Marianites of the Holy Cross
MARIANITES OF THE HOLY CROSS
A congregation of religious women (MSC, Official Catholic Directory #2410) founded in Le Mans, France, in 1841 by Basil Anthony moreau, who was also the founder of the Fathers of the Holy Cross and reorganizer of the Brothers of the Holy Cross. Mother Mary of the Seven Dolors Gascoin (d. 1900), the first superior, and her early companions received their training in religious life from the Good Shepherd nuns in Le Mans. At first Moreau intended his little community to be housekeepers in the seminaries and boarding schools staffed by the Holy Cross fathers and brothers, but the sisters' field of activity expanded to include teaching, nursing, caring for orphans and elderly people, and laboring in foreign missions. In 1869 Pius IX approved their constitutions.
Four Marianites began work in Indiana in 1843; others came to Canada in 1847, to Louisiana in 1848, and to New York in 1855. The sisters are engaged in education, healthcare, parish ministries, youth ministries, social work, and pastoral work. The U.S. headquarters is located in New Orleans, LA.
[m. l. dorsey/eds.]