The Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, founded in 1947, is an international congregation of

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pr ...

s that serves in 11 countries, both in the developed and developing world. It serves in various schools, prisons, and hospitals.

History

In 1884 a small group of

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Tertiaries began in Holly Place, London, helping in the parish. They formed a religious congregation called, "The Missionary

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

of the Third Order of St Francis for the Home Missions" in 1896. Initially 4 communities spread over 3 dioceses, only two (Littlehampton and Aldershot) remained in 1911. The Aldershot group cared for over 100 orphans. In 1917, the

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

community came under the leadership of Mother Colette, received permission to take postulants. Blanche Spring, later known as Mother Francis, joined the community. In 1925 The first sisters were sent to train as nurses including Sr Francis Spring and in 1935 the first hospital, Mount Alvernia, was opened in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

(UK). Mother Francis Spring was elected Mother General in 1937. In 1942, the Missionary Sisters of Saint Francis established their first foundation outside of Britain with a small maternity hospital/nursing home in the Mount Pleasant section of Ballinasloe.

John Dignan John Dignan (13 June 1880 – 12 April 1953) was Bishop of Clonfert from 1924 until his death in 1953, a committed social reformer and initiator of early debates about social welfare provision in the early decades of newly-independent Ireland. E ...

, Bishop of Clonfert invited them to found a hospital and to that end donated land in the Brackernagh area. In 1945 Portiuncula Hospital opened. In 1947, the Congregation was renamed Franciscan Missionaries, of the Divine Motherhood and became a Congregation of Pontifical Right.

Areas of concern

*pastoral care in hospitals, *schools and universities *education *prison ministry *parish ministry *aged care *counselling and spiritual direction *health care in bush missions *caring for those afflicted with AIDS *involvement in justice, peace and the care of the environment

References

{{reflist

History

Areas of concern

References

External links