The Xaverian Missionary Sisters of Mary or Missionary Society of Mary [1] is a Roman Catholic religious institute. The members profess religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, in order to dedicate the entire life to the Catholic missions, drawing inspiration from Mary in the mystery of the Visitation: like Mary they travel the world hopeful that everyone will come to know the love of God.
The Xaverian Missionary Sisters of Mary began in Parma, Italy in 1945 on the initiative of Celestine Bottego (an Italian American born in Glendale, Ohio on 20 December 1895) and the Xaverian Missionary Father James Spagnolo. The Xaverian Missionaries, known also as the Pious Society of Saint Francis Xavier for Foreign Missions, [2] founded in 1898 by Saint [3] Guido Maria Conforti, then vicar general of Parma, has recognized the Sisters as the women's branch of their institute.
On the afternoon of September 7, 2014 Sisters Olga Raschietti, 83, and Lucia Pulici, 74, were killed inside their convent within a walled missionary compound in Burundi. In the early hours of the following morning Sr. Bernardetta Boggian (79) was also murdered. The murders remain unsolved. [4]
The Xaverian Missionary Sisters engage in evangelization, catechetical activity, health care, and human promotion (especially of women). They live in small mission communities, often in areas of great poverty. They strive to respond to deep-rooted aspirations of the local churches and people among whom they live, sharing their life journey, sufferings, hopes and aspirations, including people in need of medical, agricultural, educational aid.
They no longer use a religious habit, and wear a simple dress in conformity with local customs.
Today, the Missionaries of Mary – Xaverian Sisters – are present in United States, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Chad, DR Congo, Japan and Thailand.
The 247 members live in 39 communities, and the superior general resides in Parma (Via Omero 4, 43123 Parma, Italy). [1]
The Franciscans are a group of related mendicant religious orders of the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi, these orders include three independent orders for men, orders for nuns such as the Order of Saint Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis open to male and female members. They adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of the founder and of his main associates and followers, such as Clare of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and Elizabeth of Hungary. Several smaller Protestant Franciscan orders or other groups have been established since late 1800s as well, particularly in the Anglican and Lutheran traditions.
The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier. The institute is dedicated to education.
In the Catholic Church, a religious order is a community of consecrated life with members that profess solemn vows. They are classed as a type of religious institute.
The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary, is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars, contemplative nuns, a congregation of religious sisters, and lay groups. The order's objectives are the sanctification of its members, the preaching of the Gospel, and the propagation of devotion to the Mother of God, with special reference to her sorrows. The Servites friars lead a community life in the tradition of the mendicant orders.
The Society of the Atonement, also known as the Friars and Sisters of the Atonement or Graymoor Friars and Sisters, is a Franciscan religious congregation in the Catholic Church. The friars and sisters were founded in 1898 by Paul Wattson and Lurana White as a religious community in the Episcopal Church. The religious order is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the Marian title of Our Lady of Atonement.
The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, Latin: Institutum Christi Regis Summi Sacerdotis, abbreviated as ICRSS and ICKSP, is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right in communion with the Holy See of the Catholic Church. The institute has the stated goal of honouring God and the sanctification of priests in the service of the Catholic Church and souls. An integral part of the institute's charism is the use of the traditional liturgy, namely the 1962 Missale Romanum for Mass, the Breviary of John XXIII for the Divine Office, and the Rituale Romanum and Pontificale Romanum for other sacraments. The society has undertaken the restoration of a number of historic church buildings.
A canoness is a member of a religious community of women, historically a stable community dedicated to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours in a particular church. The name corresponds to a canon, the male equivalent, and both roles share a common historical origin. As with the canons, there are two types: canonesses regular, who follow the Rule of St Augustine, and secular canonesses, who follow no monastic rule of life.
The Society of Mary, better known under the name Marist, is a religious congregation under pontifical right.
A society of apostolic life is a group of men or women within the Catholic Church who have come together for a specific purpose and live fraternally. It is regarded as a form of consecrated life.
An institute of consecrated life is an association of faithful in the Catholic Church canonically erected by competent church authorities to enable men or women who publicly profess the evangelical counsels by religious vows or other sacred bonds "through the charity to which these counsels lead to be joined to the Church and its mystery in a special way". They are defined in the 1983 Code of Canon Law under canons 573–730. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has ecclesial oversight of institutes of consecrated life.
A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religious orders take solemn vows.
A teaching order is a Catholic religious institute whose particular charism is education. Many orders and societies sponsor educational programs and institutions, and teaching orders participate in other charitable and spiritual activities; a teaching order is distinguished in that education is a primary mission.
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 the Incarnate Word (IVE) (Spanish: Instituto del Verbo Encarnado) is a Catholic religious institute founded in Argentina by Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela on March 25, 1984. It is a religious institute of diocesan right. The institute is the male branch of the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word, a union of religious institutes founded by Buela; the other two branches are the female religious community known as the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará (SSVM) and the Secular Third Order.
The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) is one of two associations of the leaders of congregations of Catholic women religious in the United States. As of December 2020, CMSWR includes the leaders of 112 religious congregations which have a total membership of approximately 5,700 women religious in the United States.
The Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary (SMSM) are a congregation of pontifical right of Catholic religious women. They are part of the Marist family of congregations. The order is dedicated to evangelization. In its missionary activity it is within the ambit of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome.
Hélène Marie Philippine de Chappotin de Neuville, known as Mary of the Passion, was a French religious sister and missionary, who founded the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in British India in 1877, currently one of the largest religious institutes in the Catholic Church.
The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, often called the White Sisters is a missionary society founded in 1869 that operates in Africa. It is closely associated with the Society of the Missionaries of Africa, or White Fathers.
Guido Maria Conforti was a Roman Catholic Italian archbishop who founded the Xaverian Missionaries (S.X.) on 3 December 1895. He was known to make frequent visits to his parishes and worked to support the religious education and religious involvement among the youth.
Celestina Bottego was an Italian Roman Catholic nun born in the United States of America. Bottego established the Xaverian Missionary Sisters of Mary. Her command was for members to act as missionaries for the Roman Catholic church. On 31 October 2013, she was proclaimed Venerable.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
