Servant of God Elizabeth Prout - Foundress of the Passionists Sisters

Elizabeth Prout was born in Coleham, Shrewsbury on September 2, 1820. Little is known of her early life, save that she was born to an Anglican mother and a father who was a lapsed Catholic (both of whom later converted to Catholicism) and in her early twenties converted to Catholicism under the influence of the Passionist missionary to England, Blessed Dominic Barberi, as well as another Passionist, Father Gaudentius Rossi. Her conversion was met with great negativity by her parents who had earlier relocated the family to Stone, where the Passionists were working at the time. Elizabeth began to feel a strong attraction to the religious life and Father Gaudentius advised her to join the Sisters of the Infant Jesus in Northampton. In 1848 Elizabeth joined this community where she initially found great happiness, her health however was poor and the sisters did not think her strong enough for their work. After spending some time with her parents, Elizabeth again appealed to Father Gaudentius for advice. At that time the Passionist was giving a parish mission at St. Chad's Church in Cheetham Hill, Manchester and it was there that Father Gaudentius advised Elizabeth to make her home, teaching in the parish school.

Work in Manchester

On arriving in Manchester, Elizabeth was met with the squalid conditions that the people lived in. She soon established herself in the parish by visiting the sick and poor. She was soon joined in her work by those who felt inspired by her way of life. Elizabeth felt that she wanted to establish a more regular life for her and her companions and thought first of joining an existing religious order, but then, with the advice of Father Gaudentius, believed she was called to found a new congregation. A house was secured in Stocks Street, behind St. Chad's church and there Elizabeth and her companions lived and worked. The life of Elizabeth and her female companions was strict and they laboured for much of the day in prayer and working for the local poor. The life proved so strict that eventually all of Elizabeth's companions left her. New recruits came and a rule of life was drawn up by Father Gaudentius. The company was called the 'Institute of the Holy Family'. Elizabeth and the sisters received a religious habit at the hands of Father Croskell, parish priest of St. Chad's, on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, November 21, 1852. A plaque in the Lady Chapel of St. Chad's records this event. At her clothing Elizabeth Prout received her new religious name, by which she would ever be known hereafter, Mother Mary Joseph of Jesus.

The next two years saw the sisters working unceasingly, to such an extent that their health was neglected and many of the sisters fell ill, being too poor to afford the services of a doctor; Mother Mary Joseph was called upon to nurse the sisters herself. Encouragement was ever present however, in the form of many benefactors and friends, not least amongst them Father Ignatius Spencer, son of Earl Spencer and convert to the Catholic faith. He too had become a Passionist and joined Father Dominic in his work in England. When Father Gaudentius was transferred to the United States by his superiors Father Ignatius took the place of the spiritual guide of Mother Mary Joseph and her Institute. By this time a larger home had been found for the community in Levenshulme on the outskirts of Manchester.

Conflicts within the community had taken their toll on Mother Mary Joseph's work, particularly the finances of the Institute. She obtained permission from the bishop to go to Ireland to beg for alms for her Institute and there met with Father Ignatius. On her return from Ireland mother Mary Joseph found the situation even worse than when she had left. People were accusing the sisters of irregularity and so an ecclesiastical investigation began. The result of the investigation was extremely positive and revealed the deep poverty of the sisters and the sacrifices they had made in their hard work.

Passionist Sisters

Father Ignatius began to spend much more time with the sisters and as such the influence of Passionist spirituality began to grow within the community. Soon Mother Mary Joseph and Father Ignatius were working together on the Rule of the Institute to bring it into conformity with the Rule of the founder of the Passionists, St. Paul of the Cross. Father Ignatius took the Rule to Rome for the Pope's approval, which he received. The Institute was thus formally erected as a religious congregation of the Catholic Church. On October 23, 1863 Mother Mary Joseph was elected mother General, but her health was failing and her was near total physical collapse. Mother Mary Joseph died on January 11, 1864, physically broken by her labours, but with the future of the congregation secure. She was dressed in her habit and buried at the Passionist Church of St. Anne's, in Sutton, St. Helens near Liverpool, where Dominic Barberi and Ignatius Spencer were also buried. Ten years after her death the sisters were given permission to wear the sign of the Passionists on their habit and their name was changed to the 'Sisters of the Cross and Passion' thus completing the work of Mother Mary Joseph and Father Ignatius.

Cause for Canonisation

At the end of the 20th century a renewed interest in the life and work of Mother Mary Joseph caused the cause for her canonisation to be opened. Her body was exhumed on June 20, 1973 and on July 30 reburied beside Father Ignatius and Blessed Dominic in the new shrine at Sutton. The next step in her Cause would be a declaration from Rome of her heroic virtues and thus mother Mary Joseph would be styled ‘Venerable’ as such she is now styled ‘Servant of God Mother Mary Joseph of Jesus’. Two reports by Catholic News Service of allegedly miraculous cures, which would be needed to be proved in addition to her heroic status, are being investigated for future beatification and canonization. They involve a person with cancer and a person with severe brain damage due to a skull fracture.