PIA UNIONE DI GESÙ, MARIA e GIUSEPPE. — Religious congregation with simple vows, founded in 1880 by Sister Rita Amata di Gesù in Portugal and subsequently transferred to Brazil following the subversive laws.
Approved on 9 June 1902, it had its Constitutions revised and approved by the S. Congr. dei Religiosi on 10 March 1931. The Institute’s specific purpose is the teaching of catechism; the education and instruction of poor and abandoned young women; the sheltering of poor girls; the care of the sick in hospitals and at home; and the redemption of fallen women. At present, they have 21 houses, with 120 sisters.
BIBL.: Arch. S. Congr. dei Religiosi, G. 29. Agostino Pugliese