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Unfortunately, Mgr. Le Roy, elected Superior General in 1896, was in the habit of calling himself "the fourth successor of Fr. Libermann". But his secretary-archivist, Fr. Barillec, was finally able to prove to him that, legally, he was in fact the fifteenth Superior General of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. Mgr. Le Roy drew up a memorandum for the Council of State, showing that it was the Holy Heart of Mary that had been suppressed in 1845, and therefore their recent decision was based on inaccurate information. The Council of State unanimously agreed to revoke its decision and declared that the new documents, submitted by Mgr. Le Roy, established that

"the Congregation of the Holy Spirit never ceased to exist and that, in consequence, it must be regarded as a legally authorised religious association"

New conflicts

But even though legally recognised, the Congregation was harassed regarding its works of education. The new Minister of Religious Affairs, M. Émile Combes, a former seminarian, ordered the closure of all "unauthorised" schools and colleges, even if they were run by "authorised" religious congregations. Mgr. Le Roy sought authorisation for twelve educational or charitable establishments directed by the Spiritans in France, but this was rejected in November 1903. He said of this new form of persecution against the Church:

"Twelve of our houses are being closed at the same time, leaving homeless 300 fathers and brothers, at least a hundred of whom are old or sick, and more than 1,500 children and young people".

In 1905, the French Government decreed the separation of Church and State. The decision extended to the colonies and so entailed the closure of the Seminary of the Holy Spirit.

During the first world war, many religious were mobilised. They shared the same fate and witnessed the same horrors as all the other soldiers, establishing a solidarity and friendship that was to have lasting effects. At the end of the war, the Government once again started to implement the "lois laiques" and tried to expel religious from France. But this time they came up against stiff resistance from those who had fought alongside religious during the war. As a consequence, the religious persecution gradually died down and the congregations were able to re-establish themselves.

The Portuguese revolution

After the assassination of King Carlos in 1908, everybody expected a revolution; it finally broke out on October 4, 1910. Religious were scattered, their houses sealed up and their goods confiscated. The country adopted a law separating Church and State in 1911. The government closed many monasteries and convents and the Spiritans were also targeted. The Province was left in ruins, but gradually it was built up again over the next ten years.

The Easter rising in Dublin

On Easter Monday, 1916, the independence movement in Ireland took a decisive step forwards with a revolt against the British government in Dublin. The rising was put down, but the momentum continued, resulting in independence in 1921. Amongst the leaders of the independence movement were former students of Rockwell and Blackrock.

Birth of new provinces

The religious persecution in France and the need for missionaries from a wider range of countries, encouraged Mgr. Le Roy to open up new circumscriptions. The result was six foundations started at the beginning of the XX century: Belgium, Holland, England, Canada, Switzerland and Poland.