The Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother are a Catholic

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

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 ...

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 founded in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, in 1883, who serve worldwide, particularly in the field of healthcare.

Foundations

The congregation was founded at the initiative of Father

Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan, SDS (16 June 1848 – 8 September 1918), was a German Catholic priest and the founder of the Society of the Divine Savior, commonly called the Salvatorians. He was beatified by Pope Francis on May 15, 2021. Li ...

, founder of what was to become the Society of the Divine Savior, commonly known as the

Salvatorians The Society of the Divine Saviour ( la, Societas Divini Salvatoris), abbreviated SDS and also known as the Salvatorians, is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the Roman Catholic Church. The members of the congrega ...

, as the female community of the Society. Jordan invited a young woman, Amalia Streitel (1844-1911), then a

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

in Germany, who had already been a

teaching

Sister 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 ...

, to move to Rome to lead this effort. She left Germany for Italy, where she received the

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...

of the new Society and the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should ...

of Mother Frances of the Cross on 16 February 1883. She arrived to find that the housing Jordan had procured for her was an apartment lacking furniture and cooking utensils. As she was joined by other women, the Sisters took in orphans of the city, caring for them in their own apartment. Differences in vision arose between the two and in 1885, the Sisters separated from the Salvatorians. The 36 women who formed the community then went under the authority of the

Diocese of Rome The Diocese of Rome ( la, Dioecesis Urbis seu Romana; it, Diocesi di Roma) is the ecclesiastical district under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

and were given the name by which they are now known. The congregation took the Rule of the

Third Order Regular of St. Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. The preaching of Francis and his disciples caused many married men and women to w ...

at that time, combining a life of service with that of

contemplation In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation. Etymology The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word '' ...

. To support themselves, the Sisters provided home nursing care and worked in the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

of the Church of

Santa Maria della Pietà in Camposanto dei Teutonici The Church of Our Lady of Mercy in the Teutonic Cemetery (Latin: ''Sancta Maria Pietatis in Coemeterio Teutonicorum,'' it, Santa Maria della Pietà in Camposanto dei Teutonici) is a Roman Catholic church in the rione Borgo of Rome, Italy. It is l ...

, the German

national church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing ...

of Rome. In 1890 Streitel arrived in the United States at the request of Bishop of Wichita,

John Joseph Hennessy John Joseph Hennessy (July 19, 1847 – July 13, 1920) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Wichita in Kansas from 1888 until his death in 1920. Biography Early life ...

, that the congregation take over St. Francis hospital which was faltering. From there they expanded to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, where they founded

Mercy Medical Center (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Mercy Medical Center, officially Ascension Northeast Wisconsin Mercy Hospital, is a hospital founded in 1891 that serves the city of Oshkosh, in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Its emergency department is a level III trauma center. History Mercy ...

, and many other Hospitals in the US and Caribbean. A health resort was later opened in

Denville, New Jersey Denville Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, located west of Manhattan. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 16,635, reflecting an increase of 811 (+5.1%) from the 15,824 counted in the 2000 census. ...

, and a mission was opened in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Final approval of the congregation was received on 6 March 1911 by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

, the same day that Streitel died in Castel Sant'Elia, Italy.

Current status

Today the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother serve in Italy, Austria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Germany, the United States, Grenada, St. Lucia, Tanzania and Trinidad and Tobago.Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, Archdiocese of Milwaukee
/ref> The Generalate is in Rome. The provincial motherhouse of the St. Clare of Assisi region is in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorrowful Mother, Sisters of 1883 establishments in Italy Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century Congregations of Franciscan sisters Catholic nursing orders