Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary
Mary's living presence in the world
Our community
A New Community
Because it wasn’t meant to be just one more religious order. It was meant to be a “new” community: a community of women, consecrated to God, who live a life of poverty, obedience, and virginity, but who don’t bind themselves through vows. They were to have a style of life that would be so flexible that the members could live in community or alone – as their tasks would demand. Living faith, freedom, and responsibility were highly valued.
25+
Countries
Burundi, South Africa, India, Philippines, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Belarus, Italy, Australia, USA, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
1926
Founding
Many years have passed since the foundation: a time of blessing, also in trials and challenges. In history and in the present time, God’s guiding hand shows itself clearly. About 1,800 sisters from 42 nations have chosen to follow this path.
Being Mary
“Behold, your mother!” (Jn 19, 27)
Mary, the Immaculata, shows us what true humanity looks like as a follower of Christ. That is why we take her as our measure:
To pass on Mary’s motherly love, to continue her selfless service to life to concrete human beings, to live out the purity of her love, the clarity of her thinking, the freedom of her decision, her absolute openness to God’s desire and will today – that is God’s longing. He calls us to this, too.
Being a soul
Every work of God must remain filled with a vital spark of grace in order to bear fruit. This requires detailed work in depth and breadth. As a core community we place ourselves completely at the service of the Schoenstatt Movement. Our community was founded for this task on October 1, 1926.
Concretely:
on their spiritual and human journey,
so that they can enrich their families, society and the Church with their strength as women,
develop their personalities and shape their lives as Christians today.
At the heart of the Church
Our founder, Fr. Joseph Kentenich, placed himself and his foundation entirely at the service of the Church. It urges us to use all our strength to evangelize people in different cultural contexts.
Hope
Keeping the world open to God
Wherever people rejoice and hope, wherever they live in sorrow and fear, wherever they shape their lives and their world and encounter the great questions of life, we want to be there – like Mary. We want to help keep our world open to God and his work. This task begins in our own hearts.
It becomes concrete in our work – in service in our own community, in our workplaces in a wide variety of professional fields. Whether in civilian clothes or in the uniform dress of the Sisters of Mary, whether with words, through external signs or simply through our person: we always want to build bridges so that people can find God today.
Apostolic
Passing on the fire
Everything we do is “apostolic”; it can bring others closer to God and do good. Working, praying, being ill, recovering, in conversations, through encounters on the road … in everything there is a fire that we want to help enkindle. And our prayer and sacrifice can also reach people who otherwise seem unreachable.
Meeting God in everything
The apostolic life gives our prayers a special touch. We seek to discover God everywhere and in everything: in people and things, in current events and in the voice of our own heart. This helps us to follow God’s “silent beckoning” and to let him lead us. As a community, we have daily times of communal and personal prayer, silence, and reflection. The circle of Adoration Sisters dedicate themselves to prayer and the adoration of God as their “main profession.”
Living as a family
We are family. This characterizes our everyday life. The majority of us live in small or large house communities. We live, pray, and work together. It is important to us to create a climate of joy and goodwill together. Being a family is a permanent and very defined task. But it also gives us strength and a home to look forward to – especially when our profession or apostolic tasks require us to live alone.
Contact
Our contacts in the world
Need more information?
Our contacts in the world
Mutterhaus in Schönstatt: Berg Schönstatt, 1, zip code 56179, Vallendar, Germany
+49 (0) 261 64041
www.s-ms.org/en
info@s-ms.org