DEVOTE VERGINI DI SANTA CATERINA.
- A female congregation founded around 1579 in the diocese of Warmia through the efforts of the local bishop, Msgr. Martino Kromer (1512–89) and Regina Protmann (1552–1613). The constitutions may be considered one of the first examples of those of female congregations with simple vows. Its purpose is the care of the sick, even in their homes, and the instruction and education of young girls. In 1902, the constitutions were approved by the Holy See and adapted to the Code of Canon Law in 1924. Currently, the sisters number about 1,160 in 140 houses.
BIBL.: Archivio della S. Congregazione dei Religiosi; M. Heimbucher, Die Orden und Kongregationen der Katholischen Kirche, I. Paderborn 1933, p. 651. Giulio Mandelli