The Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, also known as Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, or simply Holy Spirit Sisters (Latin: ''Congregatio Missionalis Servarum Spiritus Sancti'', SSpS) is a

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religio ...

within the

Catholic Church 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 ...

. The group has 3,000 members in 46 different countries. The congregation was founded by

Arnold Janssen Arnold Janssen, S.V.D. (5 November 1837 – 15 January 1909), was a German-Dutch Catholic priest and missionary who is venerated as a saint. He founded the Society of the Divine Word, a Catholic missionary religious congregation, also known as th ...

in 1889 in

Steyl Steyl (; li, Sjteil ) is a village in the Tegelen district of the municipality of Venlo, the Netherlands. The village on the river Meuse is mainly known for its monasteries. In 2004, a section of the village including four monasteries was made a c ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

.Holy Spirit Missionary Sister
www.ozvocations.catholic.org.au Retrieved 22 November 2006. Janssen had previously founded in 1875 a male missionary congregation called

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation ...

. Janssen chose Maria Helena Stollenwerk, called Mother Maria (1852–1900) and

Hendrina Stenmanns Hendrina Stenmanns (28 May 1852 - 20 May 1903) was a German Roman Catholic professed religious who assumed the religious name of "Josefa" and was the co-founder of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (1889), which she founded alo ...

, called Mother Josepha (1852–1903) as co-foundresses. This community of

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

women is rooted in the

Trinitarian The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...

spirituality.Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters
www.ssps-usa.org Retrieved 22 November 2006.

Founders

(November 5, 1837 – January 15, 1909) was born in

Goch Goch (; archaic spelling: Gog, Dutch: Gogh) is a town in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated close to the border with the Siebengewald in Netherlands, approx. south of Kleve, and southeast of Nijmegen. His ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, near the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

border and ordained a priest in 1861. In 1875 he founded in

, the

"St. Michael the Archangel Mission House" to train priests for the missions. From this developed the

Society of the Divine Word The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation ...

Helena Stollenwerk was born on 28 November 1852. At a very young age she developed an interest in joining the missions and going to China, but was unable to find a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

that sent missionaries abroad. In 1882 she met

and worked as a kitchen maid at St. Michael Mission House in

. In 1884, she was joined by

. Janssen perceived a need for female missionaries to complement the work of the male missionaries. On 8 December 1889 Stollenwerk became a postulant of a women's congregation established by Janssen, the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit,"Our Roots" Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters -USA
/ref> and on 17 January 1892 assumed the religious name "Maria Virgo". She made her vows on 12 March 1894 and later became abbess on 12 August 1898.

History

The first missionary sisters set out in 1895 for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Others were sent to

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

in 1897.

Ministry

Ministries include education, health, pastoral care, spiritual guidance, adult education, communication, catechetics, chaplaincy work, social work, administration and interfaith dialogue.

References

External links

Josepha Hendrina Stenmanns (1859–1903)
Co-Foundress of the Mission Congregation Servants of the Holy Spirit

Co-Foundress of the Mission Congregation Servants of the Holy Spirit {{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Spirit Sisters Catholic female orders and societies Religious organizations established in 1889 Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century

Founders

History

Ministry

See also

Further reading

References

External links