Don Bosco sisters
The Congregation of the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco (Italian: Daughters of Mary Help of Christians , religious symbol : FMA , Latin: Congregatio Filiarum Mariae Auxiliatricis , sometimes Salesian Sisters - not to be confused with the Salesian Sisters of the Divine Heimsuchung- or Mariahilf sisters called - in other languages: Salesiane di Don Bosco (Italian), Salésiennes de Don Bosco (French), Salesian Sisters (English), is a Roman Catholic women's order . The worldwide active religious community is based on the pedagogical and spiritual principles of Don Bosco , adapted to the tasks of the sister community, the educational and (vocational) training work with girls and young women.
history
The roots of the religious community lie in the Pia Unione delle Figlie dell 'Immacolata (Pious Association of the Daughters of the Immaculate) founded in Mornese at the end of 1855 by Maria Dominica Mazzarello . The religious background of the Union was the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception the year before. In practice it was about the professional training of young women.
After Maria Mazzarello and her friend Petronilla had completed an apprenticeship as a tailor in 1861, Maria opened a tailoring workshop the following year, which soon became the first sewing school. For reasons of space, they moved into a larger room. They used the adjoining playground for the girls in the village as a Sunday oratorio with games, a workshop and catechism lessons. In 1863 the first two orphans were admitted.
After the promotion of this union by Don Domenico Pestarino (1817–1874) and the first meetings between Maria Mazzarello and Don Bosco between October 1864 and 1871, the two founded a religious institute on August 5, 1872 (Feast of Maria Schnee ) in Mornese Designation "Daughters of Mary Help of Christians". In the presence of the Bishop of Acqui , Giuseppe Maria Sciandra , eleven sisters were admitted to the novitiate and to the first vows , and among them Maria Mazzarello was elected First Superior as Vicar of the Blessed Mother .
In 1873 the school board of Castellotto d'Orba in Mornese approved the first boarding school and the first primary school for the sisters. On October 8, 1874, they opened their second house in Borgo San Martino as an oratorio for girls.
On August 28, 1875, Maria Mazzarello and her first companions made their perpetual religious vows in the presence of Don Bosco. In 1876 the Don Bosco Sisters established their branch in Turin- Valdocco .
In 1877 the first house outside Italy was finally opened in Nice . On November 14th of the same year the first six missionaries were sent to Villa Colón in Uruguay . Five days earlier they received in an audience with Pope Pius IX. the papal blessing for this mission.
After many years of revision, discussion and consultation, Don Bosco presented the Don Bosco sisters with the first printed version of their constitutions on the solemn feast of the Immaculate Conception , December 8, 1878 .
In 1879 the seat of the religious order was moved to Nizza Monferrato in order to make it more accessible for interested girls. An old Franciscan convent with a church that was dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie was taken over.
In 1880 the sisters' second mission expedition went to Patagonia in Argentina , where Don Bosco's Salesians were also active.
When Mother Mazzarello fell ill in 1881 and finally died on May 14 at the age of 44, she left 26 houses in Italy, France and Uruguay with 166 sisters, 50 novices and 22 postulants .
In 1884 the Don Bosco sisters held their first general chapter .
When Don Bosco died on January 31, 1888, there were 393 sisters.
In 1891 the sisters went to Palestine like the Salesians of Don Bosco, and in 1893 they opened their activities in Africa with a plant in Algeria.
In 1911 the Order was approved by the Holy See.
In 1929 the seat of the religious order was moved to Turin- Valdocco , and finally in 1969 to Rome. That year they held a "Special General Chapter" for post-conciliar renewal. With both steps they preceded the Salesians of Don Bosco, who convened this chapter in 1971 and only in 1972 transferred their generalate to Rome in 1972.
Major events in the history of the religious community were the beatification of the founder of the order on November 20, 1938 and her canonization on June 12, 1951.
Well-known Don Bosco sisters
Saints:
Blessed:
Opened beatification process:
- Venerable Teresa Valsè-Pantellini
- Servant of God Laura Meozzi
Organization worldwide
With 11,791 members (as of 2019) in 1,362 houses in 96 countries on all five continents, the Don Bosco Sisters are one of the largest religious orders in the Catholic Church .
| Continent | Number of sisters | Number of houses | Number of states |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 564 | 103 | 25th |
| America | 3526 | 477 | 23 |
| Asia | 2615 | 356 | 22nd |
| Europe | 5030 | 414 | 22nd |
| Oceania | 56 | 12 | 4th |
| worldwide | 11791 | 1362 | 96 |
A Don Bosco sister teaches music in Vellore , India, 1939
A Don Bosco sister takes care of the sick and poor in former Madras Presidency , India
Superior General
At the end of October 2008, Sister Yvonne Reungoat became the tenth Superior General of the religious order, becoming the first non-Italian in the 136-year history of the order of Madre Antonia Colombo .
List of Superior General:
- Maria Dominica Mazzarello , Italy (1874–1881)
- Caterina Daghero , Italy (1881–1924)
- Luisa Vaschetti , Italy (1924–1943)
- Ermelinda Lucotti , Italy (1943–1958)
- Angela Vespa , Italy (1958–1969)
- Ersilia Canta , Italy (1969–1981)
- Rosetta Marchese , Italy (1981–1984)
- Marinella Castagna , Italy (1984–1996)
- Antonia Colombo, Italy (1996-2008)
- Yvonne Reungoat, France (2008-date)
Organization in Germany and Austria
In 1922 the first six Don Bosco sisters arrived in Essen-Borbeck to work there with the Salesians of Don Bosco. From there the community spread into Germany. A second house was opened in Eschelbach as early as 1924 . In Austria, the first Don Bosco sisters went to Jagdberg-Schlins (Vorarlberg) in 1928 .
On May 16, 1945, the German province “Mariahilfe der Christisten” was canonically established. The Italian sister Alba de Ambrosis became the first provincial superior. On November 3, 1954, the German-Austrian province was divided. Sister Alba de Ambrosis became provincial superior in Austria, Sister Giovanna Zacconi, also Italian, became the new provincial superior in Germany.
Provincial Superiors since 1945:
- German Province:
- 1945–1954: Alba de Ambrosis
- 1954-1960: Giovanna Zacconi
- 1960–1966: Angela Becker
- 1966–1979: Theresia Lumer
- 1979–1985: Maria Eder
- 1985–1991: Margareta Nickl
- 1991–1997: Katharina Schmid
- 1997–2005: Rosa Höll
- 2005–2014: Petra Egeling
- Austrian Province:
- 1954-1960: Alba de Ambrosis
- 1960–1972: Giovanna Zacconi
- 1972–1981: Theresia Witwer
- 1981–1987: Ingeborg Hefel
- 1987-1993: Adolfine Binder
- 1993–1999: Gertrud Haller
- 1999–2005: Hermine Mülleder
- 2005–2014: Maria Maxwald
- German-speaking province:
- since 2014: Maria Maul
In 2014, 60 years after the division of the German-Austrian province, the Don Bosco sisters in Germany and Austria reunited to form a province. The provincial office of the German-speaking province is in Munich, the mission procuration in Essen.
Currently (2014) around 80 sisters live in ten branches in Germany. The branches are located in Benediktbeuern , Eschelbach, Essen-Borbeck, Essen-Kettwig , Gelsenkirchen-Scholven , Kelheim , Magdeburg (two branches: St. Josef and St. Mechthild), Munich and Rottenbuch . The sisters work in these places in kindergartens , day care centers , Horten , a youth hostel , a girl dormitory, an open children's and youth center and clergy centers for children, youth, families and adults.
In Austria there are seven branches in Baumkirchen , Hall in Tirol , Klagenfurt , Salzburg , Stams and Vöcklabruck with currently around 80 sisters. They run kindergartens, after-school care centers, schools, dormitories and a socio-educational residential community there. You are active in extracurricular child and youth work, in parishes and in family pastoral work. The Don Bosco sisters are - besides the association Jugend Eine Welt and the Salesians of Don Bosco - one of the supporting organizations of the Don Bosco refugee organization , which is socio-educationally active throughout Austria for unaccompanied minor refugees ("umF" for short).
Web links
- Website of the Don Bosco Sisters worldwide
- The Don Bosco sisters in Germany and Austria
- Don Bosco refugee agency
Individual evidence
- ^ L'Istituto FMA nel mondo , cfgmanet.org, accessed on February 17, 2020.
- ↑ a b Communities / Locations , accessed on October 27, 2014.
- ↑ a b This is what we're promoting , accessed on October 27, 2014.
- ↑ Don Bosco Refugee Agency Austria: Our supporting organizations ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 27, 2014.