February 2, World Day for Consecrated Life

On August 15, 1846, after three years of initial formation, the foundresses, Sisters Marie-Rose, Marie-Agnès and Marie-Madeleine, as well as Véronique-du-Crucifix and Thérèse-de-Jésus, promised to consecrate their lives to God forever. At this first SNJM celebration of perpetual profession, they committed themselves to following the Rules and Constitutions of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.
These Constitutions remind us that “The apostolic energy of our Foundress flowed from her life of prayer and union with God. Her deep love of Jesus and Mary urged her to promote the Christian education of the young, with a preference for the poor. Today, […] united and missioned in the Names of Jesus, our Saviour, and of Mary, his Mother, we enter into the mystery of their lives through prayer, silence and contemplation […] available to the needs of the Church and the world. […] Jesus and Mary are the models and inspiration for our mission of education. They challenge us to become signs and prophets […].”

At the time of the community’s first General Chapter in 1849, only 5 years after its founding, the Congregation numbered 30 professed sisters. The statistics, presented in the exhibition The General Chapters: Crossroads on the Journey of the SNJMs indicate the fluctuation in the number of professed, reaching its peak at the time of the 1967 General Chapter, with 4171 professed sisters. Today, at the dawn of the 34th General Chapter, the community numbers 830 professed. Since 1844, 7231 young women have taken vows consecrating their lives to Jesus and Mary in the SNJM Congregation.

To know more about World Day for Consecrated Life.