|
| |
170 Years
May 25th, 1816, Adele de Batz de Trenquelleon and five companions
gathered in a house they called The Refuge in Agen, France, and prayed in
thanksgiving for the chance to realize their "dear project." This was the
beginning of their life together as Daughters of Mary, the religious
congregation we have come to know as the Marianist Sisters, the women religious
branch of the Marianist Family.
It is a group begun in hard times. Two years previous to the foundation these
women were using religious names and drawing up a constitution, but civil
upheaval, ecclesial precariousness and various practical matters delayed their
coming together. Even as they did gather, the bishop refused to let the sisters
profess vows publicly or wear religious garb. Adele nevertheless was animated
and joyful as she encouraged her companions. She was 27 years old and during the
summer of 1816 was confined to bed. Ill health periodically inhibited her
activities from age 20 till her early death at 38. Yet the foundation was
established.
Years before these women began their life together in The Refuge they were known
for their activities in serving the poor and catechizing children, youth and
adults. Their service to the church was essential for that region; the women,
and especially Adele, were anxious to continue their service. Their zeal and
Chaminade's insight prompted him to call them missionaries. Furthermore, Adele
had started The Association in 1804, which had merged with Chaminade's Sodality
in 1813. At that time The Association had 200 members. The women were involved
in developing the Sodality and they did not want to leave it! Chaminade wrote,
"You will be religious sodalists," and insisted that a foundation in Agen made
sense only after the Sodality had been established there, a Sodality these women
would animate.
These sisters' primary apostolate was animating the Sodality and its numerous
meetings. They also provided personal guidance and spiritual direction, offered
general and private retreats, ran a free school, held classes for poor women,
directed a sewing shop to give working girls a trade, catechized, and prepared
people of all ages for First Communion and Confirmation. Adele also continued a
personal apostolate encouraging and directing groups and individuals through
letter-writing.
From these bits of information we glean a sense of the origins of the Marianist
Sisters. In the past 170 years they have spread to having communities on five
continents, influencing the Marianist Family wherever they are. Though presently
few in number, the dynamism that characterized Adele is evident in the Marianist
Sisters today. |