Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy
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The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy (Congregatio Sororum Beatae Mariae Misericordiae (lat)), (Zgromadzenie Sióstr Matki Bożej Miłosierdzia (pol)) - was founded by Mother Teresa Eva Potocka (1814–1881) in Warsaw, Poland on November 1, 1862. This was the first "Mercy House". The order uses the abbreviation O.L.M.[1]
History
Origins and development of mission
Mother Teresa Ewa countess Sułkowska princes Potocka after eight months of practice in the House of Mercy in the Laval (France) returned to Poland and at the invitation of Archbishop Zygmunt Szczesny Feliński she took over shelter (Dom Schronienia pol) in Warsaw for girls failed morally. November 1, 1862 Archbishop Feliński dedicated a chapel and a house for girls, and that date shall be adopted as the date of creation 'the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy' in Poland. In 1878 there was a connection to the assembly on the Laval and obtain a decree authorizing the activities of the Papal Order. From 1922 Order works themselves.
In communist times, the 1962 Polish government nationalized company conducted by the congregation. Some of them were converted to"Caritas", sisters took care of children affected by the reduced efficiency of mental illness and women.
Faustina Kowalska
In August 1925, in the religious house in Warsaw Helena Kowalska, later Saint Faustina began her postulancy and on April 30, 1926 took her perpetual vows and become a member of the Congregation.[2]
Congregation
Congregation in USA[3]
In 1986, Cardinal Bernard Law during the pilgrimage to the Shrine in Kraków-Łagiewniki, asked Mother General, Sr. Paulina Słomka, to send several sisters to Boston to create a community of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. The three sisters came to Boston on September 15, 1988, where he set up temporarily at the convent in Our Lady of Czestochowa parish. It was the first international meeting house that was founded outside of Poland. October 10, 1993 moved to a permanent house at the Neponset Ave. in Boston.
References
- ↑ "Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy". Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious.
- ↑ Catherine M. Odell, 1998, Faustina: Apostle of Divine Mercy OSV Press ISBN 978-0-87973-923-2 pages 191-192
- ↑ International house in Boston