Two orders of female religious inspired by a 16th century Englishwoman once dubbed a heretic have merged into one congregation.
The Congregatio Jesu, founded by the Venerable Mary Ward and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary Loreto became one entity on 4 November.
Approximately 1,800 sisters from across the globe now belong to the Congregatio Jesus, following the promulgation of a decree during a Mass celebrated by Fr Arturo Sosa SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus in Loyola, northern Spain.
The birthplace of St Ignatius was a fitting place for the Mass given the IBVM and Congregatio’s spiritual life follows the Constitutions of St Ignatius.
In 1610, the Venerable Mary Ward opened her first convent in St Omer, then part of Spanish Flanders, where she had tried her vocation with the Poor Clares.
She opened the first of many schools, but her institute was suppressed in 1631 by Pope Urban VIII. Forty-nine years later, episcopal permission was granted for the founding of new houses.
In 1821, Teresa Ball founded the Irish branch of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM) in Dublin.
Over the course of the next century, the IBVM flourished overseas, establishing houses in India, Mauritius, Gibraltar, Canada, the United States, England, South Africa and elsewhere.
In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI declared Mary Ward “Venerable.”
While both Mary Ward Congregations remained separate, informal contact was maintained.
Members of both congregations voted to join together.
“We are very happy that we can finally fulfill Mary Ward’s dream of a united congregation of women religious with the same constitutions as those of the Society of Jesus”, said Sr Veronica Fuhrmann CJ, General Superior of Congregatio Jesu.
Sr Carmel Swords CJ, former Institute leader of the IBVM added: “We believe that together we are stronger. We move forward filled with gratitude and a desire to serve God’s people in freedom and joy.”
The Congregatio Jesu works in more than 40 countries worldwide.