The Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

religious congregation founded in 1876 in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, by Fr Augustin Planque, the first superior general of the

Society of African Missions The Society of African Missions ( la, Societas Missionum ad Afros; ) abbreviated SMA, also known as the SMA Fathers, is a Catholic religious Society of Apostolic Life of pontifical right for men founded by Melchior de Marion Brésillac in 1856 ...

. The order was created to assist with the priests' missions in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

History

Mother Eugenia Ravasio was Superior General from 1935 until 1947; she marked the history of the religious congregation for her work in favour of

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

and for having received unprecedented visions and revelations from God the Father. In 1995, Sister Angèle-Marie Littlejohn and Sister Bibiane Leclercq were killed by terrorism in Algiers. They are recognized as

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s by the Catholic Church. Their

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

was celebrated on 8 December 2018 in Oran (

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

) with the

Martyrs of Algeria The Martyrs of Algeria were a group of nineteen individuals slain in Algeria between 1994 and 1996 during the Algerian Civil War. They all were priests or professed religious belonging to religious congregations, including seven Trappist Cisterc ...

...

Apostolate

The Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles has currently more than 700 sisters from 21 countries in 19 countries. The sisters pronounce the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, for the realization of the first

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are ...

, the service of the poorest and the promotion of women, in an inter-religious dialogue: "we go beyond the borders of countries and of religions to boldly proclaim the dead and resurrected Christ to a multicultural world. We are a ferment of hope in a world in search of landmarks and in quest of Absolute. We are working on the first evangelization, especially in

. With respect, we welcome the truth of others and collaborate in the

inculturation In Christianity, inculturation is the adaptation of Christian teachings and practices to cultures. This is a term that is generally used by Catholics, whereas Protestants, especially associated with the World Council of Churches, prefer to use th ...

of the Gospel. We are attentive to the missionary dimension of the local Church. We live in effective solidarity with the poor, especially with women and all the persons who are marginalized in our contemporary societies".

References

Bibliography

Georges Goyau Georges Goyau (31 May 1869 – 25 October 1939) was a French historian and essayist specializing in religious history. Biography Pierre-Louis-Théophile-Georges Goyau was born in Orléans 31 May 1869, and attended the Lycée d'Orléans before mov ...

, ''Les Sœurs de Notre-Dame des Apôtres'', Paris, Éditions Spes, 1936. * Fr. André Ravier, ''Les Missionnaires de Notre-Dame des Apôtres'', Lyon, Lescuyer, décembre 1944, 594 pages. * Father Andrea D'Ascanio,
FOR THE GLORY OF THE FATHER - A biography of Mother Eugenia Elisabetta Ravasio (1907-1990)
'. Tip. Editrice Pisani - Isola del Liri, 94 pages.

External links

Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles
– Official website {{Authority control Christianization Catholic missionary orders Catholic female orders and societies