The Nocturnal Adoration Society developed from the practice of night adoration of the blessed sacrament during the forty hours  devotion. At a time when the church was threatened by widespread heresy in the nations of Europe and by an invading hostile Muslim force in the East, Pope  Clement VIII, in 1592, instituted the forty Hours devotion in the city of Rome in order to offer incessant prayer to the Lord, imploring his help and his grace for the protection of his people menaced by such grave danger.

 

Two centuries later, in 1809, another crisis threatened the church. In the aftermath of the French revolution, in the political and religious upheaval in Europe, Napoleon had risen to power and had made Pope Pius VII his prisoner. A priest in the city of Rome, Father Giacomo Sinibaldi, was inspired to gather together groups of men to pray in the presence of the blessed Sacrament during the night hours in the churches of Rome, where the forty hours’ devotion was in progress. The response to his idea was so enthusiastic that in a short time there were groups meeting for prayer every night of the year in the churches where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed

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Ecclesiastical approval was given to these adorers and in 1810 the Nocturnal Adoration Society came into existence. its center was the church of Santa Maria in Via Lata in Rome. In 1851 the Society was approved as a Pious Union and in 1858 it was raised to the status of an archconfraternity with authority to establish nocturnal adoration societies elsewhere.

During the civil unrest of 1848, a carmelite monk, father Hermann Cohen, a Jewish convert obtained approval from the Archbishop of Paris to form a Nocturnal Adoration Society in that City. In 1863, he started the Society for Nocturnal adoration in London. The Cause for his canonization has been introduced in Rome.

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From France, The Society spread in several directions, Its was founded in Madrid Spain in 1877, Its growth in Spain was so extraordinary that in a short time were 500 centers with more than 100,000 members. From Spain the Society traveled to the countries of South America and to Mexico.

From Mexico it crossed into Texas and California in the United States, The National Headquarters for Mexico is in the Church of Saint Philip of Jesus in Mexico city.

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At the same time the society was spreading from Paris to Canada and the United States. In 1881, through the efforts of a publisher in Montreal, Louis Joseph Delorme who had come in contact with the Society in Montreal. Today the national headquarters for Canada is in Montreal.

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Through the efforts of another layman Doctor Thomas Dwight, The Society came into existence in Boston, Massachusetts in 1882. The following year Father William Bartlett started a society in Baltimore Maryland. Founded independently of each other, these societies were inspired by the Society in Paris

New York city saw the beginnings of nocturnal adoration in connection with the forty hours devotion. Several parishes in the city had organized groups of men spent the night in prayer during the Forty Hours and the Holy Thursday. in 1903, with the sanction of the Archbishop Michael Corrigan the Society was organized. In 1912 Cardinal John Farley sought and obtained affiliation with the archconfraternity authorized the Society to affiliate another centers in the United States. In 1929 Cardinal Patrick Hayes established a national headquarters in the church of the congregation of the blessed Sacrament, Saint Jean Baptiste, and appointed the pastor as national director of the society.

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Today the Nocturnal Adoration Society is established in 36 countries and counts over 1,000,000 members. the president of the International Society at the present time is Mr.  Angel Rodas of Madrid, Spain. In the United States, local chapters of the society are to be found across the nation and in hawaii, National headquarters is located at 2308 Maya Dr, Laredo, Texas.

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Nomination of the Vice-Presidency for the World Federation in Laredo, Texas

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On December 17, 1999, Mr. Jesus Armando Rocha was named the National Delegate of the NAS of the United States to the International Eucharistic Congress held in Rome in June of 2000, traveled to Madrid, Spain, met  with Mr. Rafael Baez Mangas, Acting President of what was then the "Federación Mundial de las obras de la Adoración Nocturna de Jesús Sacramentado"and with members of the Ädoracion Nocturna Espanola"(ANE), joined the ANE excursion from Madrid to Rome, read a passage from Mass on the Eve of Corpus Christi at the chapel of the most Holy Trinity at St, Peter's Basilica (Vigilia de la Federación Mundial de la Adoración Nocturna y Obras Eucarísticas-------Basílica de San Pedro--Roma 21-6-200-Año jubilar"), attended the Papal mass at San Juan Letran Basilica and, with the Flag of the NAS National Laic Headquarters participated in the Corpus Christi procession with the Most Blessed Sacrament behind Pope John Paul II to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

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On January 31, 2001, Don Rafael Baez Mangas, President of the World Federation of  the Nocturnal Adoration Society of the Blessed and other Eucharistic works. designated Mr. Jesus Armando Rocha as Vice-President of the Federation for the area of English language, including the United Kingdom, and the philippines.

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Condensed History of the World Federation

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The World Federation of the Nocturnal Adoration Society was formed at a reunion celebrated in Rome on October 10. 1962 by representatives of the various national works at the initiative of the VENERABLE ARCHCONFRATERNITY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT IN THE CITY OF ROME. to which could be added canonically on a perpetual basis whichever society requested it. They could enjoy in virtue of its aggregation the benefits and privileges were conceded to said archconfraternity bestowed by his Holiness Saint Pius X, conceded on October 8. 1906.

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The Presidency of the Federation has been held successively by Monsieur Pierre Regnier (France), Don Angel Rodas (Spain) and in actually by Don Rafael Baez Mangas (Spain)

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During the year of the Grand Jubilee dedicated by his holiness Pope John Paul II, in a special manner, to the Sacrament of the holy Eucharist, it was considered opportune to extend the precinct of the federation by gazing upon a constitution of a GREAT WORLD EUCHARISTIC MOVEMENT. modification to its constitution, statutes and the composition of the federation became necessary.

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The Federation, comprised mostly of numbers of the Nocturnal Adoration Society, is represented in many countries (about 43). The International Headquarters is currently under the responsibility of the "World Federation of the Nocturnal Adoration Society of the Blessed Sacrament and other Eucharistic Works"in Madrid, Spain, under the Presidency of Mr. Rafael Baez Mangas. The city where the Federation is headquartered moves along with the residency of the President of the Organization.

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The largest member of the Federation is the NAS of Mexico, It was founded on February 5, 1900, at the National Expiatory Temple of San Felipe de Jesus in Mexico City, Its National HQ's in Mexico City represents a membership of more than four million ( 4,000,000) Adorers and a presence in about eighty (80) percent of the parishes.

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The NAS in the United States has its headquarters in Laredo, Texas. At the present time, The NAS in the United States is estimated to be about 6,000 English speaking and about 3,000 Spanish -speaking Nocturnists

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THE WORLD FEDERATION IN LAREDO, TEXAS

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PURPOSE OF THE WORLD FEDERATION

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The World Federation of the Nocturnal Adoration Society of the Blessed Sacrament and other Eucharistic Works is composed of Works, Confraternities, Congregations, Associations, etc,  all lay persons, of an ecclesiastical character, voluntarily aggregated. The World Federation as in all Nocturnal Adoration Societies worldwide, offers during the night, hours of adoration to the Most Blessed Sacrament in four spiritual areas-praise, thanksgiving, rogatory and expiatory. The World Federation offers prayers for all the sinners and all the people in the world.... for all the people.....excluding no one....to Jesus Eucharistic in answer to the Lord's request, Could you not keep watch with me for one hour? (Mt 26, 40; Mk 14, 37)

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The World Federation membres imitates Jesus, retiring to pray in the stillness of the night to console this persons Master in the Garden. The person spends the night in vigil to console Jesus, similar to Victoria's wiping away from the divine face the sacred blood shed by Jesus in his agony--- the precious blood shed for the forgiveness of sin and to open the gates of Heaven to everyone.

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The World Federation Member, as a unit, take its watch during the vigil until the vigil is completed. The World Federation assume, among others, the responsibility to (1) pray for all the needs of Holy Mother Church, for the intentions of His Holiness the Pope and for the Ordinary where the Member resides, (2) to publicly defend the dogma of the Holy Eucharist and the prerogatives of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God and the Church.

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Among the functions of the World Federation Members is to : (1) foment, impel, and propagate the cult of Nocturnal Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and Adoration by any other means in conformance with the orientation of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, (2) channel the permanent relationship of its members with the PONTIFICIUM CONSILIUM PRO LAICIS by maintaining it informed of its activities

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