Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary

The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded in Ghent, Belgium. An enclosed religious order, its main apostolate is helping the needy and the sick, inspired by the work of Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.

Their traditional habit, in the Cistercian tradition, was a white tunic with a black veil and scapular.^[1]

The Superior General of the order is Sr. Lucy Jacob Palliampallithara, who is based in the global headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

On 4 November 1803, the Congregation was founded by the Rev. Canon Peter Joseph Triest, the pastor of Lovendegem at that time. Triest, who was to found two other religious institutes for the relief of the poor, recruited a group of young women, from among whom the co-foundress Mother Placida van der Gauwen came. Mother Placida later became the first Mother Superior of the congregation.^[2]

In the late 19th century, they established missions in the Belgian Congo (1892), British Ceylon (1896)^[3] and British India (1897).^[4] They were also invited to open a house in England by Cardinal Herbert Vaughan.

In 2018, two convents in the Congo were attacked and robbed by armed men.^[5]

From this congregation came Marie Louise Habets (Sister Xaverine), who served as the basis for Sister Luke / Gabrielle Van der Mal, the protagonist of the 1956 Kathryn Hulme novel The Nun's Story. Her character was later portrayed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1959 film adaptation of the book.^[6]

1. ^ CE
2. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
3. ^ Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus & Mary, Galle, Sri Lanka
4. ^ See M. De Clerck ed., Sow with the wind: The Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary in India, 1897-1983, Roeselare : Roularta, 1983.
5. ^ Olukya, Godfrey. "Three convents in Congo attacked within two-week span", CNS, September 27, 2018
6. ^ Zoë Fairbairns' The Nun's True Story