However, the Patroness of the Congregation is the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title "Immaculate Conception," of which St. Alphonsus was a strong propagator even before Marian Dogma was officially promulgated.

Alphonsus Liguori was deeply moved by the plight of the poor living in Naples and the surrounding area and established his community with the aim of providing spiritual nourishment.

In 1786 Hofbauer and Hübl went to Warsaw, Poland where the papal nuncio gave them responsibility for the parish of Saint Benno in the New Town; their mission thrived until the community was expelled in 1808.

The congregation thrived throughout the remainder of the 19th century; in 1852 there were four provinces, and by 1890 this had increased to twelve with communities having been established in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, England, Scotland, Spain, and Suriname.

According to their rule they are "to strive to imitate the virtues and examples of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer consecrating themselves especially to the preaching of the word of God to the poor"[This quote needs a citation].

The purpose of these parochial missions and the homilies preached by the Redemptorists is to "... invite people to a deeper love for God and a fuller practice of the Christian life.

In order to advance their mission and provide places of pilgrimage, the Redemptorists administer several shrines, which draw hundreds of thousands of people, the best-known being in Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the Philippines, Rome, and Singapore.

[5] Redemptorists are caretakers of the Byzantine icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, depicting the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus and the instruments of the Passion.

"[7] Thus, the novices are given the opportunity for longer periods of prayer and spiritual reading as well as silence in order to reflect on the vocation God is offering and nature of their response.

At the end of this period of formation, which lasts for a minimum of three years[9] perpetual profession (final vows) is made and ordination to the diaconate and presbyterate follows for those called to holy orders (i.e. to become a priest).

[10] As the academic programs come to an end, all Redemptorists in temporary vows are required to participate in a pastoral experience for a minimum of six months to a year, outside of a brother's home province.

Chastity means more than abstaining from sexual activity and its purpose is to make the religious totally available for service; it is also a sign that only God can completely fill the human heart.

For a member of a religious congregation, obedience is not slavishly doing what one is told by the superior but being attentive to God's will by prayerfully listening to the voice of the person in charge.

The most fundamental unit of the Redemptorists is the local community in which members live together, combining their prayers, experiences, successes and failures, as well as any possessions for the service of the Gospel.

The General Chapter is the primary governing and representative body of the Redemptorists, carefully examining the mission of the congregation in accordance with the spirit of Alphonsus Liguori and its traditions.

"[15] In May 2011 a number of allegations of child sexual abuse by a member of the institute in South Africa were revealed on the RTÉ programme Prime Time Investigates.

[16] Alan Shatter, the Minister for Justice and Equality, stated: I have been in touch with the Garda Commissioner about this matter who, of course, shares my concern at the revelations in the programme.

As well as ongoing participation in the development of the vice-provinces in the Philippines and in Singapore and Malaysia, further houses were opened in New Town in Tasmania and Townsville and Miami in Queensland.

Through parochial missions, preaching, retreats, adult education, teaching in universities, social justice work, counselling, accompaniment of indigenous communities, chaplaincies, devotions to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, working with people on the margins of society and promoting the family through the Majellan magazine, Redemptorists have sought to highlight that people matter greatly to God.

"[20] Three Irish Redemptorists Mathew Hickey, Gerard McDonell and Leo O'Halloran from the province of Dublin with great zeal and missionary dynamism set on a task to proclaim the Good News and arrived in the Island country of Sri Lanka in the year 1938.

It was Hugo Kerr, the Provincial Superior of the province of Dublin who obtained permission from Maurice Bernard Departures, the Bishop of Mysore, to establish a foundation in Bangalore.

St. Alphonsus (MSA) being built which would be the permanent house of the Studentate (7 June 1951) and the much awaited Holy Ghost Parish[21] was opened for public worship on 24 May 1953.

The first Redemptorists, belonging to the Irish province, arrived in Opon, Cebu, on 30 June 1906, setting up missions in Compostela, San Francisco and on the Camotes Islands.

[23][24] From 1914 to 1928 further communities were established, the most prominent being: Luzon (where the Redemptorists preached the first mission completely in Tagalog), Lipa, Iloilo, Tacloban and Cagayan de Oro on Mindanao.

The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) had a profound impact on the Redemptorist Congregation and this resulted in them pledging themselves more strongly to the poor and disadvantaged in imitation of Alphonsus Liguori.

Redemptorist missionaries are still active in Vietnam to this day, and have sent members to other countries such as Australia, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Angola, France, the US and Canada.

[3] Today the Redemptorists of Britain are engaged in a variety of ministries: the mission amongst the poor of Zimbabwe, a renewal centre in Kinnoull, Perth where people can spend time in prayer and reflection as well as parishes in Birmingham, Bishop Eton in Liverpool and London.

[3] In 1904, John Creagh orchestrated the antisemitic "Limerick pogrom" by giving two antisemitic sermons that invoked the blood libel, blamed Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and called for a de facto boycott; under Creagh's watch, a number of Jews were violently beaten, and the majority of the Jewish population was driven out of Limerick after two years of near-total economic boycott.

From 1883 onward, the Redemptorists spread throughout most of North America and are present in a variety of states such as California in the west, Michigan and Illinois in the midwest, Washington, DC, and Baltimore in the northeast and Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas in the south.

[3] On 12 August 2014 a court in Quebec approved a settlement by which the Redemptorists will pay $20 million in compensation to people who had been sexually assaulted by members of the order while school students in their care.