Sisters

SISTERS. - General designation, common to many female religious Congregations, followed by other titles that hint at their distinctive characteristics.

1. S. ADORERS OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD (Rome): V. ADORATRICI DEL PREZIOSISSIMO SANGUE.

2. S. ADORERS OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT (Rivolta d'Adda)

Founded at Bergamo in 1882 by the servant of God Francesco Spinelli, then transferred to Rivolta d'Adda (diocese of Cremona). Purpose: adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament and all the works of charity, according to the needs of times and places. Temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1926, definitive in 1932. They number 1200 sisters in 145 houses in Italy and the United States. Generalate house at Rivolta d'Adda (Arch. d. Casa gener.; P. G. Borgonovo, Il p. Franc. Spinelli, Milan 1938).

3. S. ALCANTARINE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Rome): v. TERZIARIE FRANCESCANE ALCANTARINE.

4. S. AMANTI DI GESÙ E FIGLIE DI MARIA IMMACOLATA (Placencia)

Founded in 1874 at Bejar (diocese of Placencia, Spain) by Matilde Teller Robles. Purpose: care of orphans and the sick, direction of orphanages and hospitals. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1930, definitive in 1941. They number 150 sisters in 21 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. dei Relig., P. 72).

5. S. ANCELLE DELLA SANTA INFANZIA DI GESÙ (Oberzell): v. SERVE DELLA S. INFANZIA DI GESÙ.

6. S. ANCELLE DEL SANTUARIO (Rome): v. ANCELLE DEL SANTUARIO.

7. S. ANGELICHE (Milan): v. ANGELICHE DI S. PAOLO.

8. S. ARMENE DELL'IMMACOLATA CONCEZIONE (Rome)

Founded in 1847 at Constantinople by Miss Hagiandonian Serpuhi. Purpose: education of poor Armenian girls in colleges, orphanages, elementary and secondary schools. In the Turkish persecution of the Armenians of 1915-18 many houses were destroyed and many religious were martyred and deported. They were received in 1922 by Pius XI with 480 orphan girls at Castelgandolfo, where the generalate house was also transferred. Decree of praise in 1847; definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1932. They number 150 sisters in 28 houses, in Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq (cf. Servizio informaz. della Chiesa orient., 11 [1947], fols. 6-7; Arch. d. Casa gener.).

9. S. AUSILIATRICI DELLE ANIME PURGANTI (Paris): v. AUSILIATRICI DELLE ANIME PURGANTI.

10. S. BENEDETTINE DELLA DIVINA PROVVIDENZA (Voghera): v. BENEDETTINE DELLA DIVINA PROVVIDENZA. - Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1936, definitive in 1943. They number 508 sisters in 68 houses in Italy and Brazil. Generalate house at Voghera (Arch. d. Casa gener.; anon., Un cammino di cento anni. Celebraz. centen. 1949, Pavia 1949).

11. S. BETLEMITE DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ (Bogotá): v. BETLEMITI.

12. S. BIGIE (GRAUEN) DI SANTA ELISABETTA (Breslau)

So called from the color of the habit. Founded at Niesse (Upper Silesia) in 1842 by 4 young ladies: Clara Wolff, Matilde and Maria Merket, Francesca Werner. Purpose: care of the sick at home and in hospitals and outpatient clinics, homes for the aged, nurseries and kindergartens for children, schools. Decree of praise in 1871, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1898, definitive in 1924. They number 481 houses with 4500 sisters (cf. O. Cohausz, Die Kongregat. der grauen Schuessler von der hl. Elisabeth, zum 80 Jahr. Bestehen [1842-1922], Breslau 1922; M. Heimbucher, Die Orden u. Kongreg., II, Paderborn 1934, pp. 481-83).

13. S. CELESTINE (Meaux)

Founded in 1839 at Provins (diocese of Meaux) by Verrina Chantal. Purpose: education of girls, care of the poor sick, soup kitchens. Decree of praise in 1902 (Arch. d. S. Congr. di Relig., M. 72).

14. S. CIECHE DI SAN PAOLO (Paris)

Founded in Paris in 1852 by A. F. Villemain, Anna Bergunion and the abbé Juge. Purpose: assistance to blind men and blind women in hospitals, homes, workshops, orphanages. A part of these same sisters are blind. Decree of praise in 1876, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1937, definitive in 1948. They number about 100 sisters (cf. anon., La Congrég. des Soeurs aveugles de St-Paul pendant son premier demi-siècle, Paris 1903).

15. S. CLARISSE FRANCESCANE. MISSIONE DEL S.MO SACRAMENTO DI BERTINORO (Rome). - Founded in 1898 at Bertinoro by the ven. M. C. Serafina di Gesù (in the world Francesca Farolfi). Purpose: education of young women, with preference for the poorest and most abandoned girls of the common people; assistance to the sick in hospitals, clinics and sanatoria. Definitive approval in 1907. They number 885 sisters in 80 houses in Italy and abroad. Generalate house at Rome (cf. L. Cambise, Mondo cattolico, Rome 1952, p. 270).

16. S. COMPASSIONISTE SERVE DI MARIA (Castellammare di Stabia): v. COMPASSIONISTE, SERVE DI MARIA.

17. S. CROCIFISSE ADORATRICI DI GESÙ SACRAMENTATO (Naples): v. CROCIFISSE ADORATRICI DI GESÙ SACRAMENTATO.

18. S. DEGLI ANGELI (Faicchio, Cerreto Sannita)

Founded in 1891 at Casolla (diocese of Caserta) by Clotilde Micheli (in religion: Sister M. Serafina del S. Cuore). Purpose: instruction and education of girls and assistance to the infirm. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1928, definitive in 1936. They number 387 sisters in 60 houses in Italy. Generalate house at Naples (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

19. S. DEGLI ANGELI (Wilna)

Founded at Wilna by a priest of the diocese. Purpose: to cooperate in the teaching of the catechism, to prepare the dying to receive the Sacraments, to spread the good press, to instruct young women. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1913, definitive in 1921. After the Second World War their number is unknown (Arch. d. S. Congr. di Relig., V, 74).

20. S. DEGLI ANGELI CUSTODI (Vitoria)

Founded in 1894 at Bilbao (diocese of Vitoria) by Raffaella Ibarra de Villalonga. Purpose: to gather young women who have fallen or are in danger and to care for them in special colleges. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1929, definitive in 1940. They number 349 sisters in 20 houses (Archivio d. S. Congr. di Relig., V, 75).

21. S. DEI MALATI DI SAINT-MAURIAC (St-Flour): v. PICCOLE SUORE DEI MALATI DI ST-MAURIAC.

22. S. DEI POVERI (Zamora)

Founded at Zamora (Mexico) in 1884 by Margherita Jones. Purpose: education of youth and assistance to the infirm. Decree of praise in 1907; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1931, definitive in 1939. They number 144 sisters in 17 houses, all in Mexico (Arch. d. S. Congr. di Relig., L, 2).

23. S. DEI POVERI (Rennes): v. PICCOLE SUORE DEI POVERI.

24. S. DEI POVERI DI MAIQUETIA (Caracas): v. PICCOLE SUORE DEI POVERI DI MAIQUETIA.

25. S. DEI SACRI CUORI DI GESÙ E DI MARIA (Brentwood)

Congregation formed from the English houses of the « Serve del Cuore di Gesù » (v.), which in 1902 erected themselves into an independent Institute at Chywell (diocese of Brentwood), taking the present name. Purpose: care of orphans and deficient children; direction of hospitals and homes for penitent women. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1927, definitive in 1936. They number 315 sisters in 29 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 107).

26. S. DEI SACRI CUORI DI GESÙ E MARIA (Rennes)

Founded at Paramé (diocese of Rennes) in 1853 by Amelia Virginia Fristel. Purpose: they devote themselves to homes for the aged, hospitals and parish schools. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1930, definitive in 1948. They number 550 sisters in 100 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., R, 53).

27. S. DEI SANTI NOMI DI GESÙ E MARIA (Outremont, Canada)

Founded in 1843 at Longueuil (diocese of Montréal) by Eulalia Durocher, Melodia Dufresne and Enrichetta Léré. Purpose: education of youth. Decree of praise in 1863, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1886, definitive in 1925. They number 228 houses with 3735 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 16).

28. S. DEI VECCHI ABBANDONATI, PICCOLE (Valencia)

Founded at Barbastro in 1872 by the servant of God Teresa of Jesus Jorenet Ibars. The following year the mother house moved to Valencia. Purpose: moral and material assistance to abandoned old people. Decree of praise in 1876; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1887, definitive in 1897. They number 452 sisters in 22 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 47).

29. S. DE LA « RETRAITE » DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ (Angers)

Founded in 1682 at Quimper (diocese of Rennes) by Teresa de Kermens. Purpose: to promote special retreats for women. Scattered by the French Revolution, they rose again in 1820, adding also the educational activity of girls in schools, boarding schools, patronages, etc. In 1907 the S. of Quimper united with the S. of the Society of Mary of Angers founded in 1662 by the ven. Catherine de Francheville. The new Institute received temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1909, definitive in 1926. They number 556 sisters in 70 houses. Generalate house at Angers (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., Q, 1).

30. S. DE LA TOUR PITRAT (Lyon): v. S. DI S. FRANCESCO D'ASSISI DE LA TOUR PITRAT.

31. S. DEL BAMBINO GESÙ (Le Puy)

Founded at Aiguille (diocese of Le-Puy-en-Velay) in 1667 by Anna Maria Martel, who in 1776 took the name of « Les demoiselles de l'instruction » and later that of « Soeurs de l'instruction ». Purpose: intellectual and moral formation of girls of every social class. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1867, definitive in 1931. They number 47 houses with 550 sisters (cf. M. Douglas, Les Soeurs de l'Instruction, Paris 1865).

32. S. DEL BAMBINO GESÙ (Rome)

Founded in 1846 at Derby (England) by Mrs. Cornelia Connelly, an American, converted from Protestantism in 1835. Purpose: education and instruction of girls of every social class in colleges, boarding schools, orphanages, according to every grade of school; instruction of converts and visits to the poor and the sick. Decree of praise in 1887; definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1893. They number 40 houses with 747 sisters (cf. M. Mary St. Peter, Holy child Jesus society, in Cath. Enc., VII, p. 400).

33. S. DEL BAMBINO GESÙ DI CHAUFFAILLES (Autun)

A group detached in 1846 under the direction of sister Agostina (Reine Antier) from the above-mentioned Society of the « Demoiselles de l'Instruction » and which, having settled at Chauffailles, became an autonomous Institute in 1859. Purpose: education of girls with schools, boarding schools, orphanages, workshops; care of the poor and sick in hospitals and shelters. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1921, definitive in 1931. There are 34 houses with 281 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., A, 48).

34. S. DEL BUON PASTORE (Milan)

Founded at Milan in 1845 by the priest Luigi Speroni, oblate of St. Charles, and Carolina del Carretto. Purpose: to welcome and educate wayward girls. Decree of praise in 1852; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1859, definitive in 1912. There are 4 houses with about 50 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. del Relig., M, 8).

35. S. DEL BUON PASTORE (Pittsburgh): v. S. DI NOSTRA SIGNORA DELLA CARITÀ DEL BUON PASTORE.

36. S. DEL BUON SALVATORE (Bayeux)

Founded at Caen in 1720 by Anna Leroy. Scattered by the French Revolution, they gathered again in 1820 through the care of the priest Pierfrancesco Jamet (v.). Purpose: education of girls, parish catechism classes, care of the deaf and mute, etc. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1913, definitive in 1928. There are 500 sisters in 12 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. del Relig., B, 84).

37. S. DEL BUON SAMARITANO (Sydney)

Founded in 1857 at Sydney (Australia) by Msgr. Spalding, first bishop of the city. Purpose: care of wayward women and of the sick, instruction and education of children. Decree of praise in 1903, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1920, definitive in 1932. They number 68 houses with more than 600 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., S, 32).

38. S. DEL BUON SOCCORSO (Paris)

Founded at Paris in 1872 by the archbishop Msgr. de Quélen. Purpose: assistance of the sick at home and in clinics: youth works: patronages, workshops, schools, shelters, etc. Decree of praise in 1875; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1877, definitive in 1933. There are 579 sisters in 35 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P, 18).

39. S. DEL CARMELO APOSTOLICO (Mangalore)

A branch detached from the Apostolic Carmel of Bayonne, established at Mangalore (India) in 1870 and transformed into an independent Congregation, aggregated to the Order of Discalced Carmelites in 1921. Purpose: education of youth. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1926, definitive in 1949. There are 620 sisters in 44 houses (Arch. di Prop. Fide. pos. prot. n. 2136-2149).

40. S. DEL CUORE IMMACOLATO DI MARIA, called SERVE DEL BUON PASTORE DI QUÉBEC

Founded at Québec in 1850 by G. Manly Muir, secretary of the Conference of St. Vincent, as a society of pious women, dedicated to the conversion and rehabilitation of penitents and those in danger; then erected in 1856 as a religious Congregation. Decree of praise in 1880; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1918; definitive in 1921. They number 82 houses with 1152 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., Q, 3).

41. S. DEL CUORE IMMACOLATO DI MARIA DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Czestochowa)

Founded at Zakroczym (diocese of Ptočk, Poland) in 1888 by Fr. Onorato, a Capuchin, and soon transferred to Nowe Miasto (diocese of Czestochowa). Purpose: to increase the Christian life among working people, assistance of the sick at home, instruction and education of girls. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1929, definitive in 1938. There are 35 houses with 268 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 76).

42. S. DEL DIVINO AMORE (Rome)

Founded by a sister of the dispersed monastery of Montefiascone, who took refuge in Rome, approved by the cardinal vicar in 1828, erected as an independent Institute in 1908. Purpose: education of female youth: workshops, nursery schools, schools, the work of the Exercises and preparation for first Communion. Temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1908, definitive in 1916. There are 22 houses with more than 200 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., R, 31).

43. S. DEL DIVINO MAESTRO E NOSTRA SIGNORA DELLA MERCEDE (Buenos Aires)

Founded in 1887 at Buenos Aires (Argentina) by Msgr. Antonio Rasore and Sofia Bunge. Purpose: instruction of youth in schools, nursery schools, boarding schools. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1950. There are 12 houses with about 130 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 142).

44. S. DEL DIVINO PASTORE (Mexico)

Founded in 1900 at Antequera (diocese of Mexico). Purpose: to promote spiritual exercises, to help in parish catechism classes, to educate female youth; nursery schools, orphanages, colleges. It was declared of pontifical right. There are 14 houses with 140 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 145).

45. S. DEL DIVINO SALVATORE (Rome)

Founded at Tivoli in 1888 by Fr. Francis Jordan and by mother Maria degli Apostoli, born baroness Wüllenweber, under the title of «Società apostolica istruttiva». They later took their present title, moving to Rome in 1893. Purpose: assistance of the sick at home and in their own hospitals; nursery, primary and secondary schools, vocational schools, welfare works, etc. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1911, definitive in 1926. They number 1925 sisters in 127 houses in Italy, Europe, Asia, America. Generalate house at Rome (Arch. d. Casa gener.; E. Federici, La M. Maria degli Angeli, Rome 1944).

46. SISTERS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MERCY, OR MERCEDARIAN SISTERS (Aix)

Founded in 1864 by Cardinal Lavigerie. Purpose: the Christian education of girls through boarding schools, nurseries, and schools; care of the sick in hospitals, dispensaries, family homes, and shelters. Decree of praise in 1912; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1931, definitive in 1941. There are approximately 180 sisters in 25 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., A, 41).

47. SISTERS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MERCY (Warsaw)

A branch detached from the French Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy of Laval and canonically erected in Warsaw in 1922. Purpose: care of fallen and penitent women and girls. Decree of praise in 1922, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1927, definitive in 1935. There are 231 sisters in 9 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 85).

48. SISTERS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN (Cremona)

Founded in Cremona in 1610 by Lucia Perotti. Purpose: education of young girls. Decree of praise in 1612; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1933, definitive in 1941. They number 80 sisters in 5 houses. Generalate house in Cremona (Arch. d. Casa general.; G. Cassiani Ingoni, Madre L. Perotti, Padua 1935).

49. SISTERS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MOUNT CARMEL OF THE CARMELITE THIRD ORDER (Orihuela)

Founded in 1891 at Caudette (diocese of Orihuela) by the Carmelite Cirillo Font. Purpose: care of the sick in hospitals and at home, care of the poor in hospices, instruction of youth. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1923, definitive in 1949 (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., O, 10).

50. SISTERS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY (Udine)

Founded in Udine in 1705 by Emilia Freschi and, after various vicissitudes, brought back to a flourishing revival in 1925 by the superior general Sister Maria Dolores. Purpose: Christian education of children and girls in nurseries, orphanages, colleges, and workshops. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1943. There are 12 houses with 120 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., U, 8).

51. SISTERS OF CHARITY (Namur)

Founded in 1734 at Namur (Belgium) at the suggestion of Madame Maria Martina Bomboncourt, who left its directives in her will. Purpose: care of the sick in hospitals, clinics, sanatoria, and outpatient clinics; charitable activity through hospices and orphanages, visitation of the sick and the poor at home. They number 607 sisters in 79 houses (cf. L. Cambise, Mondo cattolico, Rome 1952, p. 329).

52. SISTERS OF CHARITY (Québec): v. S. DELLA CARITÀ, vulgo s. GRIGIE.

53. SISTERS OF CHARITY (Rome)

Founded in 1799 at Besançon by St. Jeanne Antide Thouret. Called at first "Sisters of the soup of the poor and of the little schools," they grew marvelously in number and in houses in Europe, France, Switzerland, and Italy. In 1810 they were offered by Letizia Bonaparte in Naples the house of Regina Coeli, which soon became a center of great developments; in 1844 they were called by Gregory XVI to the archhospital of S. Spirito. Purpose: care in civil and military hospitals for all illnesses; in mental hospitals, foundling hospitals, and nurseries; education of youth through schools of every grade. Decree of praise and approval of the Constitutions in 1819. They number 8000 sisters in 830 houses, divided into 6 religious provinces in Italy, Europe, America, and the missions of Laos and Indochina. Generalate house in Rome (cf. F. Trochu, S. Giov. Antida Thouret, Italian trans., Rome 1934).

54. SISTERS OF CHARITY (San Giacinto): v. S. DELLA CARITÀ, vulgo s. GRIGIE.

55. SISTERS OF CHARITY (DAUGHTERS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION) (Paderborn)

Founded in 1849 at Paderborn by Pauline von Mallinckrodt. Purpose: care and instruction of the blind and Christian education of youth. Decree of praise in 1859, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1888. They number 2500 sisters (cf. M. E. Pietromarchi, M. Paolina di Mallinckrodt, foundress of the Sisters of Christian Charity, Rome 1951).

56. SISTERS OF CHRISTIAN CHARITY, DAUGHTERS OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD (Roermond)

Founded at Sittard (Holland) in 1862 by Maria Serafina Spickermana. Purpose: Christian education of girls and, in part, care of the sick. Pontifical approval in 1890. They number 273 sisters.

57. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN OF MERCY (MERCEDARIAN SISTERS OF CHARITY) (Madrid)

Founded at Málaga (Spain) in 1878 by Juan Nepomuceno Zegri y Moreno. Purpose: instruction of girls and charitable works. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1900, definitive in 1901. They number 1150 sisters in 113 houses, in Italy, Spain, and Latin America. Generalate house in Madrid (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

58. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (Sydney)

Founded initially in Dublin in 1851 by five Irish young women, who out of a spirit of sacrifice left their homeland and chose Philadelphia (United States) as their field of work. Welcomed by the parish priest T. J. Donoghue, they devoted themselves to parochial works, formed themselves into a religious community, and from him, considered as founder, received the Constitutions and their present name. Purpose: education of youth and assistance in parochial works. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1871, definitive in 1885. They number 1900 sisters in 150 houses. Generalate house in Dubuque (Iowa) (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., D, 8; M. C. Dougherty, Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Cath. Enc., III, p. 609).

59. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF MERCY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL (Vienna)

Founded in Vienna in 1833 by the Empress of Austria Caroline Augusta, as a special institution of Austria. Purpose: care of children and of the poor sick, including at home. Approval in 1835. They number 48 houses with 947 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 60).

60. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY (Tours)

Founded at Joinville (France) in 1684 by the venerable Marie Poussepin. Purpose: education of youth and charitable activities: hospitals, clinics, nurseries, homes for the aged, leprosaria, etc. Decree of praise in 1885, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1887, definitive in 1928. There are 3500 sisters in 360 houses (cf. A. Reimbert, Guide de vocation religieuse, II, Paris 1924, pp. 403-408).

61. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER (Vienna)

Founded in 1299 at Kunitz (near Bern). This house and the other numerous houses of the Teutonic Order did not survive the secularization imposed upon them in 1803. The Order was revived in 1841 by Joseph Maximilian III, Duke of Austria-Este. Purpose: care of the sick and instruction of girls in schools and institutes. There are 552 sisters (cf. M. Heimbucher, Die Orden u. Kongreg., I, 3rd ed., Paderborn 1933, p. 614).

62. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE TRUE INCARNATE WORD (St. Anthony)

Founded originally in 1624 by Jeanne Chezard de Matel, re-established after the French Revolution, transplanted to Mexico, and erected as a new Congregation under their present name. Purpose: education of youth and care of the sick. There are 1500 sisters in 72 houses (cf. anonymous, L'Ordre du Verbe Incarné et du St Sacrement, Fribourg in Br. 1929).

63. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF JESUS AND MARY (Ghent)

Founded in 1803 at Lovendeghem by the priest Peter Joseph Triest. Purpose: care of the sick, orphans, and the needy of every kind; instruction in schools, colleges, and boarding schools in Europe, the Congo, and India. Definitive pontifical approval in 1816. They number 1990 sisters (cf. M. Heimbucher, Die Orden u. Kongreg., II, Paderborn 1934, p. 504).

64. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH (Louisville)

Founded in 1812 in Louisville (Kentucky, United States) by the priest Giovanni David. Purpose: care of the sick in hospitals and infirmaries, education of girls in schools of every grade, colleges, academies. Definitively approved in 1910. They number 1198 sisters (M. Menard, Nazareth, Sisters of Charity of, in Cath. Enc., X, pp. 724-25).

65. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF OUR LADY OF EVRON (Laval)

Founded at Chapelle-au-Riboul (diocese of Le Mans) in 1682 by Perrine Brulet, widow Thulard. Purpose: education of youth, care of the poor and the elderly in orphanages, hospices, shelters, and of the sick in hospitals and at home. At the beginning of the French Revolution they had 89 houses. Napoleon I gave them as their generalate the Benedictine convent of Evron (diocese of Laval), later transferred to Laval. They number 810 sisters in 114 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 37).

66. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. CHARLES (Nancy)

Founded in 1652 at Nancy by Emmanuele Chauvenel, lord of Xoudailles, to fulfill the wish of his son Giuseppe, who died in 1651 a victim of his charity for the plague-stricken. Barbe Thouvenin was co-foundress. Purpose: care of the poor, of the sick in hospitals and at home; education of abandoned children, re-education of the mentally deficient, assistance in asylums, prisons, homes for the aged, the blind, etc. Apostolic approval in 1859, confirmed in 1892; approval of the Constitutions in 1924. They number 110 houses with 1092 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., N, 11; various authors, Bilder aus der Gesch. der kath. Charitas, Trier 1900).

67. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. LOUIS (Vannes)

Founded at Vannes in 1803 by Madame Molé de Champlatreux. Purpose: education of youth; later also care of the sick in hospitals. Approval of the Constitutions in 1840. They number 1071 sisters in 100 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 61).

68. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. ANNE (Saragossa)

Founded at Saragossa in 1805 by Maria Rafols, first as a religious association, gathering under her direction 11 companions who assisted her in the service of the hospital of Nuestra Señora de Gracia, and then in 1825 as a religious institute with vows. They number 1404 sisters.

69. SISTERS OF CHARITY AND MERCY (Hildesheim)

In 1852 Bishop Edoardo Giacomo Wedekind called to Hildesheim a group of Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul from the house of Paderborn, who in 1857 erected themselves into an autonomous Congregation. Purpose: education of youth. Definitive approval in 1886. They number 603 sisters in 58 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., I, 2).

70. SISTERS OF CHARITY AND CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION (Nevers)

Founded in 1680 at St-Saulge (France) by the Benedictine dom de Laveyne. Purpose: works of charity toward neighbor with hospices, boarding schools, nurseries, schools of every grade, hospitals, clinics, sanatoria, etc. Decree of praise in 1852, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1870, definitive in 1883. They number 1164 sisters in 51 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. dei Relig., N, 5).

71. SISTERS OF CHARITY AND OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT, called OF MONTOIRE (Bourges): v. S. DEL S.MO SACRAMENTO E DELLA CARITÀ.

72. HOSPITAL SISTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. PAUL (Birmingham)

A group of the Hospital Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, who passed in 1847 into the diocese of Birmingham, at the invitation of Card. Wiseman, and later erected themselves into an autonomous Institute. They number 671 sisters.

73. SISTERS OF CHARITY, commonly called GREY SISTERS (Montréal)

Founded in 1737 at Montréal (Canada) by the venerable Mother Maria Du Frost de La Jammerais, widow d'Youville. Purpose: charitable and educational activities. Approved civilly on 3 June 1753 and canonically on 15 June 1755. From this foundation 6 independent branches broke away, which, however, tend again to reunite with the Mother House of Montréal: SOEURS GRISES DE ST-HYACINTHE (1840), SOEURS GRISES DE LA CROIX DE OTTAWA (1845); S. DELLA CARITÀ DI QUÉBEC (1848); SOEURS GRISES DE NICOLET (1886; reunited with Montréal in 1941); GREY NUNS OF THE SACRED HEART of Philadelphia (United States, 1920); GREY SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION of Pembroke (Ontario, Canada 1926). They number altogether 7000 sisters scattered throughout north-central America, Africa and China (cf. P. Helyot, Dict. des Ordres religieux, IV, Paris 1859, coll. 1410-14; M. E. Ward, Grey Nuns, in Cath. Enc., VII [1913], pp. 31-32 and bibl. at the entry DU FROST DE LA JAMMERAIS).

74. SISTERS OF THE HOUSE OF MARY (S. Giacomo)

Founded at S. Giacomo del Cile in 1870 by the priest Biagio Carras. Purpose: to welcome and assist abandoned girls and women. Definitive approval of the Institute and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1929. They number 55 sisters in 6 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., G, 16).

75. SISTERS OF THE COMPANY OF ST. TERESA OF JESUS (Barcelona)

Founded at Barcelona in 1876 by the priest Enrico de Ossò y Cervellò. Purpose: education and instruction of girls. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1888, definitive in 1908; updating to the CIC in 1925 and 1938. They number 72 houses with over 1000 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., T, 28).

76. SISTERS OF THE CONGREGATION OF ST. DOMINIC (Granada)

Founded at Granada in 1815 by sister Teresa Titos. At the beginning it was a beaterio of sisters of the Third Order of St. Dominic, founded in 1539, which passed from the contemplative to the active life through the vicissitudes of the times. Purpose: education of youth in schools and colleges. Approval of the Holy See in 1931. They number 118 sisters in 9 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., G, 57).

77. SISTERS OF THE CROSS (Annecy)

Founded in 1838 at Chavanod (diocese of Annecy) by Claudine Echermier. Purpose: instruction and education of youth, care of the sick in hospitals and in private homes, apostolate in the missions, domestic service in seminaries and ecclesiastical colleges. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1924, definitive in 1932. They number 77 houses with ca. 500 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., A, 64).

78. SISTERS OF THE CROSS (Seville)

Founded at Seville in 1875 by the priest Giuseppe De Fornes Povitta. Purpose: care of the sick at home and of orphans, day and evening schools. Decree of praise in 1891. They number 450 sisters in 35 houses (Arch. di S. Congr. d. Relig., S, 19).

79. SISTERS OF THE CROSS (Strasbourg)

Founded in 1848 at Neudorf by Adele de Glanbitz. Purpose: care of the blind, deaf-mutes, epileptics in hospitals and at home. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1932. They number 85 houses with 738 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., S, 55).

80. SISTERS OF THE CROSS OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS (Mexico)

Founded at Mexico in 1897 by sister Anna del S. Cuore. Purpose: reparation for the offenses committed against the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Decree of praise in 1910. They number 18 houses with 187 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 94).

81. SISTERS OF THE SORROWFUL MOTHER or SISTERS OF THE MOTHER OF SORROWS (Rome)

Founded at Rome in 1883 by Mother Francesca (Amelia) Streitel under the name "Catholic Institute of Teaching," changed to the present one in 1885. Purpose: instruction of girls; care of the sick in hospitals and shelters and at home. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1899, definitive in 1911. They number 904 sisters in 69 houses in Italy, the United States, Germany, Austria. Generalate house in Rome (Arch. d. Casa gener.; A. Reichert, La serva di Dio m. Francesca Streitel, Rome 1946).

82. SISTERS OF THE SORROWFUL MOTHER SERVANTS OF MARY (Nocera de' Pagani)

Founded in 1872 at Nocera Superiore by sister Maria Consiglio dello Spirito Santo. Purpose: to welcome and educate orphan girls. Decree of praise in 1950; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1951. Con-

They number 6 houses with about 200 sisters (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, N, 47).

83. SISTERS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE (Indianapolis)

A colony of 6 Sisters of Providence (founded at Ruillé-sur-Loire in 1806 by the priest Giacomo Francesco Dujarie) who passed in 1840, under the guidance of Mother Theodore Guérin, into the territory of the State of Indiana (United States); increased by new arrivals and by new recruits on the spot, they erected themselves into an independent Congregation. Purpose: instruction in parish schools and academies. Definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1887. They number 1295 sisters (Sister M. Theodosia, Sisters of Providence, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, in Cath. Enc., XII, pp. 507-608).

84. SISTERS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE (Lviv)

Founded in 1854 at Lviv by Archbishop Luca Baraniecki. Purpose: education of abandoned girls. Decree of praise in 1867. They number about 85 sisters in 15 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, L, 52).

85. SISTERS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE (Mainz)

Founded in 1852 at Flutken (diocese of Mainz) by Bishop Wilhelm Ketteler. Purpose: education of youth and care of the sick. Decree of praise in 1923. They number 1474 sisters in 295 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, M, 40).

86. SISTERS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE (San Antonio, Texas)

Organized in 1930 as an auxiliary group of the house of Our Lady of Divine Providence of Houston by Mother Mary Philothea Thiry. Purpose: instruction and education of youth. Approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1939. They number 725 sisters in 82 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, A, 42).

87. SISTERS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE (Strasbourg)

Founded in 1783 at Molthein (diocese of Strasbourg) by the priest Kremp. Purpose: religious instruction of girls. Approval of the Institute in 1869; temporary of the Constitutions in 1909, definitive in 1928. They number 1904 sisters in 304 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, S, 11).

88. SISTERS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE (Alexandria): v. PICCOLE SUORE DELLA DIVINA PROVVIDENZA.

89. SISTERS OF THE DIVINE WILL (Bassano, Vicenza)

Founded at Bassano del Grappa in 1873 by Gaetana Sterni. Purpose: care of the sick at home, in clinics and hospitals. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1934, definitive in 1942. They number 400 sisters in 60 houses, all in Italy. Generalate house at Bassano (Arch. of the General House).

90. SISTERS OF THE ADORATION OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF O'FALLON (St. Louis)

Founded in 1857 at Gurtweil (Freiburg, Baden) by the parish priest Hermann Kesseler and transferred to O'Fallon (archdiocese of St. Louis, U.S.A.) on account of the Kulturkampf. Purpose: Christian education of young women, middle and vocational schools. Decree of praise in 1918, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1929, definitive in 1938. They number 383 sisters in 51 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, L, 27).

91. SISTERS OF PERPETUAL ADORATION OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS (Lyon)

Founded at Grandris (archdiocese of Lyon) in 1821. Purpose: reparation for the outrages that Jesus receives in the Most Blessed Sacrament and the apostolate of instruction and education of youth. Decree of praise in 1877, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1900 and of their adaptation to the CIC in 1929. There are 120 sisters in 4 monasteries (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, L, 36).

92. SISTERS OF PERPETUAL ADORATION OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT, ASSIGNED TO THE WORKS OF POOR CHURCHES (Mechelen)

Founded at Brussels in 1857 by Anna de Meeus, and developed from a pre-existing association to provide the necessities for poor churches. Purpose: perpetual adoration, retreats, provision for poor churches. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1867, definitive in 1872. They number 257 sisters (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, M, 20).

93. SISTERS OF PERPETUAL ADORATION OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF GUADALUPE (Mexico)

Founded at Mexico City in 1808 by Maria

Maddalena dell'Incarnazione. Purpose: perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament; charitable activities toward the poor sick. Decree of praise in 1818; approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1828. They number 311 sisters in 15 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, M, 106).

94. SISTERS OF ADORATION REPARATRIX (Paris)

Founded at Paris in 1848 by Théodelinde Dubouche (in religion Mother Mary Teresa). Purpose: contemplative life, assiduous prayer for the Church, perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in reparation for the insults against it. Temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1885, definitive in 1930. There are 10 houses with 300 sisters (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, P, 10; Msgr. d'Hulst, Vie de mère Marie Thérèse Dubouche, Paris 1880).

95. SISTERS OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE (Bordeaux)

Founded in 1835 at Bordeaux by the abbé Supre, under the title of "Christian Association," which in 1838 changed into the present one. Purpose: education of children and young women, care of the sick and the elderly in hospitals and at home. Decree of praise in 1855; approval of the Institute in 1875, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1947. They number 116 sisters in 30 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, B, 9).

96. SISTERS OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE (Nancy)

Founded about 1700 by Canon Vatelot of Toul under the title of "Sisters of the little charity schools," changed to the present one in 1929. Purpose: teaching, care of the sick in hospitals and at home, social works, missions. Decree of praise in 1886; definitive approval of the Institute and temporary of the Constitutions in 1912, definitive in 1929. They number 2064 sisters in 321 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, N, 17).

97. SISTERS OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE (Seville)

Founded at Seville in 1878 by Fr. Francisco Garcia Fejero. Purpose: instruction and education of youth and teaching of the catechism in parishes. Decree of praise in 1913; approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1926. They number 119 sisters in 15 houses, all in Spain (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, S, 29).

98. SISTERS OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, called OF THE HOLY CHILDHOOD (Digne)

Founded at Manosque (diocese of Digne) in 1836 by a group of pious women under the guidance of the parish priest. Purpose: care of the sick at home and in nursing homes. Decree of praise in 1887; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1896, definitive in 1911. They number 123 sisters in 22 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, D, 4).

99. SISTERS OF THE FAITH (Dublin)

Founded at Dublin in 1857 by Miss Aulward and a group of ladies as a "charitable association," later transformed into a religious Congregation in 1860. Purpose: to shelter orphans and abandoned children in danger through the neglect of their parents or through the work of Protestants. Decree of praise in 1897, definitive approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1902 (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, D, 5).

100. SISTERS OF THE AGONY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST (Albi)

Founded at Albi in 1868 by the Lazarist A. I. Nicolle. Purpose: apostolate for the dying, education of children in catechism classes, workshops, oratories, orphanages, etc. Decree of praise in 1870; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1934. They number 182 sisters in 26 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, A, 26).

101. SISTERS OF THE MOTHER OF GOD (Tournai)

Founded in the 17th century by J. J. Olier. Dispersed by the Revolution of 1789, they were restored to new life by Sister Mary M. de Lezeau with some survivors. Purpose: instruction of youth. Decree of praise in 1869; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1880, definitive in 1903. They number 8 houses with 150 sisters (A. Raimbert, Guide de vocation relig., II, Paris 1924, pp. 409-12).

102. SISTERS OF THE SORROWFUL MOTHER (Rome): v. s. DELL'ADDOLORATA.

103. SISTERS OF MERCY (Dublin)

Founded at Dublin in 1831 by Mother Mary Catherine Mc Auley. Purpose: education of abandoned youth, care of the nurses, rehabilitation of fallen women, preservation of those in danger. Decree of praise in 1835, approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1841. The Institute is at present divided into many distinct and autonomous Congregations, all of which trace their direct or indirect origin to the primitive stock of Dublin, arising either from the fusion of existing houses or from sisters called elsewhere for new foundations. The various Congregations arose at ARDAGH (1920) with, now, 28 sisters; AUCKLAND (1923) with 155 sisters; BALTIMORE (1929) with 5,504 sisters; BATHURST (1908) with 162 sisters; BORDEAUX (1880) with 37 sisters; DROMORE (1878) with 53 sisters; DUNEDIN (1890) with 89 sisters; GLASGOW (1903) with 36 sisters; GOULBURN (1831) with 272 sisters; KILMORE (1915) with 60 sisters; MAITLAND (1831) with 171 sisters; MELBOURNE (1906) with 411 sisters; MONTREAL (1845) with 345 sisters; PITTSBURGH (1831) with 418 sisters; SAN FRANCISCO (1854) with 321 sisters; ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND (1915) with 157 sisters; TRANSVAAL (1913) with 39 sisters (cf. anon., Mother Mary Cather. McAuley, Chicago 1926; Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., D, 12; S, 52, C).

104. S. DELLA MISERICORDIA (Séez)

Founded in 1823 at Séez by the priest Giovanni Bazin. Purpose: works of charity on behalf of the poor sick and of abandoned children. Approval of the Holy See in 1943. There are 800 sisters in 50 houses (cf. L. Grenet, Au service des membres souffrants du Christ, Montlingen 1946; D. Aubry, Un bienfaiteur de l'humanité, Coutances 1949).

105. S. DELLA MISERICORDIA (Dijon)

Following the model of the S. della Misericordia already founded in 1607 at Louviers (diocese of Dijon), many other institutes of the same name, but autonomous, arose in the 18th and 19th centuries, all devoted to the instruction of girls and the care of the sick: S. DELLA MISERICORDIA DI PÉRIGUEUX (1747); of MOISSAC (1804); of BILLON (1806); of PARAMATTA (Sydney 1888). Others added various qualifications to the common name: S. DELLA MISERICORDIA DI GESÙ (Isigny 1644; Tréguier, 1654; Eu, 1655; Château-Gontier 1655); S. DELLA MISERICORDIA DEL S. CUORE DI MARIA (Blon 1842); S. DELLA MISERICORDIA DI S. VINCENZO DE' PAOLI (Paderborn 1842, with, now, 2,021 sisters).

106. S. DELLA MISERICORDIA DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Luxembourg)

Founded in 1847 at Luxembourg by Mrs. Dufang d'Aigremont. Purpose: education of youth and care of the sick, especially the poor, in hospitals and at home, direction of orphanages. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1912. They number 567 sisters in 44 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 58).

107. S. DELLA MISERICORDIA DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Olmütz)

Founded at Opavia (diocese of Olmütz) in 1884. Purpose: care of the sick in hospitals and at home, direction of orphanages, education of youth. Decree of praise and approval of the Institute in 1912. They number 805 sisters in 36 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., O, 8).

108. SISTERS OF THE MERCY OF SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO

They are a branch of the Institute of the Sisters of Charity of St. Charles Borromeo of Nancy, founded in 1652 for the care of the sick. The houses existing in the diocese of Prague, where they had been called by Archbishop Luigi Giuseppe von Schrenk, were constituted as an autonomous Congregation in 1837, and now number 1,282 sisters with 128 houses. The houses of the diocese of Breslau, where the Prague sisters had been called by Cardinal Archbishop Melchiorre von Diepenbrock, were erected into an autonomous Congregation in 1857 and now number 3,154 sisters in 289 houses. The houses of the diocese of Trier, where the Nancy sisters had been invited in 1811, became an autonomous Congregation in 1872; they now number 1,390 sisters in 66 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 11).

109. S. DELLA MISERICORDIA, FIGLIE DELLA CARITÀ CRISTIANA (Satu Mare)

Founded in 1837 by Msgr. Ham at Satu Mare (Hungary). Purpose: care of the sick in hospitals and at home; education of children in schools and orphanages. Approval in 1835. They number 1,200 sisters in 84 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., S, 65).

110. S. DELLA MISERICORDIA OSPITALIERE (Rome)

Founded in 1821 by Princess Teresa Orsini Doria of the dukes of Gravina. Purpose: the care of the sick. They began their apostolate in the hospital of St. John Lateran and then in the hospital of St. Gallicanus. In 1934 they inaugurated, near the hospital of St. John, a professional boarding school for religious nurses. Definitive approval in 1827. They number 12 houses, all in Italy.

111. S. DELL'AMORE DI DIO (Zamora)

Founded in 1864 at Zamora by Canon Girolamo Mariano Usera y Alarcon. Purpose: teaching children, assistance to the poor sick and to the aged, service in seminaries and ecclesiastical colleges. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1938. There are about 300 sisters in 20 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., Z, 74).

112. S. DELLA NATIVITÀ DELLA SANTA VERGINE (Versailles)

Founded in 1818 by Anna Périer. Purpose: instruction of girls. They now number 66 sisters.

113. S. DELLA NATIVITÀ DI NOSTRO SIGNORE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Barcelona)

Originally an "Association of ladies," founded at Barcelona in 1731 by Dr. Dender to distribute soup to the sick in hospitals; then to serve the sick at home. In 1856 the association constituted itself as a religious Institute, aggregated in 1907 to the Franciscan Order. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1909. There are 238 sisters with 25 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 75).

114. S. DELLA NATIVITÀ DI NOSTRO SIGNORE GESÙ CRISTO (Ventimiglia)

Founded in 1813 at Crest (diocese of Valence, France) by the priest Bartolomeo Enfantin and by Giovanna di Croquoison de la Cour de Fiel. Purpose: education of girls of every social class, but especially of the poorest, through nurseries, colleges, orphanages, workshops, etc. Decree of praise in 1855, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1874, definitive in 1888, revised according to the CIC in 1933. There are 200 sisters in 12 houses in Italy, France, England. The generalate house is at Ventimiglia (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

115. S. DELL'ANGELO CUSTODE (Madrid)

Founded at Tuillan (diocese of Carcassonne) in 1839 by the priest Luigi Ormières. Purpose: education of girls, especially of the working class, care of the poor sick at home and in hospitals. Decree of praise in 1895; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1934, definitive in 1942. There are 321 sisters in 30 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 58).

116. S. DELLA PENITENZA DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Pasto)

Coming from the monastery of the Franciscan Tertiaries of Altstetten, called by the bishop of Porto Viejo in Ecuador, then passed into Colombia, becoming of active life. Purpose: perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, education of female youth, care of the sick in hospitals. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1922. They number 35 houses with 340 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P, 81).

117. S. DELLA PENITENZA E CARITÀ CRISTIANA DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Roermond)

Founded in 1835 at Heythuisen (near Roermond) by Caterina Daemen (in religion Sister Maddalena). Purpose: instruction of girls, direction of orphanages, etc. Approval of the Constitutions in 1869. They number 4,093 sisters.

118. S. DELL'APOSTOLATO CATTOLICO (Pallottine)

Title of various Institutes arisen according to the needs of places and times, which follow more or less faithfully the rules traced by the blessed Pallotti (v.). In part they are congregations, in part secular institutes. The two principal congregations are:

1. Roman branch

Founded in 1843 by the blessed Pallotti in Rome. Until 1905 it was a congregation without vows. Purpose: the education of young women, cooperation with Catholic Action, charitable works. It is widespread in Italy, the United States, Brazil, Argentina. There are 426 sisters in 53 houses ([M. Raimondi], La Congregazione delle S. dell'Apostolato Cattolic, Rome 1952; [A. Faller], La fondaz. della Pia Casa di Carità, ibid. 1952).

2. Limburg branch

Arose in Limburg (Germany) in 1895 as an exclusively missionary Congregation. Spread through central Europe, England, the United States, British Honduras, South Africa. There are 572 sisters in 66 houses (cf. anon., Von Leben und Wirken... der Palottinerinnen, Limburg 1930; id., In den Spuren des Meisters, ibid. 1936).

119. S. DELL'APOSTOLATO DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ, called S. DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ DI AVANA (Havana)

Founded in Havana (Cuba) in 1891 by five pious women zealous for the Apostleship of Prayer. Purpose: education of youth and propagation of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Decree of praise in 1908, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1912. There are 150 sisters in 11 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., A, 35).

120. SISTERS OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

Arose in Cork (Ireland) in 1775 through the work of Nano (Honoria) Nagle. Purpose: care of poor and abandoned youth through schools and nurseries. Pius VII approved the Institute in 1791; in 1800 came the approval of the Constitutions and the elevation of the Institute to a regular Order with solemn vows and papal enclosure. Temporary approval of the new Constitutions in 1924, definitive in 1934. As the years passed, the houses existing in other regions detached themselves from the original stock and formed new independent institutions with their own superior generals: KILDARE (1932) with 183 sisters in 16 houses; MADRAS (1921) with 121 sisters and 12 houses; DUBUQUE (1875) with 167 sisters and 70 houses; KERRY (1932) with 237 sisters; MELBOURNE (1889) with 235 sisters and 26 houses; S. FRANCISCO (1888) with 147 sisters and 12 houses; SIOUX FALLS (1890) with 235 sisters and 28 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., D, 11).

121. S. DELLA PRESENTAZIONE DELLA BEATA VERGINE MARIA (Viviers)

Founded in 1796 at Montpézat by the ven. Marie Rivier. Purpose: teaching and other works of spiritual and material assistance. Decree of praise in 1836. Generalate house at Bourg-St-Andéol (diocese of Viviers). They number 1791 sisters in 105 houses in France and America (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 66).

122. S. DELLA PRESENTAZIONE DI NOSTRA SIGNORA DI CASTRES (Albi)

Founded at Castres (diocese of Albi) in 1760 by Msgr. Jean Sébastien de Bassal as a religious association; later erected into a true religious Congregation with vows in 1840. Purpose: education of girls and care of the sick. Decree of praise in 1855; definitive approval in 1861. They number 90 sisters in 10 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., A, 10).

123. S. DELLA PROVVIDENZA (Gap)

Congregation derived from a colony of the S. della Provvidenza of Portieux, invited in 1823 to Plan de Vitrolle (diocese of Gap), which erected itself into an autonomous Institute in 1838, and into a true Congregation with vows in 1843. Purpose: education of girls and assistance to the poor sick. They number 622 sisters.

124. S. DELLA PROVVIDENZA (Gorizia)

Founded at Udine in 1845 by the Philippian Luigi Scrosoppi. Purpose: exercise of charity toward one's neighbor. Decree of praise in 1862; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1871, definitive in 1891. They number 1212 sisters in 85 houses, in Italy, Brazil, Paraguay. Generalate house at Gorizia (Arch. d. Casa general.; P. Colombara, Un apostolo della Carità. P. Luigi Scrosoppi, Bergamo 1929).

125. S. DELLA PROVVIDENZA (Langres)

Founded at Langres in 1802 by the abbé Leclerc and by Mlle Roger. They had a marvelous development and in 1900 numbered 700 sisters in 214 houses; but the subversive laws of 1901-1903 brought about the closure of many houses and the secularization of many sisters. Purpose: education of youth and care of the poor and the sick in hospitals and at home. Decree of praise in 1844, definitive approval in 1858. They number 160 sisters in 37 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 6).

126. S. DELLA PROVVIDENZA (Le Mans)

Founded at La Flèche (diocese of Le Mans) in 1804 by Mlle Françoise Jamin, first as a religious association, which then erected itself in 1828 into a true Congregation with vows. Purpose: education of girls and assistance to the poor and sick. They number 156 sisters.

127. S. DELLA PROVVIDENZA (S. Giacomo, Chile)

Derived from a colony of the S. della Provvidenza of Montréal (Canada) that passed to S. Giacomo del Cile in 1853, later erecting themselves into an independent Institute in 1855. Purpose: education of youth and spiritual and temporal charitable activities. They number 151 sisters.

128. S. DELLA PROVVIDENZA (Troyes)

Founded in 1819 at Pargue (diocese of Troyes) by the abbé Boigegrain, transferred in 1835 to Troyes. Purpose: instruction of youth and care of the poor sick, especially in the countryside. Approval of the Institute in 1870. They number 88 sisters in 11 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., T, 14).

129. S. DELLA PROVVIDENZA DELL'IMMACOLATA CONCEZIONE (Namur)

Founded at Namur in 1833 by the canon J. B. Viktor. Purpose: education of youth in schools, nurseries, orphanages; assistance to the sick and to prisoners. They number 1479 sisters.

130. S. DELLA PROVVIDENZA DI PORTIEUX (St-Dié)

Founded in 1762 at Portieux (diocese of St-Dié) by the ven. Jean Martin Moyé. Purpose: Christian education and care of the poor sick, especially in the countryside. Decree of praise in 1859, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1922, definitive in 1930. They number 1663 sisters in about 214 houses (cf. Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., D, 22).

131. S. DELLA PROVVIDENZA DI ST-JEAN DE BASSEL (Metz)

Founded at St-Jean in 1762 by the ven. Jean Martin Moyé; after the dispersion caused by the French Revolution they reorganized in 1827, not only at Portieux but also at St-Jean de Bassel, though as an independent Institute. Purpose: education of youth, especially in the countryside, and care of the sick. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1931. They number 300 houses with 1500 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 110).

132. S. DELLA PROVVIDENZA PER L'INFANZIA ABBANDONATA (Piacenza)

Founded in 1921 at Piacenza by Msgr. Francesco Torta. Purpose: care and education of needy children. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1945. They number 130 sisters in 10 houses in Italy. Generalate house at Piacenza (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

133. S. DELLA PURITÀ DI MARIA SANTISSIMA (Majorca)

Founded in 1809 at Majorca by Bishop Msgr. Bernardo Nadal. Purpose: education of youth and social apostolate for women, especially working women. Decree of praise in 1901; definitive approval in 1925. They number 200 sisters in 20 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 67).

134. S. DELLA RIPARAZIONE (Milan): v. RIPARATRICI DEI SS. CUORI DI GESÙ E MARIA.

135. S. DELLA RISURREZIONE DI NOSTRO SIGNORE GESÙ CRISTO (Rome)

Founded in Rome in 1891 by the servants of God Celina Chludzinska, widow Borzecka, and by her daughter Edvige. Purpose: education of youth, parish works, schools of every grade, assistance to the sick in hospitals. Decree of praise in 1905, definitive approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1923. There are 62 houses with about 1000 sisters, in Italy, Europe, America and Australia. Generalate house at Rome (Arch. d. Casa gener.; cf. T. Kalkstein, Madre Celina Borzecka, Warsaw 1939, Italian ed., Rome 1941; id., Madre Edvige Borzecka, Warsaw 1939, Italian ed., Rome 1942).

136. S. DELLA RIUNIONE DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ (Bordeaux)

Founded in 1790 at Bordeaux by some pious women, in reparation for the outrages committed against the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Purpose: propagation of devotion to the Sacred Heart, education of girls, boarding schools for ladies. Approved by Pius VII in 1829 and by Pius IX in 1875. They number 98 sisters in 8 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 33).

137. S. DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA (Verona): v. PICCOLE S. DELLA SANTA FAMIGLIA.

138. S. DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA (Sherbrooke): v. PICCOLE S. DELLA SANTA FAMIGLIA.

139. S. DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA (Bergamo)

Founded at Comonte (diocese of Bergamo) in 1856 by the blessed Paola Elisabetta Cerioli, widow Buzzecchi Tossis. Purpose: to train the orphans of peasants, both boys and girls, for work on the land, by means of schools and boarding houses. The work is supported by the religious of the Holy Family, founded at Villecampagna di Soncino in 1865 by the same Blessed. Decree of praise in 1896, definitive approval in 1902. They number 292 sisters (cf. Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 56; E. Federici, Suor Paola E. Cerioli, Comonte 1948).

140. S. DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA (Bordeaux)

Founded at Bordeaux in 1820 by the servant of God Pierre-Bienvenu Noailles and approved by the Holy See in 1831. It originally consisted of 7 congregations distinct in habit and in offices, bound together only by a common rule. Decree of praise in 1841; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1902. In 1903, in which they received definitive approval, the 7 original branches were reduced to 4: Sisters of St. Joseph, Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Sisters of Hope, Missionary Sisters. They number 4500 sisters in 260 houses in Italy and abroad (Arch. of the General House).

141. S. DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA (Spoleto)

Founded at Cannaïola di Trevi (diocese of Spoleto) in 1888 by Msgr. Pietro Bonilli. Purpose: education of youth, especially of the blind, deaf-mutes and orphans; care of the sick. Decree of praise in 1911; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1932, definitive in 1941. They number 672 sisters in 115 houses in Italy and in Cyrenaica. General house at Spoleto (Arch. of the General House).

142. S. DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA (Verona)

Founded in 1816 at Verona by Leopoldina Naudet. Purpose: Christian instruction of young women. Definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1948. They number about 100 sisters in 23 houses (cf. Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 7).

143. S. DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA DEL SACRO CUORE (Paris)

Founded at Annecy in 1889 by Fr. Luigi Stefano Rabussier and by Sister Maria Ignazia Melin. Purpose: catechetical apostolate in parishes. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1907, definitive in 1928 (cf. F. Casolini, Profilo della madre I. Melin, Rome 1947).

144. S. DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO, ISTITUTO «LEGA» (Modigliana)

Fon-

founded in 1871 at Modigliana by Sister Teresa Lega. Purpose: Christian education of poor girls and care of the sick. Decree of praise in 1888 (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 50).

145. SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF HELMET (Malines)

Founded in 1856 at Thielt (diocese of Bruges, Belgium), by some pious women, who later transferred the mother house to Helmet (diocese of Malines). Purpose: Christian education of young women. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1904, definitive in 1926. There are 120 sisters in 8 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 47).

146. SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF NAZARETH (Rome)

Founded in Rome in 1875 by Francesca Siedliska. Purpose: reparation, works of charity on behalf of abandoned children in hospitals and orphanages, education of youth in boarding schools, schools, nurseries, etc. Decree of praise in 1896, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1909, definitive in 1923. There are 2194 sisters with 126 houses in Italy, Europe, the United States and Australia (cf. V. Sardi, Francesca Siedliska, Rome 1903; anonymous, La Congr. delle S. F. di N. nel primo novantennio, Rome 1925).

147. SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF OUR LADY OF LA DÉLIVRANCE (Bayeux)

Founded in 1850 at Délivrance (diocese of Bayeux) by Fr. Saulet. Purpose: Christian formation and protection of young women, especially factory workers. Decree of praise in 1899; definitive approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1928. There are 10 houses with 150 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 58).

148. SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF VILLEFRANCHE (Rodez)

Founded in 1816 at Villefranche (diocese of Rodez) by St. Emilie de Rodat. Purpose: Christian instruction of the poor and care of orphans and the sick. Decree of praise in 1869, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1875. There are 1250 sisters in 120 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., R, 20).

149. SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS (Fort Wayne)

Derived from a colony of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, founded at Le Mans in 1841 by the priest Basile Moreau, who went to the United States in 1843 and were erected into an independent Congregation in 1869 through the intervention of the bishop of Fort Wayne.

Purpose: education of youth in schools, colleges, orphanages and care of the sick in hospitals. They number 1,268 sisters.

150. SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS OF INGENBOHL (Chur)

Founded in 1844 at Altdorf (diocese of Chur, Switzerland) by Fr. Teodosio Fiorentini. Purpose: religious instruction and care of the poor and the sick. In 1856 it divided into two branches: 1) that of METZINGER; 2) that of INGENBOHL. The latter received pontifical approval in 1862. It numbers more than 11,000 sisters in 1,500 houses divided into 12 religious provinces (cf. M. C. Rutischauer, M. Teresa Scherer, Rome 1941).

151. SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS AND OF THE SEVEN DOLORS (Montreal)

Derived from a colony of Sisters of the Holy Cross founded at Le Mans in 1841 by Fr. Basilio Moreau, who went to Canada in 1847 at the request of the bishop of Montreal. The houses operating in Canada erected themselves into an independent institute in 1883. Purpose: education of youth and care of the sick. They number 1,636 sisters.

152. SISTERS OF THE HOLY CHILDHOOD (Digne): v. SISTERS OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE.

153. SISTERS OF THE HOLY CHILDHOOD OF JESUS AND MARY (Metz)

Founded at Metz in 1807 by Bishop Msgr. Jauffret and by Madame Méyanès. Purpose: to re-establish religious principles in France, to exercise the works of spiritual and corporal charity. Decree of praise in 1857, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1888. There are about 1,000 sisters in 53 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 49).

154. SISTERS OF THE HOLY HUMILITY OF MARY (Davenport)

Founded at Dommartin-sous-Amance (France) in 1855 by Fr. Giovanni Giuseppe Begal and transferred to Ottumwa, Iowa (diocese of Davenport, United States) in 1877. Purpose: instruction of youth and care of the sick in hospitals. Decree of praise in 1931; definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1944. There are 220 sisters in 30 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., D, 16).

155. SISTERS OF THE HOLY VIRGIN (Bois-le-Duc)

Also called Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, founded at Engelen

(diocese of Bois-le-Duc) in 1822 as the "Institute of Christian Pedagogy." Purpose: education of youth through colleges and schools, works of charity through hospitals, dispensaries, homes for the aged, visiting the sick at home, missionary work. Definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1925. There are 2,306 sisters in 83 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 98).

156. SISTERS OF THE MOST HOLY CROSS AND PASSION (Salford)

Founded in 1851 in the diocese of Salford (England) by some pious women devoted to St. Paul of the Cross. Purpose: apostolate especially in industrial areas and near factories; care of young working women. Approval of the Constitutions by the S. Congr. of Propaganda in 1887. They number 550 sisters in 50 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., S, 38).

157. SISTERS OF THE MOST HOLY PASSION AND OF MARY IMMACULATE (Mexico)

Founded at Mexico City in 1895 by the Passionist Fr. Diego di S. Francesco. Purpose: to promote devotion to the Passion of Jesus, education of girls, service in colleges. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1941. There are 20 houses with 150 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 140).

158. SISTERS OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY (Madrid)

The Institute, which arose in Italy at the beginning of the 19th century and was approved by the Holy See in 1828, spread widely in Spain, where it constituted an autonomous congregation. Purpose: education of poor and ignorant girls. Definitive approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1900. There are about 22 houses with 130 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 110).

159. SISTERS OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY (Valence)

Founded at Lyon in 1659 by Abbot de Morange with the mother house at Valence from 1685 and reconstituted in 1824. Purpose: education of girls and care of the sick in civil and military hospitals. They now number 936 sisters.

160. SISTERS OF THE ASSUMPTION (AUGUSTINIAN SISTERS OF THE ASSUMPTION) (Liège)

Founded in Paris in 1839 by Anne Eugénie Milleret de Bon. Purpose: education of women: boarding schools, orphanages, schools of every grade, retreats. Active and contemplative life together, nourished by liturgical prayer and eucharistic worship. Decree of praise in 1855, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1888, definitive in 1920. There are about 1,000 sisters in 37 houses (cf. anon., Une fondatrice de Congr. Relig., M. Marie Eugénie de Jésus, St-Etienne 1922).

161. SISTERS OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE HOLY VIRGIN (Nicolet)

Founded in 1853 at St. Grégoire de Nicolet (Canada) by the parish priest Giovanni Harper and by four young ladies of the parish: Leocadia Bourgeois, Giulia Héon, Matilde Leduc, Edvige Buisson. Purpose: Christian education of girls in schools and colleges. They number 1,234 sisters.

162. SISTERS OF THE VIRGIN OF FAITH (Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Orphans) (Bayeux)

Founded at La Délivrance (diocese of Bayeux) in 1831 by the Countess Enrichetta de la Forestier d'Asseville. Purpose: to gather and educate poor girls, in orphanages, boarding schools, patronages, places of care. Decree of praise in 1870, approval of the Institute and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1890, definitive in 1904. There are 200 sisters in 12 houses (cf. A. Raimbert, Guide de vocat. relig., II, Paris 1924, pp. 500-505).

163. SISTERS OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION (Tournai)

Founded in 1817 at St-André d'Echauffour (diocese of Séez, France) by Fr. Luigi Martin Lafosse. Purpose: religious and civil formation of youth. The mother house has been transferred to Tournai. Decree of praise in 1893; definitive approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1921. They number 565 sisters in 32 houses (cf. A. Raimbert, Guide de vocation relig., II, Paris 1924, pp. 463-69).

164. SISTERS OF THE POORELLES (Bergamo)

Founded at Bergamo in 1869 by Fr. Luigi Palazzolo and by Teresa Gabrielli. Purpose: care of orphans, the aged, the sick, the mentally deficient; assistance to emigrants; vocational schools, nurseries, oratories. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1912, definitive in 1919. They number 1,202 sisters in 203 houses in Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Belgian Congo. Generalate house at Bergamo (Arch. d. Casa general.; G. Belloli, Don L. M. Palazzolo, Bergamo 1936; L. Frigeni, Vita di S. M. T. Gabrieli, ibid. 1928).

165. SISTERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS OF MERCY (St-Sauveur le Vicomte)

Founded at Cherbourg in 1806 by St. Mary Magdalene Postel with the Mother house at St-Sauveur le Vicomte (diocese of Coutance) from 1832. An institute parallel to that of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, whose rules it has. Purpose: Christian instruction of girls through nurseries, schools of every grade, orphanages, boarding schools, workshops. Definitive approval in 1901.

166. SISTERS OF THE SCHOOLS OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI: v. FRANCISCAN TEACHING SISTERS.

167. SISTERS OF THE SCHOOLS OF OUR LADY (Budweis): v. POOR SISTERS OF THE SCHOOLS OF OUR LADY (Budweis).

168. SISTERS OF THE SCHOOLS OF OUR LADY (Munich): v. POOR SISTERS OF THE SCHOOLS OF OUR LADY (Munich).

169. SISTERS OF THE ATONEMENT (New York)

Founded at Graymoor (New York) on 3 Oct. 1909 by Laurana Maria White, converted from Anglicanism and formerly superior of an Anglican monastery. Purpose: to attend to the conversion of unbelievers and the reunion of Protestants with the Catholic Church. In 1921 aggregated to the Franciscan Order. Decree of praise in 1935. They number 125 houses (cf. anon., The Graymorian, Graymoor 1925; Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., N. 34).

170. SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE (Genoa)

Founded at Genoa in 1876 by Fr. Agostino Roscelli. Purpose: instruction and religious formation of youth. Decree of praise in 1913, approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1942. They number 75 houses with 550 sisters (Arch. d. Congr. d. Relig., G. 38).

171. SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (Annecy)

Founded at Annecy in 1855 by Sister Maria de Mallient. Purpose: at first the care of little black girls, then the instruction and religious formation of youth. Decree of praise in 1873; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1883, definitive in 1926. They number 105 sisters with 14 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., A. 51).

172. SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (Poitiers)

Founded at Niort (diocese of Poitiers) in 1854 by Fr. Francesco Donaziano Pécot. Purpose: education of youth and care of the sick. Decree of praise in 1879, approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1902. They number 275 sisters with 19 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P. 36).

173. SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (São Paulo)

Founded in 1890 at Vigolo (State of Santa Catarina, Brazil) by the young Tyrolean woman Amabile Wisenmeister, under the guidance of the Jesuit Luigi M. Rossi. In 1895 they were constituted as an autonomous Congregation with their own Constitutions by the bishop of Paraná. Purpose: at first, the care of lepers; from 1895, the care of the sick and of orphans. Decree of praise in 1933. They number 298 sisters in 40 houses, with the mother house at São Paulo (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P. 103).

174. SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI (Veghel)

Founded at Veghel (diocese of Bois-le-Duc, Holland). Purpose: instruction of youth and care of the sick. Approval of the Constitutions in 1870. There are 36 houses with 1025 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B. 95).

175. SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES (Monreale)

Founded at Cinisi (diocese of Monreale) by Carolina Santocanale. Purpose: education of youth in schools, workshops, university residences; hospital assistance. Decree of praise in 1942. They number 20 houses with 200 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M. 151).

176. SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE VIRGIN MARY (Breslau): v. POVERE S. DELL'IMMACOLATA VERGINE MARIA.

177. SISTERS OF THE WORKER (Lille): v. PICCOLE S. DELL'OPERAIO.

178. SISTERS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Ariano Irpino)

Founded at Ariano Irpino in 1877 by the bishop Msgr. Francesco Trotta and by Mother Ernestina Giuseppina Arcucci. They derive from an ancient monastery of Cassinese Benedictines, suppressed by the suppressive laws of 1866, which then asked for and obtained to be transformed into a Congregation of active life. Purpose: to promote the worship of the Holy Spirit; instruction with nursery schools and schools; assistance in orphanages, hospices, asylums, clinics, hospitals, outpatient clinics. It numbers 120 sisters in 17 houses in Italy. Generalate house at Ariano Irpino (Arch. d. Casa general.).

179. SISTERS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Trier)

Founded at Marienhof (diocese of Trier) in 1857 by Fr. Filippo De Lorenzi. Purpose: care of the sick, including those with contagious diseases, in hospitals and at home, care of orphans, instruction of girls in women's crafts and for the direction of nursery schools. Decree of praise in 1910, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1929. There are 643 sisters in 48 houses (Arch. d. Congr. d. Relig., T. 48).

180. SISTERS OF THE PATRONAGE OF ST. JOSEPH (Perugia)

Founded at Rome in 1884 by Mother Josepha Le Dieu de la Ruandière. Purpose: education and assistance of poor and abandoned children. Decree of praise in 1908, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1923, definitive in 1933. They number 618 sisters in 70 houses. Generalate house at Perugia (Arch. d. Casa general.).

181. SISTERS OF THE POOR CHILD JESUS (Roermond)

Founded at Aachen, first as a pious association in 1837, then as a true religious Congregation in 1848 by Clara Pey. Purpose: instruction of children and youth in nursery schools, colleges, residences, orphanages, elementary, middle and higher schools; definitive approval in 1888. They number 2066 sisters.

182. SISTERS OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD (Cincinnati)

Founded in Graubünden (Switzerland) ca. 1835 by the widow Anna Maria Brunner and her son Fr. Francesco. Purpose: to spread devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus; care of the poor, the sick and abandoned girls. In 1850 the Institute moved to America. Approval of the Institute and decree of praise in 1936. There are 620 sisters in ca. 60 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., C. 107).

183. SISTERS OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF MONZA (Milan)

Founded at Monza in 1876 by Maria Bucchi and several of her companions, who entered among the Canossians and were constituted by the superior into a group of Canossian Tertiaries. After 20 years they constituted themselves as an autonomous congregation with the present title. Purpose: education of girls in colleges, public and private schools, day and evening craft schools, summer camps and retreats. Decree of praise in 1942, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1934, definitive in 1942. They number 550 sisters in 82 houses in Italy, Switzerland and Brazil. Generalate house at Monza (Arch. d. Casa general.).

184. SISTERS OF THE MOST PURE HEART OF MARY (Portalegre)

Founded in 1843 at Vienna by M. Barbara Maix and transferred by her to Brazil in 1848, where the mother house of Portalegre arose. Purpose: education of youth, especially of orphans. They number 311 sisters.

185. SISTERS OF THE RETREAT (Vannes): v. FIGLIE DELLA SANTA VERGINE «S. DEL RITIRO» (Vannes).

186. SISTERS OF THE ROSARY OF JERUSALEM (Jerusalem)

Founded in 1880 by Fr. D. Tannus of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Purpose: to help the priests of the patriarchate in parishes and mission stations, also with schools, colleges, orphanages. They number over 100 sisters in ca. 25 houses.

187. SISTERS OF THE SACRED HEART OF THE INCARNATE WORD (Rome)

Founded at Palermo in 1884 by Sister Carmela of Jesus (Francesca Paola Prestigiacomo). Purpose: instruction and education of young women: colleges, boarding schools, orphanages, schools, etc. Decree of praise in 1901, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1941. There are 19 houses with 298 nuns (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P, 56).

188. S. OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS (Kraków): v. PICCOLE SERVE DEL SACRATISSIMO CUORE DI GESÙ.

189. S. OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS OF HAVANA (Havana): v. S. DELL'APOSTOLATO DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ DETTE S. DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ DI AVANA.

190. S. OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS OF RAGUSA (Syracuse)

Founded at Ragusa in 1889 by Sister Maria Schininà. Purpose: assistance to youth in orphanages, schools, workshops, nurseries, etc.; shelters for the disabled and hospitals. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1936, definitive in 1946. They number 354 nuns in 40 houses, all in Italy. Generalate house at Ragusa (Arch. d. Casa general.).

191. S. OF THE SACRED HEART OF MARY VIRGIN IMMACULATE (Montpellier)

Founded in 1831 at Bézier (diocese of Montpellier) by the abbot J. Gailhac, to which the widow Cure gave new life in 1849. Purpose: education of youth in boarding schools, orphanages, schools, etc. They number 950 nuns in about 50 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 30).

192. S. OF THE SAVIOR AND OF THE HOLY VIRGIN (Limoges)

Founded at La Souterraine-Creuse (diocese of Limoges) in 1834 by Giuseppina du Bourg (in religion Mother Maria of Jesus). Purpose: education of young women in schools, workshops and orphanages; care of the sick in clinics and hospitals. Decree of praise in 1872, approval of the Institute and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1891, definitive in 1904. They number 273 nuns with 27 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 31).

193. S. OF THE MOST HOLY CHILD JESUS AND OF THE HOLY FAMILY (Palermo)

Congregation formed in 1931 from the union of the "Colleges of Mary" of Sicily (almost all founded in the 1700s) through the work of His Eminence Cardinal Luigi Lavitrano, archbishop of Palermo. Purpose: education of girls. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1934, definitive in 1944. They number 930 nuns in 45 houses in Italy. The generalate house is at Palermo (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

194. S. OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT (Autun)

Founded at Mâcon in 1732 by the priest Luigi Agut. Purpose: the care of the sick and education of youth. Decree of praise in 1914; definitive approval of the Institute in 1918 and of the Constitutions in 1919. There are 51 houses with 210 nuns (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., A, 44).

195. S. OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT (Budweis)

Founded in 1887 at Budweis by C. M. Sebasta. Purpose: education of youth and care of the sick and the poor. Decree of praise in 1933, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1948. There are 10 houses with 120 nuns (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 127).

196. S. OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT (Lafayette)

Nuns originally belonging to the Congregation of Perpetual Adoration founded in Paris in 1658 by the servant of God Catherine of Bar, who passed in 1827 into Louisiana (United States) and constituted themselves in 1892 as an autonomous Congregation at Lafayette (diocese of New Orleans) with the present title. Purpose: education of youth in colleges, schools, academies. Decree of praise in 1928, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1935. There are 13 houses with 190 nuns (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 79).

197. S. OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT (Valence)

Founded in 1815 at Romans (diocese of Valence) by the priest Vigne. Purpose: adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament, Christian education of girls and assistance to the poor and the sick. Decree of praise in 1863, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1885. There are 21 houses with 180 nuns (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 18).

198. S. OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT AND OF CHARITY (Bourges)

Founded at Bourges in 1662 by the priest Antonio Moreau. Purpose: education of youth. Decree of praise in 1863; aggregated to the Augustinian Order in 1730. They number 204 nuns in 35 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 17).

199. S. OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT FOR THE INDIANS AND NEGROES (Philadelphia)

Founded at the end of the 19th century. Purpose: from the beginning they had a particular missionary character, working to spread the Catholic faith among the Indians and Negroes of America. Decree of praise in 1897, approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1907. There are 45 houses with 450 nuns (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., F, 19).

200. S. OF THE MOST HOLY SAVIOR (Strasbourg)

Founded in 1849 at Niederbonn (diocese of Strasbourg) by Elisabetta Spinger. Purpose: assistance to the poor sick in hospitals and at home. Decree of praise in 1924. They number 5300 nuns in 686 houses, divided into 5 religious provinces (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., S, 4).

201. S. OF THE MOST HOLY SAVIOR OF SAINT BRIDGET (Rome)

Founded at Rome in 1911 by Maria Elisabetta Hesselblod, adopting the ancient Rule and restoring with modern arrangements the Order of the Most Holy Savior founded by St. Bridget around 1340. Purpose: contemplative life for the conversion of non-Catholics. Decree of praise in 1940. They number 171 nuns in 7 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., R, 88).

202. S. OF THE HOLY CHILD JESUS AND OF SAINT MAUR (Paris)

Founded in 1662 at Paris by Fr. Nicola Barré of the Minims as an association of lay teachers (institutes of nuns without enclosure not yet being admitted) and constituted as a religious Congregation in 1866. Purpose: instruction of the children of the people in schools of every mission. They number over 3000 nuns in 61 houses (cf. H. de Grezes, Hist. de l'Inst. des Ecoles charitables du St-Enfant Jésus, Paris 1894; anonymous, Congr. des Soeurs du St-Enfant Jésus, dites Dames de St-Maur, Lyon 1950).

203. S. OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS (Warsaw)

Founded in 1887 at Nowa Miasto (diocese of Warsaw) by Francesca Witkowska. Purpose: assistance to factory women workers with schools, family homes, nurseries, dormitories, etc. Decree of praise in 1923. They now number, after the political events of the war, 215 nuns in 16 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 84).

204. S. OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS OF THE THIRD ORDER OF SAINT DOMINIC (Toulouse)

Founded at Toulouse in 1804 by a religious of a suppressed institute, approved by the Holy See in 1870 and passed in 1886 to the Third Order of St. Dominic. Purpose: education of young women. There are 8 houses with 180 nuns (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., T, 15).

205. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF SAINT DOMINIC: v. TERZIARIE DOMENICANE DI NANCY.

206. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF SAINT DOMINIC OF THE CONGREGATION OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA (Louisville)

Founded in 1822 at Louisville by Fr. Tommaso Wimson, a Dominican. Purpose: instruction and education of youth. Decree of praise in 1915. They number 68 houses with 700 nuns (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 62).

207. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF SAINT FRANCIS (Peoria)

Founded in the diocese of Saint-Louis (Missouri) in 1888 by Sister Maria Pacifica Forrestal, of the Institute of the Franciscan Tertiaries of Dubuque. Purpose: care of children, orphan girls and the elderly. Decree of praise and pontifical approval in 1934. They number 367 nuns in 12 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P, 9).

208. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF SAINT FRANCIS (Pittsburgh)

Nuns originally of the Institute of the Tertiary Sisters, founded at Philadelphia in 1855 by the bishop, who, having moved to Pittsburgh, constituted themselves as an autonomous Congregation. Purpose: instruction of youth, assistance to the sick and the elderly in shelters. Definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1890. There are 32 houses with 611 nuns (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P, 73).

209. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS OF CHRISTIAN CHARITY (Vienna)

Founded in Vienna in 1848 by a group of young ladies employed in the service of a hospital and enrolled in the Third Order of St. Francis. Purpose: care of the sick in hospitals and at home. Decree of praise in 1914; definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1934. There are 830 sisters in 17 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 69).

210. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS OF PENANCE AND CHARITY (Milwaukee)

Founded in 1849 at St. Francis (archdiocese of Milwaukee) by some young women who had emigrated to the United States from Germany. Purpose: education of children, including the blind, mute and mentally deficient. In 1900 they were aggregated to the Franciscan Third Order; decree of praise and of approval of the Institute in 1911. There are 86 houses with 830 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 85).

211. SISTERS OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS OF DILLINGEN

The monastery of Dillingen dates back to 1241 and the S. had in it a kind of conservatory, though with papal enclosure. In 1446 the monastery was destroyed, but the s. rebuilt it and broadened their purpose, devoting themselves to the education of youth, without derogating from the enclosure. They were released from this after the Kulturkampf and were thus able to expand elsewhere. Approval of the Constitutions in 1950 (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., A, 85).

212. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS OF OLDENBURG (Indianapolis)

Founded in 1851 at Oldenburg (archdiocese of Indianapolis) by Sister Maria Teresa Genoveffa Hackelmeier. Purpose: education of small children and of girls in nurseries, orphanages and parish schools. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1891, definitive in 1899. In 1898 the Institute was aggregated to the Order of Friars Minor. There are 93 houses with 842 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., I, 8).

213. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS IN CLINTON (Davenport)

Founded in 1868 by the bishop of Louisville (Kantuk) with 3 young ladies first sent to the Franciscan S. of Oldenburg to be initiated into the religious life. Purpose: Christian education of youth. In 1907 they were aggregated to the Third Order of St. Francis; decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1923; definitive in 1931. There are 273 sisters in 31 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., D, 14).

214. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS IN GLEN RIDDLE (Philadelphia)

Founded in 1855 at Glen Riddle (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) by Msgr. John Nepomucene Neumann, bishop of Philadelphia. Purpose: education of youth in schools of every grade and hospital activity. Aggregation to the Third Order of St. Francis in 1914, approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1907. There are

1600 sisters in 123 houses, divided into 4 religious provinces (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., F, 21).

215. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS under the title of ST. BERNARDINO OF SIENA (Reading, Philadelphia)

Founded in 1894 at Reading (archdiocese of Philadelphia) by Sister Veronica Grzdowka of the Franciscans of Zakirin in Galicia, who had gone to America. Purpose: education of youth in schools and orphanages, aggregation to the Third Order of St. Francis; decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1933, definitive in 1941. There are 800 sisters in 90 houses, divided into 3 provinces, and 1 religious vice-province (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., F, 34).

216. S. OF THE REGULAR THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS (Augsburg)

Founded at Dillingen (diocese of Augsburg) in 1241 by Count Hartmann IV of Dillingen-Kyburg and his son Hartmann V, bishop of Augsburg. Only in 1628 were they constituted as a regular Order; transformed in 1923 into a religious Congregation. Purpose: education of youth in schools of every grade, direction of institutes and care of the sick, and from 1937 the training of teachers for the service of the Churches. Decree of praise in 1943. There are 2334 sisters in 199 houses (M. Lioba Schreyer, Die Gesch. der Franziskanerinnen, Dillingen s. d.).

217. S. OF THE REGULAR THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS OF THE CONGREGATION OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES (Winona)

Institute formed in 1877 by the S. of St. Francis of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate, existing in Minnesota, which had separated from the parent stock and been constituted as an autonomous body. Purpose: education of youth, care of orphans and assistance of the sick. Decree of praise and definitive approval in 1912. There are 603 sisters with 55 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 71).

218. S. OF THE INCARNATE WORD OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT (Corpus Christi)

The Institute arose as a Congregation of pontifical right only in 1931, from the union of two monasteries of the nuns of the Incarnate Word and of the Most Blessed Sacrament, existing in the diocese of Corpus Christi. Purpose: education of youth and conversion of unbelievers. There are 11 houses with 114 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., C, 115).

219. S. OF CHARITY (Dublin)

Founded in Dublin in 1816 by Mary Aikenhead. Purpose: care of the sick and assistance to the poor. Definitive approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1833. They number 560 sisters in 35 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., D, 18; anonymous, La rév. mère Mary Aikenhead, Tours 1927).

220. S. OF CHARITY (Leavenworth)

Founded in 1812 near Kansas City (diocese of Leavenworth). Purpose: Catholic teaching and care of the sick and of orphans. Decree of praise and approval of the Constitutions in 1915. There are 650 sisters in 72 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 60).

221. S. OF CHARITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF IVREA (Ivrea)

Founded at Rivarolo Canavese (diocese of Ivrea) in 1817 by the servant of God Antonia Maria Verna. Purpose: education of girls and small children in schools, boarding schools, orphanages; assistance to the poor and the sick; other works of social assistance, also in the missions. Decree of praise in 1901; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1835, definitive in 1904. They number 2500 sisters in 293 houses, in Italy and abroad. Generalate house at Ivrea (Arch. d. Casa general.; A. Perotti, La vita e l'opera della serva di Dio, madre A. M. Verna, Florence 1938).

222. S. OF CHARITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD (Galveston)

Founded in 1866 by Msgr. Dubuis, bishop of Galveston, and by three young ladies directed to the religious life among the S. of the Incarnate Word of Lyons, and who departed for America in 1867. Purpose: care of the sick in hospitals. Decree of praise in 1912, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1916. There are 21 houses with 475 religious (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., G, 37).

223. S. OF CHARITY OF MARY IMMACULATE (St. John). - Founded in 1845 at St. John (Canada) by Onoria Connolly. Purpose: care of the sick. Decree of praise in 1914. Definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1936. There are 33 houses with 450 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., G, 41).

224. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF OUR LADY OF GOOD AND PERPETUAL HELP (Rome)

Founded in Mauritius in 1850 by Caroline Lenferna de Laresle (in religion Sister Maria Agostina). Purpose: education of youth through schools and boarding schools, care of the sick, especially in mission lands where they have some leprosariums. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1876, definitive in 1882. They number 550 sisters in 67 houses (anon., Cenni biografici di madre Maria Agostina, Rome 1902).

225. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO (Roermond)

Founded in Batavia (Maastricht, Holland) by Maria Elisabetta Gruyters in 1837. Purpose: works of assistance. Approved by the S. Congr. of Propaganda in 1856 and revised by the bishop of Roermond in 1897, the Constitutions received temporary approval in 1902, definitive in 1911. They number 1895 sisters with 45 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., R, 52).

226. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. BARTOLOMEA CAPITANIO AND ST. VINCENZA GEROSA (Brescia)

Founded by the two Saints at Lovere (diocese of Brescia) in 1832. They are also called Sisters of the Infant Mary because of the Institute's particular veneration for Mary Most Holy as an Infant. Purpose: instruction and education of youth, works of charity in hospitals, clinics, dispensaries and nurseries in Europe and in the missions. Approval of the Institute in 1840. They number 7500 sisters in 560 houses, divided into 15 religious provinces (cf. anon., L'Istituto delle S. di Carità, 5 vols., Venice 1933).

227. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. MARY (Turin)

Founded in Turin in 1871 through the work of Sister Maria Luigia Clarac, formerly a religious of the Daughters of Charity. After turbulent early years, so much so that in 1910 the Holy See disavowed the Institute, it was declared diocesan that same year by the archbishop of Turin. Purpose: particular worship of the Most Holy Eucharist and perpetual adoration, with charitable activities especially toward prisoners and women workers. Decree of praise and approval of the Constitutions in 1934. They number 300 sisters in 50 houses in Italy and abroad. Generalate house in Turin (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., T, 75).

228. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL (Cincinnati)

Founded in 1808 at Emmitsburg by Elizabeth Ann Seton. Purpose: education of youth in schools of every grade, especially in the parochial schools founded by her, charitable activity in hospitals, homes, etc. After the foundress's death they divided into 7 distinct and independent branches, though bound by common traditions. Decree of praise in 1930, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1939. They number 1075 sisters (cf. R. Ricciardelli, Vita della Serva di Dio Elisabetta Seton, Rome 1929; see also SETON).

229. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL (Halifax)

A branch detached from the Sisters of Charity, who, having founded a house at Halifax, formed an autonomous Congregation. Purpose: education of youth. Pontifical approval in 1856. They number 1359 sisters in 79 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., H, 1).

230. SISTERS OF JESUS CRUCIFIED (Meaux)

Founded in 1928 by the abbé J. Gaucheron with Susanna Wrotnowska. Purpose: to foster and assist religious vocations. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1950. They number 94 sisters in 4 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 167).

231. SISTERS OF JESUS OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS (Lyons): v. PICCOLE S. DI GESÙ DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO.

232. SISTERS OF JESUS AND MARY (Rome)

Founded in Lyons in 1818 by Claudine Thevenet. Purpose: instruction and education with schools of every grade, including vocational ones for housewives and women workers, workshops, boarding schools; cooperation in parochial works. Approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1848. They number 2100 sisters in 75 houses (Lar. Gamas, M. Maria di S. Ignazio, Rome 1929).

233. SISTERS OF JESUS, MARY, JOSEPH (Bois-le-Duc) v. S. DELLA SANTA VERGINE (Bois-le-Duc).

234. SISTERS OF JESUS THE REPARATOR (Lyons)

Founded in 1915 at Lyons by Jane Rousset. Purpose: education of female youth on scientifically modern foundations. Decree of praise in 1923. There are 17 houses with 200 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 84).

235. SISTERS OF LORETO AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS (Louisville)

Founded in 1812 near Louisville (United States). Purpose: Christian education of female youth, especially in parochial schools, and spiritual and material assistance to the sick and the poor. Approval of the Constitutions in 1907. There are 67 houses with 1050 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 65).

236. SISTERS OF MARY OF NAZARETH (Palencia)

Arising within the Pious Union called de Los Sagrados Calvarios and more commonly of the Three Marys, founded in the diocese of Seville in 1910, on the initiative of the bishop Msgr. Emmanuele Gonzales-Garcia. At his death the Institute was erected into a religious Congregation without vows, within which lives the Association of the Marys Auxiliatrix, living in the world as religious. Purpose: adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament in abandoned churches and dissemination of the good press. They number 100 sisters in 10 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P, 128).

237. SISTERS OF MARY AND JOSEPH (Limoges)

Founded in 1805 at Dorat (diocese of Limoges) by Elisabetta Duplex. Purpose: assistance to women prisoners and to those discharged from prison. They number 279 sisters in 22 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 19).

238. SISTERS OF MARY MOST HOLY CONSOLER (Milan)

Founded in 1893 by the Capuchin father Arsenio and by mother Maria Cecilia Bruni. Purpose: education of youth and care of the sick. Decree of praise in 1915; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1929; definitive in 1943. They number 1234 sisters in 124 houses in Italy, France, China and North Africa (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

239. SISTERS OF MERCY (Perth)

Founded at Perth (Ireland) at the beginning of the 19th century. Purpose: education of youth and care of the sick. The individual houses were independent and in 1841 there was approval by the S. Congr. of Propaganda Fide. The archbishop of Perth united the 4 groups existing in his diocese (Victoria Square, Burbury, Coolgardy, St. Brigid) into a single Congregation, which in 1940 received approval of the Constitutions. There are 20 houses with 266 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P, 6).

240. SISTERS OF NAZARETH (Westminster): v. POVERE S. DI NAZARETH.

241. SISTERS OF OUR LADY (Namur)

Founded in the diocese of Amiens in 1804 by the b. Julie Billiart. Purpose: free religious and civil education of poor girls. Decree of praise in 1844, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1921. They number 3891 sisters in 161 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., N, 4).

242. SISTERS OF OUR LADY (Rome)

A branch detached from the Sisters of Our Lady of Namur founded in 1804 by the b. Julie Billiart, erected into an autonomous Congregation in 1850 at Coesfeld (Germany). Purpose: education of youth and works of spiritual and corporal mercy. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1855, definitive in 1900. They number 3238 sisters in 282 houses in Italy, Europe, America, India and Indonesia. Generalate house in Rome (Arch. d. Casa gener.; Unter dem Banner Unserer Lieben Frau, Herausg. von den Schwestern U. L. Frau, Kühlen 1925).

243. SISTERS OF OUR LADY AT AMERSFOORT (Utrecht)

Founded at Amersfoort (diocese of Utrecht) in 1822 by the father Mattia Wolff, Jesuit. Purpose: exercise of the works of spiritual and corporal mercy, especially education of youth. Definitive approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1870. It numbers 1154 sisters in 50 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., U, 6).

244. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF THE APOSTLES (Venissieux, Rhône)

Founded in Lyons in 1875 by Fr. Augustine Planque. Purpose: to cooperate in the missionary apostolate of the Fathers of the African Missions, with schools, hospitals and clinics. Decree of praise in 1904; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1912, definitive in 1928. The Institute is very flourishing and has numerous missions, especially in Africa (G. Goyau, Les Soeurs de Notre-Dame des Apôtres, Paris 1936).

245. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF GOOD HELP (Lyons)

Founded in 1835 in Lyons. Purpose: care of the sick in hospitals and at home. Decree of praise in 1891, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1933. There are 11 houses with 182 sisters (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 48).

246. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF CALVARY (Cahors)

Founded in 1835 at Granat (diocese of Cahors) by the priest Peter Bonhonne. Purpose: care of the poor and the sick in hospitals and at home. Decree of praise in 1911, definitive approval in 1927. They number 387 sisters in 38 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., C, 58).

247. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL (Florence)

Founded in Florence in 1852 by Maria Scrilli (in religion Maria Teresa of Jesus). Purpose: reparation to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, education of girls of the common people; works of mercy: hospitals, prisons, etc. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1933, definitive in 1940. They number 168 sisters in 31 houses in Italy and the United States. Generalate house in Florence (Arch. d. Casa general.).

248. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF CHARITY OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD (Angers)

Founded in 1835 by St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, superior of the Refuge of Angers, who obtained from Gregory XVI that all the houses dependent on Angers and those that would be founded thereafter should have a superior general. They number about 10,000 sisters in more than 360 houses (cf. G. Bernoville, Ste M. E. Pelletier, Paris 1945).

249. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF CHARITY called OF THE

REFUGE (Bayeux): v. ORDER OF OUR LADY OF CHARITY OF THE REFUGE.

250. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF COMPASSION (Marseilles)

Founded in 1843 in Marseilles by the Jesuit Fr. Barthès. Purpose: assistance of the sick and the old, education of youth with hospices for wayward girls. Decree of praise in 1880, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1924. They number 138 sisters in 14 houses.

251. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF COMPASSION (Toulouse)

Founded in 1817 in Toulouse by Abbot Ganigan and Mother Jeanne-Marie Deschaux, former superior of the Good Shepherd. The various houses, at first independent, were united in 1912. Purpose: education of youth in colleges, orphanages, workshops. Decree of praise and approval of the Constitutions in 1935. They number 167 sisters in 20 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., T, 74).

252. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF CONSOLATION (Tortosa)

Founded in Tortosa in 1849 by a group of pious women under the guidance of the priest G. B. Gil. Purpose: education of youth in schools and colleges, assistance to the sick in clinics and hospitals. Decree of praise in 1888; approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1907. They number 708 sisters in 78 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., T, 29).

253. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF THE CROSS (Grenoble)

Founded in 1833 at Murinais (diocese of Grenoble) by Adele de Murinais. Purpose: education of girls, especially the poor, and assistance to the sick. Decree of praise in 1911, definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1920. They number 195 sisters in 25 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., G, 35).

254. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF MERCY (Bois-le-Duc)

Founded at Tilburg in 1852 by three pious young women under the guidance of the priest John Zurwijsen, later bishop of Bois-le-Duc. Purpose: instruction of youth and assistance to the sick. Approval of the Constitutions in 1844, of the Institute in 1848. They number 4129 sisters in 110 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 106).

255. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF MERCY (Cloyne)

Founded at Cloyne in Ireland in 1827, approved by the S. Congr. of Propaganda in 1841. The various houses, at first independent, were united in 1916 into a single Institute, approved in 1924. Purpose: assistance to the sick, the poor and the old. They number 240 sisters in 7 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., C, 77).

256. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF MERCY (Laval)

Founded at Laval in 1816 by Teresa Agatha Roudeaux and the Jesuit Fr. C. Lauon. Purpose: rehabilitation of fallen women. Decree of praise in 1878. The houses in Poland in 1922 separated to form an institute of their own with generalate house in Warsaw. They number 134 sisters in 6 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 38).

257. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF THE PRESENTATION OF MANOSQUE (Digne)

Founded at Manosque (diocese of Digne) in 1818 by the priest I. Courbon in the form of a pious association, transformed into a religious Congregation by the priest G. Preval. Purpose: to make reparation for offenses against the Church; the contemplative life and educational activity for youth in colleges. They number 38 sisters in 2 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., D, 3).

258. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF PROVIDENCE (Blois)

Founded at Blois in 1829 by the bishop of the city, Msgr. A. Fabre, and by Mlle Delille. To this Congregation were united in 1836 the "Young Economies," directed by the priest Thoré, dedicated to the art of embroidery. The House was erected into a regular religious Community in 1939. Purpose: education of youth in nurseries, orphanages, schools; care of the sick at home and in clinics; and of the old in hospices. Decree of praise and approval of the Constitutions in 1936. They number 86 sisters in 11 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 129).

259. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY (Buenos Aires)

Founded in Buenos Aires in 1895 by the priest Joseph Americo Orzali. Purpose: education of the poor youth of the rural populations, assistance of the sick in hospitals; direction of prisons and houses of preservation for women. Decree of praise in 1931. They number 366 sisters in 26 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 126).

260. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY AND PONT DE BEAUVOISIN (Grenoble)

Founded at Le Pont de Beauvoisin (diocese of Grenoble) in 1831 by Elizabeth Giraud. Purpose: instruction and education of youth with schools of every grade and assistance to the sick in clinics and hospitals. Decree of praise in 1897, approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1937. They number 315 sisters with 39 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., G, 25).

261. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART (Moncton)

In 1923 the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception, founded at Saint-Jean (Canada), obtained to constitute themselves as an autonomous Congregation under the present name. They number 183 sisters in 15 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., G, 61).

262. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF THE HOLY ROSARY (Rimouski)

Founded at Rimouski in 1874 by Elizabeth Turgen. Purpose: Christian instruction in parish schools. At first without vows, they took in 1879 the form of a religious Institute with vows. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1927, definitive in 1935. They number 659 sisters in 68 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., R, 64).

263. SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF SION (Paris)

Founded in Paris in 1843 by Theodore and Alphonse Ratisbonne and Mrs. Stoulhen. Purpose: education of young women, preferably of converts; expiation and prayer for Israel. Since 1936 there exists the branch of the Handmaids of Our Lady of Sion dedicated to direct apostolate among the Jews. Approval in 1874. They number 2000 sisters in 50 houses (cf. Les religieuses de N.-D. de Sion, Paris 1923; M. de Sion, Un désir de Marie, ibid. 1946).

264. SISTERS OF SAINT-AIGNAN (Orléans): v. GUARDIAN ADORERS OF THE EUCHARIST, called SOEURS DE SAINT-AIGNAN.

265. SISTERS OF ST. BERNARDINE OF SIENA IN READING (Philadelphia): v. S. OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS UNDER THE TITLE OF ST. BERNARDINE OF SIENA (Reading, Philadelphia).

266. S. DI SAN CARLO (Lyons)

Founded in 1680 in Lyons by the priest Carlo Demia. Purpose: education of youth and care of the sick at home. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1921, definitive in 1930. They number 1095 sisters in 110 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 70).

267. S. DI SAN DOMENICO DELLA CONGREGAZIONE DI SANTA CECILIA (Nashville)

Founded in Nashville (United States) in 1860 by five Dominican sisters of the Institute of St. Mary of Somerset (Ohio). Purpose: education of youth of the white race and of the black race. Affiliation with the First Dominican Order in 1913. Decree of praise in 1939. They number 132 sisters in 12 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., N, 49).

268. S. DI SAN FELICE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Kraków)

Founded in Warsaw in 1855 by Fr. Beniamino Szimanski, Capuchin. Purpose: instruction of youth. In 1864 the mother house emigrated to Kraków because of the persecution of the Russian government. Decree of praise in 1874; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1899, definitive in 1907. They number 4360 sisters in 315 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., C, 28).

269. S. DI SAN FILIPPO NERI (Barcelona)

Founded in Mataró (diocese of Barcelona) in 1859 by the priest Mario Castener. Purpose: education of young women, especially the poor, in colleges, in Sunday catechism classes; houses of spiritual exercises for ladies. Decree of praise in 1870; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1914, definitive in 1929. They number 138 sisters in 11 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 37).

270. S. DI SAN FRANCESCO (Aachen): v. POVERE S. DI SAN FRANCESCO.

271. S. DI SAN FRANCESCO D'ABBISI, vulgo DE LA TOUR PITRAT (Lyons)

Founded in 1813 in Lyons by Anna Rollet, under the name of "Congregation of the Lyonese Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis." Purpose: education of girls, direction of orphanages and nursery schools; care of the sick in hospitals, clinics, dispensaries, maternity homes, etc. Decree of praise in 1891; approval of the Constitutions in 1934. They number over 300 sisters in 32 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 47).

272. S. DI SAN FRANCESCO DELL'ADORAZIONE PERPETUA (Paderborn): v. POVERE S. DI SAN FRANCESCO DELL'ADORAZIONE PERPETUA.

273. S. DI SAN FRANCESCO DI SALES (Padua)

Founded at Ponte di Brenta (diocese of Padua) in 1740 by the priest Domenico Leonato. Purpose: perpetual adoration and education of poor families. In 1751 they moved to Padua to a place called Vanzo by order of Cardinal Rezzonico, later Pope Clement XIII, whence the name "Conservatory of the Virgins of Vanzo"; then, in 1811, to S. Croce, also in Padua. Decree of praise in 1911, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1917, definitive in 1933. They number 515 sisters in 88 houses, all in Italy. Generalate house in Padua (Arch. d. Casa general.).

274. S. DI SAN GIOVANNI BATTISTA (BATTISTINE) (Rome)

Founded in 1878 at Angri by the servant of God Alfonso Maria Fusco and by Maddalena Caputo. Purpose: education of youth and care of the poor sick. Decree of praise in 1917; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1927, definitive in 1935. They number 664 sisters in 65 houses (cf. anon., Il servo di Dio A. M. Fusco, Rome 1939; anon., La Congr. delle S. di S. Giovanni Battista, ibid. 1948).

275. S. DI SAN GIOVANNI BATTISTA E SANTA CATERINA DA SIENA, called VERGINI MEDEE (Genoa)

Founded in Genoa in 1594 by Medea Ghigliana Patolani, under the direction of Fr. Bernardino Lannoni, Jesuit. Until 1920 the members of the Institute took only the vow of chastity; in that year the Institute was erected as a religious Congregation with the three vows. Purpose: education of youth of civil condition in schools, nurseries, boarding schools; latterly also direction of hospitals. They number 82 sisters in 10 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., G, 68).

276. S. DI SAN GIOVANNI DI DIO (Ferns)

Founded at Wexford (Ireland) in 1871 by Bishop Thomas Furlong of Ferns. Purpose: instruction of girls and care of the sick. They number 503 sisters.

277. SISTERS OF SAINT JOSEPH

They arose at Le Puy-en-Velay on 15 Oct. 1650 through the work of the Jesuit G. P. Medaille and of Bishop Msgr. H. Maupas, for religious teaching. Having spread very rapidly in other dioceses of France, they were dispersed by the Revolution, then reconstituted themselves anew, continuing the initial work and developing according to new needs, opening schools of every grade, not only in France but also in other regions. The various independent houses in the following years united into autonomous religious congregations with the approval of the Holy See, and under the name of St. Joseph new religious Congregations also arose: at Annecy (1883) with 630 sisters; Buenos Aires (1882) with 261 sisters; Chambéry (1812) with 2248 sisters; Clermont-Ferrand (1810) with 559 sisters; Concordia (1884) with 565 sisters; Philadelphia (1836) with 1671 sisters; Gap (1853) with 205 sisters; Girona (1865) with 326 sisters; Goulburn (1888) with 131 sisters; Lansing (1889) with 504 sisters; Lyons (1808) with 1718 sisters; Maitland (1856) with 345 sisters; Pinerolo (1828) with 373 sisters; Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (1822) with 900 sisters; Tarbes (1843) with 524 sisters; Turin (1821) with 510 sisters; Toronto (1851) with 426 sisters; Trier (1889) with 171 sisters; Bordeaux (1840) with 146 sisters.

278. S. DI SAN GIUSEPPE (Aosta)

A colony of the S. di S. Giuseppe of Lyons, who passed in 1831 to Aosta, at the request of the bishop, and were erected as an autonomous Congregation in 1845. Purpose: education of youth in schools, boarding schools, orphanages, colleges, refuge houses for girls in danger, workshops, factories; care in hospitals and shelters. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1928; definitive in 1934.

They number 202 sisters in 37 houses. Generalate house at Aosta (Arch. d. S. Congr. di Relig., A, 63; S.-B. Vuillernin, Les soeurs de St-Joseph d'Aoste, Aosta 1891).

279. S. DI SAN GIUSEPPE (Cuneo)

Founded at Cuneo in 1831 by the canon Giov. Batt. Manassero. Purpose: education and instruction of youth, in schools, boarding schools, nurseries; instruction of deaf-mutes, male and female; care of the infirm; also in mission territory. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1938, definitive in 1948. They number 594 sisters in 80 houses in Italy, Switzerland and the Belgian Congo. Generalate house at Cuneo (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

280. S. DI SAN GIUSEPPE (Mexico)

Founded on 19 Dec. 1872 by the priest José Vilaseca. On 25 May 1903 the Holy See granted the decree of praise and approval. On 21 Dec. 1907 the Constitutions were approved ad tempus and on 27 Feb. 1920 definitively. Purpose: Christian instruction and education of girls, especially in mission lands. They number 650 sisters with 62 houses. The generalate house is in Mexico (Arch. d. S. Congr. di Relig., M, 56).

281. S. DI SAN GIUSEPPE (Susa)

Founded in 1871 at Oulx (and transferred to Susa in 1875) by Rosalia Renacco, in religion mother Giovanna Francesca di Chantal. Purpose: education of girls; care of the infirm, also in the missions. Decree of praise in 1939; definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1940. They number over 100 sisters in 25 houses, all in Italy. Generalate house at Susa (Arch. d. Casa general.).

282. S. DI SAN GIUSEPPE (Fort-Wayne): v. s. DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Fort-Wayne).

283. S. DI SAN GIUSEPPE DELL'APPARIZIONE (Marseille)

Founded at Gaillac (diocese of Marseille) in 1832 by St. Emilie de Vialar. Purpose: education of youth and charitable activities, especially care of the sick. Decree of praise in 1842; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1862; definitive in 1910. In Burma the "Congregation of the Carian Sisters" is formed of about a hundred native religious belonging to the S. di S. Giuseppe dell'Apparizione. They number 1600 sisters in 130 houses (cf. L. Pecchiai, S. Emilia de Vialar, Rome 1951, pp. 192-202; A. Stocchetti, S. Emilia de Vialar, ibid. 1951).

284. SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH called OF THE HOLY FAMILY (Montpellier): v. SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY (Montpellier).

285. SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS (Lviv)

Founded in Lviv in 1882 by four pious Franciscan tertiary women. Purpose: care of the sick, homes for the elderly, education of youth in schools and nurseries. Aggregated to the Order of Capuchins in 1922. Approval of the Institute in 1925. They number 272 sisters in 27 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, L, 49).

286. SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF CARONDOLET (Saint-Louis)

In 1936, at the request of Msgr. Rosati, bishop of Saint-Louis (United States), six sisters of the Institute of St. Joseph of Le Puy went there to found the first American house of the Institute, which became the center of a new institution and gave life to other houses, which later became independent: Buffalo (1854), Rochester (1864), Concordia (1883), La Grange (1889). In 1912, at the request of the bishop of Sacramento, nine sisters from the house of La Grange founded a new house at Eurelta, which became the Mother House of the group located in the dioceses of Los Angeles and San Diego, transferred to Orange. Principal purpose: teaching and education of youth in schools of every type. They number 3143 sisters with 185 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, L, 81).

287. SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF CLUNY (Paris)

Founded at Chalon-sur-Saône in 1806 by the b. Anne Javouhey (v.). Purpose: education of youth and care of the sick, including lepers, tubercular and contagious patients. Decree of praise in 1899. They number 3160 sisters in 275 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, B, 8; F. De La Place, Vie de la vén. mère A.-M. Javouhey, Apôtre des Noirs, Paris 1929).

288. SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF MOÛTIERS (Tarentaise)

In 1827 a community of Sisters of St. Joseph of Le Puy, having established itself at Moûtiers (dioc. of Tarentaise) and branched out into other dioceses, constituted itself as an autonomous group. Purpose: education of youth, care of the poor at home and in hospitals. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1911, definitive in 1922. They number 815 sisters with 85 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, T, 49).

289. SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF SAINT-VALLIER (Valence)

After the French Revolution, some surviving sisters of the Institute founded in 1683 at Le Puy took refuge at St-Vallier (dioc. of Valence), opening a pharmacy there to help the poor. As the number of sisters grew, a new Institute was created in 1827. Purpose: teaching and care of the sick. Definitive approval of the Institute in 1875. They number 205 sisters with 22 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, V, 36).

290. SISTERS OF ST. LOUIS OF MONAGHAN (Clogher)

Founded near Toulouse in 1842. In 1921 the houses of Ireland united into a single autonomous Congregation with the Generalate at Monaghan (dioc. of Clogher). Purpose: education of girls in schools of every grade. Decree of praise and approval of the Constitutions of the new Irish Congregation in 1926, definitive in 1934. They number 416 sisters in 19 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, C, 82).

291. SISTERS OF ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA (Alba)

Founded at La Morra (dioc. of Alba) in 1815 by the priest Giovanni Rubino. Purpose: to offer themselves in a spirit of immolation for the Pope, the needs of the Church and the salvation of souls. Some of these sisters separated in 1870 and made another foundation at Maramana (dioc. of Acqui); but in 1938 the two institutions merged into one and Pius XI approved its Constitutions. They number 56 sisters in 4 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, A, 73).

292. SISTERS OF ST. PAUL-ANGELICHE (Milan): v. ANGELICHE DI SAN PAOLO.

293. SISTERS OF ST. BRIGID (BRIGIDINES) (Kildare)

Founded at Kildare (Ireland) in 1807 by the bishop of the diocese, Delany. Purpose: instruction of youth and charitable works. Decree of praise in 1858; temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1895, definitive in 1907. They number about 600 sisters in 37 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, K, 2).

294. SISTERS OF ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. DOMINIC (Evreux)

Founded in the diocese of Autun in 1854 by mother S. Domenico, and transferred in 1878 to the diocese of Evreux. Purpose: contemplative and active life for the apostolate among souls. Decree of praise in 1864; approval of the Constitutions in 1879. They number 268 sisters in 23 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, A, 13).

295. SISTERS OF ST. CLOTILDE (Paris)

Founded in Paris in 1821 by the p. J. B. Rauzan with the sisters of the destroyed monastery of St. Aura. Purpose: education of youth. Decree of praise in 1877; approval of the Constitutions in 1925. They number 164 sisters in 8 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, P, 34; P. Leflon, Qu'est qu'une religieuse et Clotilde?, Paris 1947).

296. SISTERS OF ST. DOROTHY OF THE FRASSINETTI (Rome): v. MAESTRE DI SANTA DOROTEA.

297. SISTERS OF ST. DOROTHY OF CEMMO DI CAPO DI PONTE (Brescia)

Founded in 1842 at Cemmo di Capo di Ponte (dioc. of Brescia) by mother Annunciata Cocchetti of Rovato. Purpose: education of youth of every social class. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1934, definitive in 1941. They number 300 sisters in 63 houses, all in Italy. Generalate at Cemmo di Capo di Ponte (Arch. of the Generalate).

298. SISTERS OF ST. HEDWIG (Wrocław)

Founded at Wrocław in 1848 by the priest Roberto Spike. Purpose: care of youth in danger. Decree of praise in 1872. They number 735 sisters in 85 houses (Arch. of the S. Congr. of Religious, B, 21).

299. SISTERS OF ST. AGNES (Milwaukee)

Founded in 1870 at Fond du Lac (dioc. of Milwaukee) by mother Maria Agnese Hozotte, under the guidance of the p. Francesco

Haas, a Capuchin, and of Bishop Giovanni Martino Henny. Purpose: education of youth in schools of every grade and care of orphans and the sick. Approval of the Institute in 1881. They number 629 sisters.

300. S. OF ST. AUGUSTINE OF MEAUX (Meaux)

New Congregation begun in 1844 by the Augustinian Sisters of the hospital of Meaux, closed in the same year. Purpose: care of the sick at home and education of youth. Decree of praise in 1891; approval of the Institute and of the Congregation in 1904. They number 205 sisters in 8 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 52).

301. S. OF ST. MARY OF THE ANGELS OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS (Angers)

Founded at Angers in 1871 by Fr. Crisostomo Pattau, a Capuchin. Purpose: education of youth in schools and colleges, care of the sick in clinics and hospitals. Decree of praise in 1875, definitive approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1925. They number 513 sisters with 19 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., A, 25).

302. S. OF ST. MARY OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS (St. Louis)

Founded at St. Louis in 1872 by Catherine Berger (Sister Mary Ottilia) with some sisters of the Institute of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart, which died out in 1870. Purpose: care of the sick, especially the poor, in hospitals; protection of young working women. Decree of praise in 1892; definitive approval in 1909. In the same year, aggregation to the Franciscan Order. They number 522 sisters in 15 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 71).

303. S. OF ST. MARY OF NAMUR (Namur)

Founded at Namur by the priest Nicola Muisart in 1834. Purpose: education of youth in boarding schools, half-boarding schools, vocational schools and schools of domestic economy. Decree of praise in 1908, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1914. They number 825 sisters with 51 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., N, 24).

304. S. OF ST. MARIANNA OF JESUS (Riobamba)

Founded in 1873 at Riobamba (Ecuador) by Mercedes Molina. Purpose: Christian instruction of girls, especially orphans, preservation of girls in danger in asylums and refuges, care of female prisoners. Decree of praise in 1895. They number 703 sisters in 18 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., R, 36).

305. S. OF ST. MARTHA (Antigonish)

Founded in 1900 by Msgr. Giovanni Cameron, bishop of Antigonish (Canada). Purpose: education of youth, care of the sick and the elderly. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1931. They number 280 sisters in 22 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., A, 66).

306. S. OF ST. MARTHA (Rome)

Founded at Ventimiglia in 1895 by Bishop Msgr. Tommaso Reggio. Purpose: care of the sick in hospitals, clinics and at home; education of youth in schools, orphanages, rehabilitation houses; assistance in parish works, direction of services in seminaries. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1928, definitive in 1935. They number 429 sisters in 56 houses in Italy and Chile. Generalate house in Rome (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

307. S. OF ST. ANDREW (Tournai)

They go back to the Hospitaller Sisters of St. Andrew, founded at Cambrai in the 12th century; gathered in 1837 after the French Revolution at Tournai, where they owned a house, by Mother Serafina Hanvarlet and reconstituted as a new Congregation. Purpose: care of the sick. Approval of the Institute in 1857. They number 314 sisters.

308. S. OF ST. ANDREW (Poitiers): v. DAUGHTERS OF THE CROSS, called S. OF ST. ANDREW.

309. S. OF ST. ANNE OF PROVIDENCE (Turin)

Founded at Turin in 1834 by the Marchioness of Barolo. Purpose: education of girls of the common people through schools, shelters, workshops. Approval of the Constitutions in 1841. They number 569 sisters in 110 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., T, 5).

310. S. OF ST. ANNE OF LACHINE (Montréal)

Founded at Vaudreuil (diocese of Montréal) in 1850 by Ester Sureau (Mother Mary Anna). Purpose: instruction of youth, care of the sick in hospitals and shelters. In 1864 the Generalate house moved to Lachine. Decree of praise in 1863; approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1884. They number 3500 sisters in 127 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 18; Le Canada ecclésiastique, Montréal 1950, pp. 914-22).

311. S. OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA (Mercedes)

Founded at Mercedes (Argentina) in 1889 by Maria Antonia Cerini. Purpose: care of the sick and education of youth. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1937, definitive in 1945. They number 142 sisters in 19 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P, 109).

312. S. OF ST. ZITA (Lucca)

Founded in 1882 by the servant of God Elena Guerra. Purpose: instruction of poor youth. Decree of praise in 1911; approval of the Institute and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1923. They number 102 sisters in 12 houses (cf. P. Scavizzi, Elena Guerra, Apostola dello Spirito Santo, Lucca 1939).

313. S. OF ST. THOMAS OF VILLANOVA (Paris)

Founded at Lamballe in 1658 by Fr. Angelo Le Proust, an Augustinian. However, only in 1670 did the sisters take the religious habit, emit their vows and adopt their own Constitutions. Purpose: to assist the poor sick and devote themselves to abandoned children. Decree of praise in 1860; approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1875. They number 809 sisters with 110 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P, 9).

314. S. OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL called SERVANTS OF THE POOR (Ghent)

Founded at Ghent in 1823 by the Baroness of Gysegenn, and erected as a religious Congregation in 1829. Purpose: instruction of youth in the missions, care of lepers and of the contagious sick. Decree of praise in 1860; approval in 1875. They number 712 sisters in 115 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., G, 5).

315. DOMINICAN S. OF THE CHILD JESUS (Orléans): v. LITTLE DOMINICAN S. OF THE CHILD JESUS.

316. DOMINICAN S. OF THE LITTLE HOUSE OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE (Genoa): v. DOMENICANE DELLA PICCOLA CASA DELLA DIVINA PROVIDDENZA.

317. DOMINICAN S. OF THE PERPETUAL ROSARY (Camden): v. DOMENICANE DEL PERPETUO ROSARIO.

318. DOMINICAN S. OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS (Tournai): v. DOMENICANE DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ.

319. DOMINICAN S. OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY (Mondovì)

Founded at Mondovì in 1844 by Bishop Msgr. Tommaso Ghiardi and by Mother Angelica Manfredini. Purpose: instruction of girls; care of the sick and the poor. Decree of praise and definitive approval in 1933. They number 300 sisters in 34 houses, in Italy, Turkey, Argentina. Generalate house at Mondovì (Arch. d. Casa general.).

320. DOMINICAN S. OF SAN SISTO VECCHIO (Rome): v. DOMENICANE DI SAN SISTO VECCHIO.

321. DOMINICAN S. OF ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA (Guardamalati) (Auch): v. DOMENICANE DI SANTA CATERINA DA SIENA (Guardamalati).

322. DOMINICAN S. OF ST. MARY (New Orleans): v. DOMENICANE DI SANTA MARIA.

323. DOMINICAN S. OF WEST MAITLAND (Maitland): v. DOMENICANE DI WEST MAITLAND.

324. DOMINICAN TEACHING AND NURSING S. OF ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA (Rome): v. DOMENICANE INSEGNANTI E INFERMIERE DI SANTA CATERINA DA SIENA.

325. S. DAUGHTERS OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS (Yokohama)

Founded in 1920 by Sister Teresa Illerhaus, formerly belonging to the Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit, in the apostolic prefecture of Niigata (Japan). Purpose: to gather Japanese girls who may assist the apostolate of missionaries with social, charitable and educational works. Temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1949.

326. FRANCISCAN S. (Montpellier)

Founded in 1860 in the diocese of Montpellier by J. V. Jalbert and M. Jvares de Signalac, and aggregated to the Order of Friars Minor in 1920. Purpose: instruction of girls and care of the sick in hospitals and clinics. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitution in 1930. They number 160 sisters in 20 houses, all in France (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 113).

327. S. FRANCESCANE ANGELINE (Turin): v. FRANCESCANE ANGELINE.

328. S. FRANCESCANE DEGLI AFFLITTI (Warsaw): v. FRANCESCANE DEGLI AFFLITTI.

329. S. FRANCESCANE DELLA BEATA MARIA VERGINE AIUTO DEI CRISTIANI (Cartagena, Colombia)

Founded by seven Franciscan tertiary sisters of Mary Help of Christians of Alstittes (Switzerland), called by Msgr. Pietro Schumacher, bishop of Portoviejo (Ecuador) in 1888, who took refuge because of the persecution of 1895 in Cartagena (Colombia) and established themselves as an autonomous Institute. Purpose: instruction of youth and care of the elderly and the sick. Approval of the Institute in 1926. They number 294 sisters in 25 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., C, 81).

330. S. FRANCESCANE DELLA FAMIGLIA DI MARIA (Lviv)

Founded in 1856 in Lviv by Archbishop Msgr. Sigmund Felinski, and immediately aggregated to the Order of Friars Minor. Purpose: education of youth; care of the sick in hospitals and at home. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitution in 1913. They number 756 sisters in 127 houses, all in Poland (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 53).

331. S. FRANCESCANE DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA (Dubuque): v. FRANCESCANE DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA.

332. S. FRANCESCANE DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA (Trier): v. FRANCESCANE DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA.

333. S. FRANCESCANE DELL'IMMACOLATA (Palagano-Modena): v. FRANCESCANE DELL'IMMACOLATA.

334. S. FRANCESCANE DELL'IMMACOLATA CONCEZIONE DI LONS-LE-SAUNIER (St-Claude): v. FRANCESCANE DELL'IMMACOLATA CONCEZIONE DI LONS-LE-SAUNIER.

335. S. FRANCESCANE DEL S.MO CUORE DI GESÙ DI JOLIETTE (Chicago): v. FRANCESCANE DEL SANTISSIMO CUORE DI GESÙ DI JOLIETTE.

336. S. FRANCESCANE DI NOSTRA SIGNORA DEL PERPETUO SOCCORSO (St. Louis): v. FRANCESCANE DI NOSTRA SIGNORA DEL PERPETUO SOCCORSO.

337. S. FRANCESCANE DI SAN GIORGIO MARTIRE IN THUINE (Osnabrück): v. FRANCESCANE DI SAN GIORGIO MARTIRE IN THUINE.

338. S. FRANCESCANE DI SANTA CUNEGONDA (Chicago): v. FRANCESCANE DI SANTA CUNEGONDA.

339. S. FRANCESCANE DI SANTA MARIA DEGLI ANGELI DI WALDBREITBACH (Trier): v. FRANCESCANE DI SANTA MARIA DEGLI ANGELI DI WALDBREITBACH.

340. S. FRANCESCANE D'OGNISSANTI (Florence): v. FRANCESCANE D'OGNISSANTI.

341. S. FRANCESCANE INSEGNANTI (Rome)

Founded in 1888 at Slatiňany u Chrudimě (Czechoslovakia) by Bishop Roman Sebastian Zängerle. Purpose: education of youth in colleges, schools, workshops, orphanages; care of the sick in hospitals, etc. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1932, definitive in 1950. They number 629 sisters in 39 houses in Italy and abroad (another 27 confiscated by the communist government). Generalate house in Rome (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

342. S. FRANCESCANE MISSIONARIE DI MARIA (Rome): v. FRANCESCANE MISSIONARIE DI MARIA.

343. S. FRANCESCANE MISSIONARIE DI SAN GIUSEPPE (Salford): v. FRANCESCANE MISSIONARIE DI SAN GIUSEPPE.

344. S. FRANCESCANE called PICCOLE SUORE DEGLI ORFANI (Belley): v. FRANCESCANE dette PICCOLE SUORE DEGLI ORFANI.

345. S. GIAPPONESI DELLA VISITAZIONE (Tokyo)

Founded by Fr. Albert Breton, who, having gone from Japan to California, called there in 1915 some young Japanese women for the care of their fellow countrymen who had emigrated there. When the father and the young women returned to Japan, these in 1925 created the Congregation of the Visitation in Tokyo, and in 1937 they transferred its Mother House to Fukuoka. Temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1942, definitive in 1950. They number over 100 sisters.

346. S. GIUSEPPINE DELLA CARITÀ (Vic)

Founded at Vic (Spain) in 1877 by Caterina Corominas y Augustin. Purpose: care of the sick in hospitals and at home. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1901, definitive in 1909. They number 227 sisters in 21 houses, all in Spain (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 80).

347. S. GIUSEPPINE DELLA SANTISSIMA TRINITÀ (Plasencia)

Founded in 1866 at Plasencia by the priest Eladio Mozas Santamera. Purpose: instruction of youth and care in orphanages and shelters. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1933. They number 99 sisters in 15 houses, all in Spain (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., P, 57).

348. S. GRIGIE (Montréal): v. s. DELLA CARITÀ vulgo s. GRIGIE.

349. S. GUARDAMALATI DI NOSTRA SIGNORA AUSILIATRICE (Montpellier)

Founded at Montpellier in 1845 by the priest Andrea Soulas. Purpose: care of the sick at home. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1868, definitive in 1882. They number 459 sisters in 52 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 28).

350. S. INFERMIERE DELL'ADDOLORATA (Como)

Founded at Como in 1850 by Giovanna Franchi. Purpose: care of the sick in nursing homes and clinics, and, by day, at home. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1935, definitive in 1942. They number 200 sisters in 9 houses, all in Italy. Generalate house at Como (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

351. S. INSEGNANTI DELLA SANTA CROCE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO IN MENZINGEN (Basel): v. INSEGNANTI DELLA SANTA CROCE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO IN MENZINGEN.

352. S. INSEGNANTI DI NOSTRA SIGNORA COLOCENSI (Kalocsa): v. POVERE S. INSEGNANTI DI NOSTRA SIGNORA COLOCENSI.

353. S. MADDALENE (PENITENTI DI SANTA MARIA MADDALENA) (Turin)

Founded in 1833 at Turin by the marchioness Giulia Falletti di Barolo née Colbert. Purpose: reparation and re-education of girls in moral danger. Definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1846. They number 33 sisters in 7 houses in Italy. Generalate house at Turin (Arch. d. Casa gener.; A. Biancotti, Un'eroina della carità, la Marchesa Giulia di Barolo, Turin 1939).

354. S. MAESTRE DI SANTA DOROTEA (Venice): v. MAESTRE DI SANTA DOROTEA.

355. S. MAESTRE DI SANTA DOROTEA FIGLIE DEI SACRATISSIMI CUORI (Vicenza): v. MAESTRE DI SANTA DOROTEA, FIGLIE DEI SACRATISSIMI CUORI.

356. S. MARCELLINE (Milan): v. MARCELLINE.

357. SISTERS MARIST OR OF THE CONGREGATION OF MARY

Founded by the servant of God C. J. Colin at Belley in 1826. Purpose: education of female youth, shelter of girls in moral danger and spiritual exercises for women. Decree of praise in 1864, approval of the Institute in 1884, temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1931, definitive in 1951. They number 542 sisters in 38 houses, many of which are in mission lands, where they assist the Marist Fathers. The generalate house is at Belley (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 19; L. Falletti, Il ven. G. C. Colin, Rome 1913).

358. S. MERCEDARIE (Aix): v. s. DELLA BEATA MARIA VERGINE DELLA MERCEDE.

359. SISTERS MERCEDARIE OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT

Founded at Mexico City in 1910 by Sister Maria del Rifugio di Aguilar. Purpose: education of youth and its formation in eucharistic worship. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1948. They number 263 sisters in 52 houses, all in Mexico. The generalate house is at Mexico City (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., M, 142).

360. S. MINIME DELL'ADDOLORATA (Bologna): v. MINIME DELL'ADDOLORATA.

361. S. MINIME DEL SACRO CUORE DI MARIA (Rodez): v. MINIME DEL SANTISSIMO CUORE DI MARIA.

362. S. MINIME DI NOSTRA SIGNORA DEL SUFFRAGIO (Turin): v. MINIME DI NOSTRA SIGNORA DEL SUFFRAGIO.

363. S. MISERICORDINE DI SAN GERARDO (Milan)

Founded in 1891 at Monza by the priest Luigi Talamoni and by Maria Biffi, widow Levati. Purpose: care of the sick, especially the poor, at home; other educational and welfare works in clinics, shelters, orphanages; parish works. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1942, definitive in 1949. They number 260 sisters in 45 houses in Italy and Switzerland. Generalate house at Monza (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

364. S. MISSIONARIE DELLA REGINA DEGLI APOSTOLI (Vienna)

Founded at Vienna by the priest Theodor Innitzer, later cardinal archbishop of Vienna. Purpose: to cooperate in the spread of the faith in pagan countries, especially in India, through works of health care and teaching. Temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1949. They number more than 200 sisters.

365. S. MISSIONARIE DELLA SOCIETÀ DI MARIA (St-Foy-lès-Lyon)

In 1865 some young women of Jonzieux began a religious Society under the name of "Sisters of the Third Order of Mary," which then in 1881 was better organized at St-Brieuc through the work of Maria Adele Troussel des Groues (Sister Maria della Croce), and they took their present name. In 1887 it settled at St-Foy-lès-Lyon, under the jurisdiction of the superior general of the Marists. Temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1931, definitive in 1952 (cf. anon., Sœurs missionnaires de la Société de Marie. Essai sur nos origines, Paris 1941).

366. S. MISSIONARIE DELL'IMMACOLATA CONCEZIONE (Montréal): v. MISSIONARIE DELL'IMMACOLATA CONCEZIONE.

367. S. MISSIONARIE DELLO SPIRITO SANTO (Paris)

Founded at Paris in 1923 by Msgr. Alexandre Le Roy, superior general of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit. Purpose: to work in the missions. Temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1929, definitive in 1943. They numbered several hundred sisters.

368. S. MISSIONARIE DEL PREZIOSISSIMO SANGUE (Aarle Rixtel): v. MISSIONARIE DEL PREZIOSISSIMO SANGUE.

369. S. MISSIONARIE DI NOSTRA SIGNORA D'AFRICA (Saint-Charles, Birmandreis): v. MISSIONARIE DI NOSTRA SIGNORA D'AFRICA.

370. S. OBLATE DELLO SPIRITO SANTO (Lucca): v. s. DI SANTA ZITA.

371. S. ORSOLINE DI SAN GIROLAMO (Bergamo): v. ORSOLINE GEROSOLIMITANE, DETTE DI GANDINO.

372. S. ORSOLINE DI SOMASCA (Somasca di Vercurago, Bergamo): v. ORSOLINE DI SOMASCA.

373. S. OSPITALIERE DI NOSTRA SIGNORA DELLA CARITÀ (Dijon): v. OSPITALIERE DI NOSTRA SIGNORA DELLA CARITÀ.

374. S. OSPITALIERE DI SANTA ELISABETTA (Luxembourg)

Founded in 1672 in Luxembourg. Purpose: care of the sick and the needy through nursing homes, nurseries, schools, orphanages, and now also missionary apostolate. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1922, definitive in 1931. They number 651 sisters in 54 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 52).

375. S. OSPITALIERE E ISTITUTRICI DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO, called FRANCESCANE DI CALAIS (Arras): v. OSPITALIERE E ISTITUTRICI DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO, called FRANCESCANE DI CALAIS.

376. S. OSPITALIERE INSEGNANTI DI MARIA IMMACOLATA (Bourges)

A small community known under the name of Dame S. of the hospital, established in Bourges at the beginning of the 19th century, erected in 1826 as a religious Institute by the archbishop. Purpose: care of the sick, education of youth. Decree of praise in 1850, approval of the Institute and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1934, definitive in 1942. They number 85 sisters in 11 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 45).

377. S. PASSIONISTE DI SAN PAOLO DELLA CROCE (Florence)

Founded in 1872 at Castel di Signa (diocese of Florence) by Msgr. Giuseppe Fiammetti. Purpose: re-education and education of youth. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1931, definitive in 1939. They number 425 sisters in 46 houses in Italy and Brazil. Generalate house at Castel di Signa (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

378. S. POVERE BONARRENSI DI SAN GIUSEPPE (Buenos Aires)

Founded in Buenos Aires in 1882 by some religious of the monastery of Le Puys, constituted as an autonomous Congregation. Purpose: care of the sick and schools for youth. Decree of praise in 1903; approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1913. They number 321 sisters with 25 houses, all in Argentina (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., B, 61).

379. S. POVERE SCOLASTICHE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Linz)

Founded at Voeklabruck (diocese of Linz) in 1842 by the priest Sebastiano Schwarz. Purpose: care of the sick in clinics and hospitals, instruction of youth in schools and colleges. Decree of praise in 1929; approval of the Institute and of the Constitutions in 1938. They number 973 sisters with 62 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 77).

380. S. RIPARATRICI DEI SACRI CUORI DI GESÙ E MARIA (Milan): v. RIPARATRICI DEI SACRI CUORI DI GESÙ E MARIA.

381. S. RIPARATRICI DEL SACRO CUORE (Naples): v. RIPARATRICI DEL SACRO CUORE.

382. S. SACRAMENTINE (Bergamo): v. SACRAMENTINE.

383. S. SALESIANE DEI SACRI CUORI (Lecce): v. SALESIANE DEI SACRI CUORI.

384. S. SALESIANE DEL S.MO CUORE DI GESÙ (Cartagena): v. SALESIANE DEL S.MO CUORE DI GESÙ.

385. S. SCOLARE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Hallein)

Founded at Hallein (diocese of Salzburg) in 1723 by Maria Teresa Zechner, first as a pious association with common life, then in 1754 constituted as a true religious Congregation with vows. Purpose: instruction of girls in lower, middle and higher schools and in boarding schools; works of charity with orphanages and institutes for the deaf and mute. Pontifical approval in 1819. Among the various branches, some erected themselves as independent Institutes.

386. S. SCOLARE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Vienna)

A colony of S. of the Third Order of St. Francis, founded in 1723 by M. Teresa Zechner, called from Hallein to Vienna in 1845 by Empress Carolina Augusta. The various houses founded subsequently in the archdiocese of Vienna erected themselves as an independent Congregation in 1853, taking the present name. The Institute was aggregated to the Order by the Friars Minor in 1904. Purpose: instruction of girls. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1923, definitive in 1931. They number 218 sisters in 18 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., V, 79).

387. S. SCOLARE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Milwaukee)

Founded at Milwaukee in 1873 by Mother Maria Alessia, from the house of Linz of the same Congregation, who went to the United States at the invitation of Msgr. M. Henny, bishop of Milwaukee. Purpose: schools and hospitals. Approval of the S. Congr. of Propaganda in 1900, definitive of the S. Congr. of Religious in 1908. They number 2128 sisters with 35 houses (Arch. d. S. Congr. di Relig., M, 83).

388. S. SCOLARE DI GRAZ DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Eggenberg)

Founded at Eggenberg near Graz (diocese of Seckau) in 1841 by the bishop of Seckau, Msgr. Romano Sebastiano Zaengerle, and by Miss Antonia Lampl. Purpose: instruction and education of youth. Temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1929, definitive in 1937. They number 494 sisters in 46 houses (Arch. d. Congr. d. Relig., S, 1).

389. S. SCOLASTICHE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO (Rome)

Founded in 1888 at Slatifany, near Chrudim (diocese of Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia) by Sister M. M. Giacinta Zahalka, from the Congregation of the same name of Graz. Purpose: instruction of youth with every order of schools, including specialized ones; institutes for the blind and the mentally deficient, orphanages, mission stations; hospitals and homes for the aged. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1932, definitive in 1950. They number 629 sisters, 59 houses, in Italy, Europe, North and South America (in addition 27 houses confiscated by the communist regime). The Generalate house was transferred to Prague in 1910, then to Rome in 1945 (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

390. S. SCOLASTICHE DEL TERZ'ORDINE DI SAN FRANCESCO DI MARIBOR (DI CRISTO RE) (Rome)

A colony of S. Scolare of the Third Order of St. Francis of Heggenberg, called in 1864 to Maribor (diocese of Lavant) by Bishop Antonio Martino Slomšek, then erected in 1869 as an independent Congregation by Bishop Giacomo Massimiliano Stepischnegg. Purpose: instruction of girls in schools of every grade; care of the sick in hospitals and at home; domestic service in colleges and seminaries. Decree of praise and temporary approval of the Constitutions in 1922, definitive in 1931. They number 951 sisters in 55 houses (besides the 65 in Yugoslavia) in Italy and abroad (Arch. d. S. Congr. d. Relig., L, 78).

391. S. SERVE DEI POVERI DEL BOCCON DEL POVERO (Palermo): v. BOCCONE DEL POVERO, S. DEL.

392. S. SERVE DI MARIA RIPARATRICE (Adria): v. SERVE DI MARIA RIPARATRICE.

393. S. SERVE DI MARIA SANTISSIMA ADDOLORATA (Florence): v. SERVE DI MARIA SANTISSIMA ADDOLORATA.

394. S. STABILITE NELLA CARITÀ DI GESÙ BUON PASTORE (Florence)

Founded in Florence in 1589 by the priest Vittorio dell'Ancisa and by Maria Triboli. In 1612 they adopted strict enclosure; suppressed in 1810, they were reunited in 1816 by Mother Sandrucci in the Conservatory of Monticelli. From 1878 they passed to the active life. Purpose: instruction of youth in boarding schools, nurseries, schools, workshops. Definitive approval in 1951. They number 70 sisters in 10 houses in the dioceses of Florence and Pisa. Generalate house at Monticelli (Arch. d. Casa General.).

395. S. VINCENZINE DI MARIA IMMACOLATA (Turin)

Founded at Lanzo Torinese in 1858 by the Ven. Federico Albert. Purpose: education in nurseries, orphanages, schools; hospitals. They number 200 sisters in 15 houses in Italy. Generalate house at Lanzo Torinese (Arch. d. Casa gener.).

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