rank. “The
manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for
profit” I Cor 12:7.
These charismatic gifts, whether they be the most outstanding
or the more simple and widely diffused, are to be received
with thanksgiving and consolation. For they are exceedingly
suitable and useful for the needs of the Church”
The gifts are not for the individual but for the whole
community. God gives understanding about Himself and
the Christian walk: Wisdom, Knowledge and Discernment.
God acts in His community: Faith, Healing and Miracles.
God speaks to His people: Prophecy, Tongues and Interpretation
The vision and aim of the Charismatic Renewal is to
assist in the renewal of the parish, by providing opportunities
for individuals to deepen their prayer life and experience
of God, that they may be spiritually renewed and foster
their gifts for the building of God’s kingdom.
Prayer meetings which are central to the Charismatic
Renewal are held weekly and provide the opportunity
- Bring people to Christ.
- Be a channel of grace for all those who come.
- Help people to grow in faith and Holiness.
- Help people to yield to the action of the Holy
Spirit in their own lives and in the service of others.
- Foster the charismatic gifts for the up building
of the Body of Christ.
- Grow as a community in the Body of Christ.
Catholic Charismatic Renewal in India
Minoo Engineer, a young Parsi civil engineer, while
studying at Fordham University in the U.S.A., became
a Catholic through his involvement with Charismatics.
It was he who typically brought the Catholic Charismatic
Renewal to India in 1972. Incidentally, the same year
two Jesuits, Fr. Fuster and Fr. Bertie Phillips who
had been to the United States for studies and research
returned. The first prayer group was held on Mondays
in the evenings in Bombay (Mumbai). There were only
four members present, Fr. Fio Mascarenhas sj, Sister
Olga, Minoo and Luz Maria Engineer. It soon spread to
Bandra with a lot of encouragement from the Medical
Mission Sisters of the Holy Family Hospital. It started
growing and the biggest group was at St. Andrew's which
was led very ably by Terence and Beryl Fonn and Sr.
Bernadine. Another group soon started in St. Teresa's
Parish. Minoo lived in Vile Parle and started a group
in Dilkush Convent at Juhu, only to move soon to the
Parish of Juhu. Small groups were formed and started
in private homes, the Asha Colony in Juhu Tara and in
the Royal Hotel. Four groups were formed in Byculla,
beginning in the Institute of the Deaf Mutes in Mazagoan.
There was a very active group in Mahim in the Presentation
Convent with Sr. Basil and Margaret D'souza. Fr. Fuster
and Fr. Phillips started the Life in the Spirit Seminars
and prayer groups were well attended by around 60 members.
Prayer meetings were held at St. Xavier's College under
Fr. Fuster's leadership. The Renewal spread to Poona
(now called Pune) and to Goa. Then to Gauhati (Assam)
where the Renewal started in the Air Force Colony as
an inter denominational Prayer Group. Later to Delhi
and prayer groups functioned at St. Thomas Parish and
St. Dominic's Parish. In such ways small groups spread
to all corners of India.
Various Activities of the Charismatic Renewal in India
It was way back in 1974 -75 when the Charismatic Renewal
in the country of India was very young and growing and
the Holy Spirit was moving and renewing people every
day, that a group of 30 leaders in Bombay were invited
to attend a day of recollection at Seva Niketan-Byculla,
Bombay (Mumbai). There were four important decisions
taken at the end of the day:
- ·To nominate a Service Team for Bombay.
- To serve the Renewal in India.
- To hold the first National Charismatic Convention.
- To print the first edition of "Praise the
Lord" hymn book.
- To publish a journal to be named Charisindia to
serve the Renewal.
The National Service Team
The National Service Team (NST) is the apex body of
national leaders chosen to serve the Catholic Charismatic
Renewal in India. Its role is threefold:
- ·A Discerning Body: It does
this act by keeping in touch with all the expressions
of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the country,
the NST helps it discern and follow God's plan.
- ·A Prophetic Body: The NST
is called upon to lead the people in the Catholic
Charismatic Renewal to grow in Holiness. It does this
by helping to encourage, guide, admonish and thus
build up the Body of Christ which is the Church through
the use of the special charisms of the Holy Spirit.
- ·A Servant Body: The NST
is a body of servant leaders chosen from among those
involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal to carry
out those services and functions, necessary for the
orderly growth of the renewal.
In these threefold roles, the NST is always in submission
to the apostolic tradition in the Church as represented
by the Pope, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India
and the local Ordinary. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal
is related to the Commission for Christian Life of the
CBCI and its Chairman is a member of the Commission
for Christian Life.
The services of the National Service Team is to strive
to co-operate with God's plan, in and through the Charismatic
Renewal and it is responsible for the following services:
National Conventions; Conferences; Seminars
It is to plan, develop and organise periodical national
conventions, conferences and seminars so as to make
them effective instruments of growth, as well as witness
to the Lordship of Jesus on the whole Church.
Regional Conventions, Conferences, Seminars
It is to work with the regional leaders in planning
and organizing Regional Conventions, Conferences and
Magazine and Literature
"Charisindia" is the official magazine of the
Catholic Charismatic Renewal which is published by the
NST, to provide suitable literature for the growth of
In order to undertake the supervision of the contents
of these productions.
Provisions of Teachers and Preachers
In order to provide the resource persons for preaching
and teaching and other Ministries whose gifts have been
discerned and found genuine.
Training of the resource personnel, both in the National
and Regional level conducted by National Pastoral Teams,
Bible Institute, Bible Camps, Seminars, etc.