POVERE SUORE BONAERENSI DI SAN GIUSEPPE. - The Institute was founded on 28 January 1880, when Mother Camila Rolón, with the approval of the archbishop of Buenos Aires, gathered together in Mercedes several good women to care for poor children, especially in rural areas.
After its promising beginnings, the work expanded to include assistance to the poor, the rehabilitation of young women, and visits to the sick in their homes, spreading throughout Argentina and abroad. It received the decree of praise on 16 June 1891 and that of definitive approval on 8 May 1898. At present there are 187 sisters distributed among 26 houses.
BIBL.: Archivio S. Congr. dei Religiosi, B. 53. Giulio Mandelli