Adorers of the Blood of Christ

Last updated
Adorers of the Blood of Christ
Sorores Adoratrices Pretiossimi Sanguinis
AbbreviationA.S.C.
FormationMarch 4, 1834;189 years ago (March 4, 1834)
Founder Saint Sr. Maria De Mattias, A.S.C
Founded atAcuto, Italy
TypeCentralized religious institute of consecrated life of pontifical right for women
HeadquartersVia Beata Maria de Mattias, 10, Rome, Italy
Membership
1,119 members as of 2020
Motto
Adoring Love to the Father and Redeeming Love to the humanity, through prayer and service.
Superior General
Sr. Nadia Coppa, A.S.C. [1]
Patron saint
St. Francis Xavier
Parent organization
 Catholic Church
Website adorers.org

The Adorers of the Blood of Christ (Latin : Sorores Adoratrices Pretiossimi Sanguinis) are a Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women founded by Maria De Mattias in 1834. Their post-nominal letters are ASC.

Contents

The institute operates the Newman University in Wichita, Kansas.

History

The Institute of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ was established by Maria De Mattias, on March 4, 1834, in Acuto, Italy. She founded it as an active apostolic teaching community, [2] and opened a school for girls. Before long she was joined by others and schools were opened in the small towns of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. On May 30, 1855, Pope Pius IX issued a “decree of praise” approving their work. In 1866, Maria De Mattias died in Rome of tuberculosis. By then sixty-four schools had been opened, including one in London. [3]

In 1875, sisters from Italy established a house in Ruma, Illinois and a second in 1902 in Wichita, Kansas. Sisters from both Wichita and Ruma served the Catholic school in Rulo, Nebraska. [4] In 1933, the Adorers of the Blood of Christ founded Sacred Heart Junior College in Wichita which eventually became Newman University. In March 2014, the order donated 2.5 million dollars to the university. [5] The gift will be used to support emerging science initiatives on the Newman campus.

In October 1992, Sisters Barbara Ann Muttra, Mary Joel Kolmer, Kathleen McGuire, Agnes Mueller, and Shirley Kolmer were killed by soldiers during a civil war in Liberia. [6] [7] On January 24, 2008, Morris Padmore, a former combatant of the defunct National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) warring faction testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that the nuns were raped and executed under the command of former NPFL general Christopher Vambo. [8] [9] The Adorers of the Blood of Christ were in Liberia since 1971. [10]

Present day

In July 2017, in Columbia, Pennsylvania, the Sisters went to court to oppose the construction of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline on a right-of-way through their land. [11] [12] In September, a district court judge dismissed the Adorers' complaint. [13] An "open-air" chapel was built in the middle of a corn field to protest the pipeline by erecting a place protected by the freedom of religion in the path of the pipeline to block its construction. [14] A Williams Companies spokesman stated: "We find it ironic that the Adorers would challenge the value of natural gas infrastructure in the lawsuit, while at the same time promoting the availability and use of natural gas at their St. Anne's Retirement Community." [15]

As of 2019, there were about 1,178 members. The motherhouse is in Rome. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eucharistic adoration</span> Christian rite

Eucharistic adoration is a Eucharistic devotional practice primarily in Western Catholicism, but also to a lesser extent in certain Lutheran and Anglican traditions, in which the Blessed Sacrament is adored by the faithful. This practice may occur either when the Eucharist is exposed, or when it is not publicly viewable because it is reserved in a place such as a church tabernacle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fátima prayers</span> Collection of seven Catholic prayers

The Fátima prayers are a collection of seven Catholic prayers associated with the 1917 Marian apparitions at Fátima, Portugal. Of the seven prayers, reportedly, the first two were taught to the three child visionaries by the Angel of Peace, the next three were taught to the children by Our Lady of Fátima herself during the course of the apparitions, and the final two were taught to Lúcia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos, the eldest and last survivor of the three, in 1931 by Jesus Christ when she was already a nun. Of the seven prayers, the rosary decade prayer is the best-known and the most widely recited. For each prayer below, an English translation is given alongside the Portuguese original.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newman University (Kansas)</span> Catholic university in Wichita, Kansas, U.S.

Newman University is a private Roman Catholic university in Wichita, Kansas. It is named for John Henry Newman and was founded by the Adorers of the Blood of Christ in 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missionaries of the Precious Blood</span>

The Missionaries of the Precious Blood is a Catholic community of priests and brothers. The society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest</span>

The Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest are a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right in communion with the Holy See of the Catholic Church. The society for women is associated with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), founded as the Daughters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Catholic religious teaching institute for women. The institute was founded in the Catalan city of Olot, (Spain) in 1848 by Father Joaquim Masmitjà i de Puig as a means of rebuilding society through the education of young women. A daughter house of the community was founded in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1871, and in 1924 formally separated from the Spanish congregation and was established as a distinct institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acuto</span> Comune in Lazio, Italy

Acuto is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) east of Rome and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Frosinone on a ridge of the Monti Ernici.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria De Mattias</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Maria Matilda De Mattias was an Italian woman who founded the religious congregation of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ. She is a saint in the Catholic Church, having been canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaspar del Bufalo</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Gaspar Melchior Balthazar del Bufalo, CPPS, also known as Gaspare del Bufalo, was a Catholic priest and the founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Canonised as a saint in 1954, he is liturgically commemorated on October 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic devotions to Jesus</span>

The Roman Catholic tradition includes a number of devotions to Jesus Christ. Like all Catholic devotions, these prayer forms are not part of the official public liturgy of the Church but are based on the popular spiritual practices of Roman Catholics. Many are officially approved by the Holy See as suitable for spiritual growth but not necessary for salvation.

Sisters of the Precious Blood may refer to:


The Sisters of the Precious Blood is a Roman Catholic female religious order founded in 1845 in Steinerberg, Switzerland by Magdalene Weber and a number of young women from Baden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of the Precious Blood (Switzerland)</span>

The Sisters of the Precious Blood is a Catholic religious order for women founded in Grisons, Switzerland, in 1834 by Mother Maria Anna Brunner. Precious Blood Sisters form an active apostolic congregation with sisters currently serving in the United States, Chile, and Guatemala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Woewiyu</span> Liberian politician (1946–2020)

Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu, also known as Tom Woewiyu or Thomas Smith, was the former leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), with Charles Taylor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Grazia Tarallo</span>

Maria Grazia Tarallo was an Italian Roman Catholic nun. She was a member of the congregation known as the Crucified Sisters Adorers of the Holy Eucharist. Tarallo was given the new name of "Maria of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" upon the occasion of her solemn profession. She was well known for her charitable nature as well as her strong devotion to the Eucharist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine Aurelia Caouette</span>

Catherine Aurelia Caouette (1833–1905), also known as Catherine-Aurélie du Précieux-Sang, was a Canadian nun, the founder of the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood.

Theresa Maxis Duchemin, IHM was a Black Catholic missionary in Baltimore, Maryland. She was the first US-born African American to become a religious sister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Merlini</span>

Giovanni Merlini was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member in the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Merlini was a close friend of Saint Gaspare del Bufalo who founded the order and was also a close friend to Pope Pius IX who provided assistance in helping the order spread for its activities. He also served as the third Moderator General for the order from 1847 until his death. He was also a noted spiritual director and provided spiritual counsel to Saint Maria de Mattias as she went establishing a religious congregation of her own.

References

  1. ↑ "Adorers of the Blood of Christ (A.S.C.)".
  2. ↑ "Maria De Mattias", Vatican News Service
  3. 1 2 "Our History", Adorers of the Precious Blood of Christ
  4. ↑ "Adorers of the Blood of Christ", Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln
  5. ↑ Snedden, Kelly. "Newman receives generous gift from Adorers of the Blood of Christ", Newman Today"', March 4, 2014
  6. ↑ Don Terry (2 November 1992). "Sorrow in an Illinois Convent, Home to Five Slain in Liberia". The New York Times . Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Fagan, Laureen. "Liberia: Justice and the civil war legacy on 25th anniversary of nun deaths", Africa Times, October 21, 2017
  8. ↑ "Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  9. ↑ Kolmer, Elizabeth (2006). "The Death of Five Adorers of the Blood of Christ and the Changing Meaning of Martyrdom". U.S. Catholic Historian. 24 (3): 149–164. JSTOR   27671166.
  10. ↑ Therese Wetta (13 July 2017). "Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Deaths of Five nuns of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ In Liberia 1992 – 2017". Afjn.org. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  11. ↑ Dawn Araujo-Hawkins (7 July 2017). "Adorers of the Blood of Christ resist pipeline plans". Globalsistersreport.org. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  12. ↑ Dawn Araujo-Hawkins (18 July 2017). "Adorers of the Blood of Christ take pipeline protest to court". Globalsistersreport.org. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  13. ↑ "Adorers 'disappointed' in dismissal of lawsuit against pipeline, plan to appeal". Ncronline.org. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  14. ↑ James Gaines (13 July 2017). "These nuns built a lovely little chapel. Right in the way of a pipeline. On purpose". Upworthy.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  15. ↑ Pennsylvania nuns sue federal agency over natural gas pipeline by Marie Cusick August 3, 2017

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.