The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (I.C.M.) are a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

pontifical right In Catholicism "of pontifical right" is the term given to ecclesiastical institutions (religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See, or approved by it with the formal decree known by the Latin nam ...

of women, dedicated to the service of those in need in the

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

History

The Sisters were founded in

Mulagumudu Mulagumoodu is a town panchayat in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

, then under the rule of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, in 1897 by Mother Marie Louise De Meester, a

canoness regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

from

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

, Belgium. Always feeling a strong interest in the foreign missions of the Catholic Church, with the blessing of her prioress, De Meester left her native country to respond to the invitation of the

Discalced Carmelite The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

friars in India to care for orphans and abandoned children. Her sole companion was

Dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

Marie Ursule (civil name Germaine De Jonckheere), a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

of that same monastery. They arrived in India on November 7, 1897. The Sisters ran homes for the aged and the sick, orphanages and schools. Other women came to join them and eventually the canonesses in India separated from the monastery in Belgium and formed a new

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 ...

, called the Missionary

Canonesses Canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic Rule of St. Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and Rule are common to both. As with the c ...

of St. Augustine. The work began to grow and expand. From India De Meester established new communities of canonesses in the Philippines (1910), the West Indies (1914), the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(1919), in Congo, (1920), and China (1923). She died in Belgium in 1928. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the canonesses established new communities in Burundi (1944), Hong Kong (1953), Taiwan (1959), Guatemala, (1964), Brazil (1965), Cameroon (1969), Haiti (1977), Lebanon, (1987), Mongolia (1995), and Chad (1996). In 1963 the canonesses sought to strengthen their missionary identity and became affiliated with the missionary priests of the

Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary The CICM Missionaries officially named as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ( la, Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) abbreviated C.I.C.M, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men established in ...

. They then changed the structure of the congregation to drop their status as a semi-

enclosed religious order Enclosed religious orders or ''cloistered clergy'' are religious orders whose members strictly separate themselves from the affairs of the external world. In the Catholic Church, enclosure is regulated by the code of canon law, either the La ...

and their name to the one they now have. The congregation numbers more than 790 members living in over 100 communities located on five continents. (2010).

Notable members

Sister

Jeanne Devos Jeanne Devos, I.C.M., (born 1935) is a Belgian Religious Sister and missionary who has spent her adult life serving the neediest people in India. She founded the National Domestic Workers Movement to advocate for one of the most powerless segmen ...

, I.C.M., is a leader in the National Domestic Workers Movement, which advocates in defense of domestic workers in India, who has been nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

References

External links

Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures

Archives of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
{{Catholic religious institutes, state=collapsed Canonesses Regular Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century Catholic female orders and societies Organizations established in 1897 Catholic missionary orders