The US Claretians Missionaries were at the height of their membership as Vatican II unfolded. With their long-standing dedication to the poor and the immigrant, Claretian attitudes presaged the changes that reformed the Catholic church. Yet the congregation, like the US clergy overall, faced a drop in clergy and prospective members. By the mid-1970s, the Claretians overhauled their seminary training, bringing future priests into regular contact with the wider world. They developed several experimental ministries, including lay ministry programs, team ministry, and community development programs. The Claretians spread out to new territories, taking on diverse parishes in Oregon and Colorado. They established new types of ministry meant to bolster Latino communities. Priests encouraged lay actions in support of social justice, including the cause of the farmworkers and undocumented people.
