APOSTOLIC WORK FOR THE MISSIONARY’S OUTFIT. — It originated in France in 1838 on the initiative of Maria Zoé Du Chesne, to send missionaries articles of personal equipment, furnishings, and sacred vestments. The example was followed by other women.
In 1848 the work established its headquarters in Orléans. In 1852 it took the title of O. A. of pious women workers. On 13 May 1856 the central council was established in Paris. The first director was Fr. Schwindenhammer, who in 1854 presented the statutes of the O. A. to Pius IX; it was approved and enriched with spiritual favors. In 1870 it came under the direct authority of Propaganda. It is widespread in Europe and America, with its own national directorates. The statutes for Italy were approved by Propaganda on 9 Jan. 1934.
Saverio Paventi
In Germany, Caterina Schynse (1854–1935), at the suggestion of her brother Agostino, of the White Fathers, founded in 1902 the Missionary Association of Catholic Women and Girls, with the aim of assisting the missions and the German diaspora. Its headquarters are in Pfaffendorf, and it has spread to Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, and the United States.
On 18 March 1934 Pius XI elevated the association to a pontifical work ad instar (letter of the Cardinal Secretary of State to Cardinal Granito di Belmonte, protector of the Work: Segr. di Stato, Prot. n. 131.006), and on 20 Apr. 1942 Pius XII declared it definitively pontifical (AAS., 34 [1942], p. 219).