Merciful Sisters of Jesus and Mary
The Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary ( lat. : Sorores of Charity of Jesus et Mariae , religious symbol : SCJM ) are a religious order in the Roman Catholic Church . The congregation was founded on November 4, 1803 in Lovendegem ( Belgium ) Peter Joseph Triest (1760-1836) and Mother Placida van der Gauwen OCist .
history
Together with the later superior mother Placida van der Gauwen OCist (1807-1844) Pastor Trieste began with a small group of women. Their focus was on the care of orphaned children and young people, at the same time they also took on work in the care of the elderly . Pastor Trieste initially intended to integrate these women into the existing cooperative of the Daughters of Christian Love of St. Vincent de Paul (Vincentian Sisters), but received no approval for this.
The order rule of the newly founded congregation is based on the life and work of St. Vincent de Paul . On July 2, 1804, approval was given to found a congregation under episcopal law . The religious community moved to Ghent with six religious sisters in 1805 and their sisters wore habit from then on . Canon Peter Joseph Triest, who has meanwhile been appointed Vicar General of the Diocese of Ghent , was appointed Superior General for life by the Bishop of Ghent . The Decretum laudis was on September 29, 1816 by Pope Leo XII. to hand over. On June 26, 1928, the religious community received from Pope Pius XI. the papal approbation to the congregation of papal law . The new focus of activity of the congregation was now the care of the mentally handicapped and the education of the blind and deaf and dumb.
organization
The congregation grew very quickly, with branches in England (1888), Belgian Congo (1892), Ceylon (1896) and India (1897). In addition to the nursing activities, the nuns also took on missionary tasks .
At present the Sisters have religious provinces in Europe (Belgium, France , Ireland , Italy , the Netherlands ), Africa ( Democratic Republic of the Congo , Mali , Rwanda ) and Asia (India, Israel , Pakistan , Sri Lanka ). In South America you manage a branch in Venezuela . In the course of the reforms of Perfectae caritatis on the contemporary renewal of religious life, it was determined that the religious community could elect its own superior general , thus the appointment of a superior general by the diocesan bishop was omitted . In the chapters of the order of 1964 and 1968 the statutes of the order were codified , revised and brought into line with the resolutions of the Second Vatican Council .
As a result of these renewals, Mother André Avelin Steverlinck was elected by the community as the first superior general of the order. In 2005, the Indian mother Valsala George Chennakadan was elected Superior General. The Generalate has had its seat in Brussels since 1968 . In 2008 the congregation had 1,324 members serving in 177 homes and institutions.