PICCOLE OPERAIE DEI SACRI CUORI DI GESÙ e MARIA. — Founded at Acri (diocese of Bisignano, Cosenza) by Fr. Francesco Maria Greco (d. 1931) and the devout young woman Raffaella De Vincenti (d. 1936).
The Institute also admits Italo-Albanian members of the Greek rite, who preserve their rite and constitute a separate section within the Institute. The Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions is dated 22 December 1931; definitive approval was granted on 7 July 1940. The Institute has various purposes: to educate and instruct young people, especially the poor and orphans; to attend to domestic duties in seminaries and ecclesiastical colleges; to care for the sick in hospitals and at home; and to care for the elderly in shelters for the indigent. In 1949 there were 205 sisters distributed among 40 houses.