Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence

Last updated

The Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence are a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1930 in the United States to serve the spiritual and social needs of the Mexican-American community there. They are engaged in religious ministry, in social service, and in diocesan and parish leadership positions in the Southwestern United States. [1] They were the first religious congregation established to serve the needs of that population, and continue to do so through catechesis and social work among predominantly-Hispanic communities. [2]

Contents

History

During the course of the Mexican Revolution, soon followed by the Cristero War, thousands of citizens of that nation fled the violence of those conflicts in the United States, many settling in Texas. A local member of the Sisters of the Congregation of Divine Providence in Houston, Sister Mary Benitia Vermeersch, C.D.P. (1880–1975), saw the poverty of both the refugees and the long-established members of the Mexican-American population there. She organized a group of Hispanic girls in the 8th grade of the local parochial school where she was the principal, who were eager to teach catechism to public school children in their own language. She called them the Catechists of Divine Providence. [3]

As the girls grew to an age where they could make a commitment to consecrated life, Vermeersch sought the approval of the group as a new religious community in the Catholic Church, committed to serving the Hispanic population where they were in most need. In 1934 the Bishop of Galveston, Christopher Edward Byrne, granted this approval. When her own congregation assigned her to San Antonio in 1938, Vermeersch continued her organization and recruitment for this community. She obtained a home to serve as the motherhouse of this new group. [3]

Five of the Catechists entered the novitiate established for them there and the community was recognized as a religious congregation by the Holy See in 1946, dedicated to serving the Hispanic community, as a missionary branch of the Congregation of Divine Providence. As the Hispanic population of the nation expanded, the Sisters of this new congregation followed, serving in both the United States and Mexico. [4]

The Missionary Catechists were approved as a fully autonomous religious congregation by Pope John Paul II on December 12, 1989. [1]

Current status

The Missionary Catechists continue their work primarily in Texas, California, Kansas, Nebraska and New Mexico. [2]

Related Research Articles

The Society of the Divine Saviour, abbreviated SDS and also known as the Salvatorians, is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the Catholic Church. The members of the congregation use the nominal SDS after their names. It has clergy serving in more than 40 countries throughout the world. It was founded in Rome, Italy on 8 December 1881 by Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan. The Generalate of the community is in Rome, at Via della Conciliazione in Palazzo Cesi-Armellini. The current Superior General of the Salvatorians is the Milton Zonta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School Sisters of St. Francis</span>

The School Sisters of St. Francis are an international religious congregation of Catholic sisters, part of the Third Order of Saint Francis, founded in 1874 in New Cassel, Wisconsin. The congregation’s mission covers the United States, Europe, Latin America and India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franciscan Missionaries of Mary</span> Roman Catholic religious institute

The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary are a Roman Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women founded by Mother Mary of the Passion at Ootacamund, then British India, in 1877. The missionaries form an international religious congregation of women representing 77 nationalities spread over 74 countries on five continents.

The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi.

The Institute of Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic religious congregation for women, founded in 1890 in Baltimore, Maryland. Initially established to provide religious education for Black children, their apostolate developed to address the needs of the neglected poor in general. Their emphasis is on catechetical and social work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Elizabeth Lange</span> Founder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence

Mary Elizabeth Lange, OSP was an American religious sister in Baltimore, Maryland who founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence in 1829, the first African-American religious congregation in the United States. She was also, via the Oblates, the first African-American superior general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation of Divine Providence</span> Several Roman Catholic religious institutes of women

The Congregation of Divine Providence is the name of several Roman Catholic religious institutes of women which have developed from the work of Jean-Martin Moye (1730-1793), a French Catholic priest. They are dedicated to the instruction and care of the neediest of the world. Started in 1762, it took its final form in 1852.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation of Divine Providence, Mainz</span>

The Congregation of Divine Providence is a Catholic religious institute of women that was founded in 1851 in the Grand Duchy of Hesse by Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler, Bishop of Mainz, together with Stephanie Fredericke Amalie de la Roche von Starkenfels (1812–1857), a French noblewoman. The congregation was formally recognized by the Holy See on 16 July 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious of Jesus and Mary</span>

The Religious of Jesus and Mary, abbreviated as R.J.M., form a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to the education and service of the poor. An institute of consecrated life of pontifical right, the congregation was founded at Lyon, France, in October 1818, by Claudine Thévenet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods</span> Apostolic congregation of Catholic women in Indiana (1840–)

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840. Mother Theodore and her five companion sisters departed from the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, at the invitation of the Bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, to found the Sisters of Providence in the United States. In 1843, the Indiana congregation became independent of the religious institute in Ruillé, and the Rules of the Congregation were approved by the Holy See in 1887.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women of Providence in Collaboration</span>

Women of Providence in Collaboration or WPC is an association of congregations of North American Roman Catholic religious sisters with "Providence" in their name. It initially grew out of an idea by Sister Michelle Holland, SP, to have an event for religious congregations to come together with the purpose of "exploring together the theology and spirituality of Providence." This event occurred in 1980 in Great Falls, Montana, and 80 sisters from varying congregations attended.

The Sisters of Social Service are a Roman Catholic religious institute of women founded in Hungary in 1923 by Margit Slachta. The sisters adopted the social mission of the Catholic Church and Benedictine spirituality with a special devotion to the Holy Spirit.

The Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, whose headquarters is located in Silver Spring, Maryland. Its membership consists of brothers and ordained priests. Members engage in missionary work with the poor and abandoned in both the United States and Latin America. One of their principal aims is to promote the missionary vocation of the laity. They are also known for supporting parish ministry and for promoting social justice.

The Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate (S.S.M.I.) are a religious congregation of women in the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. They were founded in 1845 in Lviv, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now in Ukraine, the first such organization of religious women in this Eastern Catholic Church. The founders were the Blessed Josaphata Hordashevska and the Servant of God, Father Jeremiah Lomnytskyj, O.S.B.M.

The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God are an institute of religious sisters in the Roman Catholic Church. The congregation belongs to the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. They were founded in 1910 in Santarém, Brazil, by Armand August Bahlmann, OFM, and Mother Immaculata, both natives of Germany, to educate the children of the poor throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother Ignatius Hayes</span>

Mary Ignatius Hayes, O.S.F., also known as Mother Mary Ignatius of Jesus, was an Anglican religious sister who was later received into the Catholic Church and became a Franciscan sister. Her lifetime of religious service, in the course of which she traveled widely, led to the establishment of three separate religious congregations of Franciscan sisters and the establishment of the Poor Clare nuns in the United States.

The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception are members of a religious congregation of women dedicated to serve in the nations of the world most in need. Founded in 1902 by Délia Tétreault (1865-1941) in Canada, they were the first such institute established in North America. Members of the congregation use the postnominal initials of M.I.C.

Franciscan Sisters of Baltimore were the American members of a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in the London suburb of Mill Hill, England, in 1868. Connected to the Society of Mill Hill Missionaries from the time of their founding, they were committed to serving the needy of the world. Members of the congregation came to the United States in 1881, where they were the first white religious order dedicated to serve the African-American population of Baltimore. The United States Province merged with the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi in 2001 and continue their ministry in Baltimore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious sister</span> Woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute

A religious sister in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and labor, or a canoness regular, who provides a service to the world, either teaching or nursing, within the confines of the monastery. Nuns, religious sisters and canonesses all use the term "Sister" as a form of address.

References

  1. 1 2 "Heritage". Sisters of Divine Providence. Archived from the original on 2012-08-06.
  2. 1 2 "Our Mission". Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.
  3. 1 2 "Founder of Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence dies". Texas State Historical Association.
  4. ↑ Ayala, Elaine (October 18, 2010). "Sister Gurule was last of religious order's five founding nuns". MySA. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
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.