Introduction
With the 1960 Charismatic Movement already in full swing among mainline Protestant denominations, historians indicate that the movement’s leap over into the Catholic Church took place when a group of students and professors from Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, PA, went on a three-day retreat at The Ark and the Dove, a small inn located 14 miles north of Duquesne University.
This three-day weekend has since been called the “Duquesne Weekend,” and it was what occurred at this inn that is said to have sparked the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
Universities were the centers of the Renewal
Extraordinary Prayer and the Movement’s Beginnings
A notable foundation to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal was laid in 1962, during the Second Vatican Council in Rome. For three years Pope John XXIII had called upon Catholics around the world to pray this simple prayer:
Lord, renew Your wonders in this our day as by a new Pentecost.
At the close of the Second Vatican Council, in 1965, the council concluded with a positive position on spiritual gifts. This was an openness to spiritual gifts that was not seen in over 1,000 years.
Prayer Among University Students
Beginning in 1963, before the 1967 Catholic Charismatic Renewal began, students had begun conducting prayer meetings which were often connected with the Cursillo Movement. That movement focused on leading students toward a personal commitment to Christ, daily prayer, Scripture reading, and fellowship in small groups. With this already being in place on Catholic campuses, it provided a natural framework on which the Charismatic Renewal could build and spread.
Florence Dodge
Prayer and the Influence of Protestant Pentecostals
For over one year, history professor William Storey and graduate student Ralph Keifer, both at Duquesne University, had been fasting and praying for an encounter with God. Through their pursuit of God they were led into contact with William Lewis, a local Episcopal priest. He directed them to a home prayer meeting led by a Presbyterian Pentecostal, Florence Dodge. It was in January 1967 when they attended a prayer meeting in the Dodge home, and in a short time these two men had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
The news of their experience was communicated to their friends Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. The Ranaghans eventually became leaders of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal at the University of Notre Dame.
David Wilkerson: author of The Cross and the Switchblade
Influential Books
Two books, The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson (1963), and They Speak with Other Tongues by John Sherrill (1964), began to be circulated among students participating in prayer groups of the Cursillo Movement on the campuses of Notre Dame and Duquesne.
The Ark and the Dove Inn is located about 14 miles north of Duquesne University
The Duquesne Weekend
With William Storey and Ralph Keifer being advisors to a student prayer and Bible study group, the Chi Rho Society, at Duquesne University, a student retreat was scheduled for February 17-19, 1967. It was at this weekend retreat that historians trace the beginning of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. The weekend retreat involving about 25 people from Duquesne has been immortalized as “The Duquesne Weekend.”
In preparation for this retreat, all 25 attendees were assigned to read the first four chapters from the Acts of the Apostles, which describes miraculous workings of the Holy Spirit, and The Cross and the Switchblade, which told of spiritual transformations among modern gangs and drug addicts in New York.
During this retreat, while in breakout groups, discussions about personal holiness and consecration were discussed, as well as “Why was what is read in the Acts of the Apostles, and The Cross and the Switchblade, not found in the Catholic Church.”
Parallels Between the Duquesne Weekend and the 1901 Topeka Outpouring
With most historians citing the 1901 Topeka Outpouring as being the beginning of the Pentecostal movement, and 1967 Duquesne Weekend being the beginning of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, we wanted to illustrate the parallels between the two.
► Both involved those of the younger generation.
► Two professors from Duquesne were involved, as was Charles Parham, a Bible teacher during the Topeka Outpouring.
► At the Bible school in Topeka, in December of 1899, the students had been asked to study the Acts of the Apostles and make note of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the accompanying signs. Those on the retreat in February of 1967 were asked to do something similar with The Cross and the Switchblade and the first four chapters of the Acts of the Apostles.
► The Holy Spirit “fell” upon Agnes Ozman, during the 1901 Topeka Outpouring and she spoke in tongues. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit also occurred among those gathered during the 1967 retreat, with similar experiences having occurred.
► Both were a sovereign act of God. It was not planned.
► In both cases there was tremendous expectation—faith—based on the Scriptures they had been reading from the Acts of the Apostles, as well as the accounts read in The Cross and the Switchblade. There were also breakout sessions during the Duquesne retreat involving teachings on the Holy Spirit and His role in the individual’s life.
Attendees at the Duquesne Weekend
The Ark (location of the retreat)
The Dove (separate building)
What Happened
On Saturday night, February 18, 1967, a birthday party for several attendees was to be held, but instead of staying in the downstairs dining room for the party, slowly, one by one, they were drawn away by the Holy Spirit to the upstairs chapel—overcome by a desire to pray.
As the students entered that small chapel they began to experience and see the working of God:
► William Storey and Ralph Keifer were walking around the room laying their hands on people, praying for them to receive the promised baptism.
► Some felt God’s love so intensely that they could do nothing but weep.
► Some began to giggle and laugh due to the joy they were experiencing.
► Some felt a burning going through their hands and arms, as if on fire.
► Some felt a tingling in their tongues.
► Some fell prostrate on the floor.
► Some began to pray in tongues.
► Some received gifts of discernment, prophecy, and wisdom.
► Some were overwhelmed with the awe of God’s presence.
Patti Gallagher, author of As by a New Pentecost: The Dramatic Beginning of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
One of the student attendees, Patti Gallagher, testified as to what she experienced when she entered the upstairs chapel:
I literally trembled with a sense of awe before His majesty. I knew in an overwhelming way that He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. I thought, “You had better get out of here quick before something happens to you.” But overriding my fear was a much greater desire to surrender myself unconditionally to God.
In the next moment, I found myself prostrate, flat on my face, and flooded with an experience of the merciful love of God…a love that is totally undeserved, yet lavishly given. Yes, it’s true what St. Paul writes, “The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” My shoes came off in the process. I was indeed on holy ground. I felt as if I wanted to die and be with God.
Seeing what the Holy Spirit was doing among the students, one of the professors in the chapel asked:
What is the bishop going to say when he hears that all these kids have been baptized in the Holy Spirit?
Deliverance from Demonization
Whenever God comes in power we can be assured that Satan will not take it in silence. And during the Duquesne retreat, on Sunday morning, one of the young ladies was found huddled on the ground between the two buildings of the inn. This young lady looked frightened and she was trembling.
One of the professors, seeing her, said,
The devil is at work here, and we have to take authority over the devil. We have to pray for her.
After prayer, right on the spot, the young lady immediately became peaceful, and she said,
Last night in the chapel, when everyone was so excited and so in love with the Lord, I was looking around at faces and I felt a hatred for what was going on there and for the people in there.
That was a demonic manifestation coming through that young woman, attempting to quench the work of the Spirit of God.
Prayer meeting on a university campus
The Spreading Movement
Upon their return to the campus of Duquesne University, the retreat attendees couldn’t help but share their experiences, and the fire of the Holy Spirit began to spread, as charismatic gifts like prophecy, discernment of spirits, healing, etc., began to flow.
Two weeks after the “Duquesne Weekend,” by March 4th, William Storey was in South Bend, Indiana, sharing his testimony with those at the University of Notre Dame.
On March 5, 1967, nine people from Notre Dame, including Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan, prayed to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Even though none of them spoke in tongues or prophesied that night, they had a deep encounter with God and wanted to learn more.
Weekly student prayer meetings at the University of Notre Dame were attended by 400 people.
Kevin Ranaghan
Influence from the Pentecostals
After Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghans’ experience, they sought information about this new life in the Spirit from an Assembly of God lay leader, Ray Bullard, who was the president of the South Bend, Indiana, chapter of the Pentecostal Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International. Kevin Ranaghan, facetiously commenting about his initial phone call with Bullard, said,
Hi, we’re a bunch of Catholics from Notre Dame, and we’ve just been baptized in the Holy Spirit, and we would like to find out about the spiritual gifts. Can you help us?
On Monday, March 13, the Ranaghans and others from Notre Dame traveled to Mishawaka, Indiana, to meet in the home of this FGBMFI leader. After sharing their experiences with Bullard—and working through the “cultural differences” found between Catholic and Pentecostal Protestants—many on this evening prayed for and received “the gift of praising God in strange languages.”
Following this, the Ranaghans began leading weekly prayer meetings on the Notre Dame campus, with up to 400 people meeting every week. The gifts of the Holy Spirit were manifested during these meetings, with physical healings frequently occurring. Kevin Ranaghan eventually formed the People of Praise in 1971 and it helped to develop and spread the Catholic Charismatic Renewal’s influence throughout the United States and beyond.
Student led prayer meetings
Ralph Martin
Renewal Spreads to More Universities
A few weeks after the Duquesne Weekend, Ralph Martin and Stephen Clark, leaders of the Cursillo movement and the Newman Club in East Lansing, Michigan, at Michigan State University, traveled to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to meet with those at Duquesne University. It was there that both men were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Upon their return to Michigan State, a powerful movement began among their student friends.
Eventually Martin and Clark moved to the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they initiated the organization, The Word of God Community.
The weekly prayer meetings conducted at these universities became models for hundreds of similar ones that sprang up almost overnight throughout the nation. By 1986, there were no less than 6,500 prayer groups in the United States alone.
Initial Reaction of the Catholic Church
The Catholic hierarchy initially distanced itself from the movement, but in time, as investigations were made to its theology and practices, the Catholic Church sanctioned the formation of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service Committee (CCRSC, later NSC), and it became a source of doctrinal information about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and other topics connected with the movement. They also produced the magazine, New Covenant, to help keep Catholic charismatics united. In July 2019, the NSC adopted a new name: Pentecost Today USA
Cardinal Suenens – 1975 in Rome
Catholic Pentecostalism
The movement within the Catholic Church was strong and spreading, and it led to a secret investigation by Pope Paul VI sending Cardinal Leon-Joseph Suenens of Belgium to investigate. His visit was among those of The Word of God charismatic community in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After spending five days with this community, living in their homes and attending prayer meetings, he identified himself to the group, and became influential in bringing the Renewal into the mainstream of Catholicism, having the favor of the pope behind him.
To provide guidance to the movement within the Catholic Church, Cardinal Suenens assembled a commission of theologians and produced the Malines Documents.
To see the Renewal spread through Europe, Suenens invited Ralph Martin and his family to move there and help him in leading the Renewal movement in Europe. And by 1975, 10,000 Catholic Charismatics from around the world joined Cardinal Suenens in Rome, Italy, for Pentecost. During that same event, Pope Paul VI addressed those assembled at St. Peter’s Basilica. One of his comments on this day was that he believed that the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is “a chance for the church and the world.”
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service Committee (CCRSC, later NSC), produced this magazine to keep charismatics connected.
Notre Dame Conferences
With the growing interest in the work of the Holy Spirit, leaders in South Bend, Indiana, held annual charismatic conferences. The annual attendance at these conferences grew exponentially, and it illustrated the rapid acceleration the movement was experiencing.
► 1967 – 90 people
► 1968 – 100–150
► 1969 – 500
► 1970 – 1,500
► 1971 – 4,500
► 1972 – 12,000
► 1973 – 22,000
► 1976 – over 30,000 at the Notre Dame football stadium
► 1977 – 52,000: on this year, the conference was merged with Pentecostals and Charismatics from across the nation for the Charismatic Renewal Conference at the Kansas City, Missouri, Arrowhead Stadium.
Golden Era of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
As the students returned home from the universities where they were studying, they carried their experiences with them. This caused the movement to spread at an even faster rate. These students were from throughout the United States, Australia, the Philippines, throughout Europe, and many other countries.
From the last half of the 1970s till the first half of the 1980s, the charismatic movement was in full swing in North America, as well as throughout the rest of the world.
Jubilee Celebration
On June 4, 2017, on the feast of Pentecost, more than 50,000 people from 127 countries gathered in Rome to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. This ‘current of grace,’ as Pope Francis described it, started in the United States in 1967 and has since spread throughout the world.
Catholic Charismatics Today
Today, 120 – 180 million Catholics, in 240 countries, consider themselves to be charismatics.
Sources
► 1960 Charismatic Movement by Beautiful Feet
► A Mighty Current of Grace by Alan Schreck
► About Catholic Charismatic Renewal by National Service Committee
► As by a New Pentecost by Patti Gallagher Mansfield
► Catholic Charismatic Renewal by Wikipedia
► Catholic Pentecostals by Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan
► Malines Documents by Catholic Charismatic Renewal National Service Committee
► Strange Gifts? by David Martin and Peter Mullen
► New Covenant by Charismatic Renewal Services
► The Divided Flame by Howard A. Snyder
► The Duquesne Weekend by Patti Gallagher Mansfield
► The New Charismatics by Richard Quebedeaux
► The New Charismatics II by Richard Quebedeaux
► The Origins of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States by Valentina Ciciliot
► The Pentecostals by Walter J. Hollenweger
► The Twentieth-Century Pentecostal Explosion by Vinson Synan
► Understanding the Catholic Charismatic Renewal by Theodore E. Dobson
Videos
► The Story of the Duquesne Weekend by The Ark and the Dove Worldwide
► Fifty Years of the Catholic Charismatic Movement: 1967-2017 by The 700 Club
► The Birth of The Catholic Charismatic Renewal by Resource777
► Exploring the Roots of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal by the 700 Club
► A Current of Grace The Catholic Charismatic Renewal Golden Jubilee by CheminNeuf NetforGod
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