Congregation of the Humility of Mary
| Congregation of the Humility of Mary | |
Humility of Mary Center in Davenport, Iowa
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| Abbreviation | H.M. |
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| Formation | c. AD 1854 |
| Founder | Fr. John Joseph Begel |
| Type | Catholic religious order |
| Headquarters | United States of America |
| Website | humilityofmary |
The Institute of the Sisters of the Holy Humility of Mary, now the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. The 'Congregation of the Humility of Mary' is located in Iowa., The Sisters of the Humility of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious congregation, founded at Dommartin-sous-Amance, France, in 1855. The community immigrated to the United States in 1864.
The sisters in the eastern United States wore a blue woolen habit, for headdress a gimp and bandeau, a black veil being worn by the professed, and a white one by novices. A silver medal is suspended from the neck on a blue band, and a rosary from the girdle, which is also of blue. The western US sisters wore a black habit, that featured a shoulder cape, and veil. They wore a crucifix suspended on a cord around their neck and a rosary suspended from their belt.
The novitiate lasts from two and a half to three years, and perpetual vows are made at the end of nine years. The superior, her two assistants, and four consultors are elected triennially.
The founder was John Joseph Begel (b. 5 April 1817; d. 23 Jan., 1884), pastor of the two villages of Laitre and Dommartin. In 1854, three pious women, Mlle Poitier, the foundress, known in religion as Mother Mary Magdalen, Marie Tabourat, later Mother Mary Anna, and Sister Mary Joseph, having offered their services for the work of teaching poor children, Father Begel conceived the idea of establishing a religious community. The following year he drew up a rule which was adopted by the sisters and approved by the Bishop of Nancy, 29, August, 1858.
The object of the new congregation was the education of youth in country districts and small towns, the training of orphans, the care of the sick, and incidentally the decoration of altars in parish churches. The association increased in numbers. Soon, however, Father Begel's open condemnation of the policy of Napoleon III towards the Church and especially towards religious institutes, brought him into disfavour with the civil authorities, and the sisters of the community were refused diplomas and prevented from opening schools.
In 1862 Father Louis Hoffer of Louisville, Ohio, U.S.A., applied for four sisters to teach in his school. Bishop Louis Rappe of Cleveland not only gave his approval, but invited the whole community to settle in his diocese. The sisters, accompanied by Father Begel, set sail 30 May 1864, and on their arrival took possession of a farm of 250 acres (1.0 km2) near New Bedford, Pennsylvania, which had just been vacated by the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, and to which they gave the name Villa Maria. It was far from a railroad, and the land was uncultivated, undrained, overgrown with brush, and dotted with sloughs, the buildings being surrounded by a marsh. Moreover, the community was destitute of resources and burdened with debt.
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