St. Francis Coll Guitart and the Power of Collaboration

St. Francis Coll Guitart shows us the importance of persevering in living a community life, even when the world tries to divide and conquer the Christian faith. St. Francis Coll lived during a time when the Church in Catalonia, Spain, was facing political persecution. In 1835, strong anti-clerical laws suppressed religious orders throughout Spain, and Friar Francisco Coll was forced to abandon his convent, lay aside his habit, and become a secularized Dominican. Despite being forbidden to live in community with other friars or to wear his religious habit, he would always say, “I am a religious,” and heroically remained faithful to his prayers.

In spite of not having the support of Dominican community life, St. Francis Coll strove to connect with local priests throughout his region in northeastern Spain. He believed in the power of collaboration and saw the need to build up friendships and foster the spiritual health of priests in the area. He took up itinerant preaching, sharing the word of God in a simple and accessible way so that people could experience true interior conversion.

He also offered spiritual counsel to diocesan priests, Jesuits, Claretians, Augustinians, and fellow Dominicans. He then teamed up with those same priests to build up the local Church through itinerant spiritual retreats. St. Francis Coll knew that more souls could experience the love of God if priests worked together, and that teamwork would yield a far greater harvest than the efforts of a single worker in the vineyard. In other words, true ministry requires community life: knowing the friars, priests, and lay people in your area and daily life, and taking the time to connect with those God has placed around us.

Remember, even St. Paul needed Ananias to open his eyes. Likewise, we need others in the Church not only to help open our eyes but to work alongside us in awakening the eyes of faith in those who have fallen into the deep sleep of worldliness.

St. Francis Coll shows us that "one man can only do so much." Even though we know this, how often do we actually build up the Church by truly communing with the people God has put in our lives? Are we so focused on our work that we forget to find spiritual repose with those we live life with? Many times, the temptation is for us to focus solely on doing the most work in our ministries or vocations without thinking strategically about what is truly best for the Church. And what is best for the Church is not always a solo effort.