The Little Brothers of St. Francis
This Community of Brothers was founded in 1970 in the Archdiocese of Boston by Br.James Curran. They belong to the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. Their charism as Br. Curran says is “To follow Jesus in the footsteps of Saint Francis as a non-clerical community of religious brothers (not ordained to the priesthood), embracing a life of contemplative prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, and solidarity with the lepers of our society.”
Their Friaries are located in poor inner city neighbourhoods. The Brothers seek to live poor among the poor as a prayerful presence in Christ's Eucharistic presence.
For more information on their Community you can check their website at http://www.littlebrothersofstfrancis.org/
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The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles
Sr. Therese McNamara and Sr. Wilhelmina Lancaster joined forces to begin this community in 1995. They were named the “Oblates of Mary, Queen of Apostles,” because they believed they needed to prove themselves first before being so bold as to call themselves Benedictine.
By 2003, the community numbered eight, but quickly saw a rise in vocations. Young women shared the vision of the Priory of Our Lady of Ephesus, and came to join the little band. In March 2006, with the blessing of their former Bishop, the Oblates of Mary accepted the invitation of the Most Rev. Robert W. Finn, D.D. to transfer to his diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri.
He had been praying for nuns to come to pray and sacrifice for his priests. Their new bishop offered firm support and protection of their charism and traditional liturgy, and has approved and encouraged their canonical advancement by erecting the Priory of Our Lady of Ephesus as an official novitiate in keeping with Church's canons.
For more information on this Community of Sisters contact http://www.benedictinesofmary.org/
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SOLT
The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity
The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity was founded in 1958 in the Parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, located in the Sangre de Christo Mountains. This parish was under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A. Our Lady’s Society quickly spread throughout the United States, having received the status of a Pious Society on July 16, 1958, the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity exists today in the Church as Societies of Apostolic Life for Priests and for Consecrated Spouses of Christ together with the Public Clerical Association of the Lay Faithful.
Their primary Apostolate is to serve the areas of deepest apostolic need. They serve in missions across the world in the following specific areas of apostolate: parishes, migrants and refugees, education, catechetics, evangelization, ecumenism, healing, drug addiction, prisons, government, military, promoting peace and justice, marriage and family life, youth, abandoned and homeless children, the poor and destitute. More information from their website...
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The Community of St. John
Founded in the 1970's in Switzerland, "The Community of Saint John" wants to be a community of children of the Father and friends of Jesus, gathered together by the Holy Spirit, in order to live a fully evangelical life in the footsteps of Christ in intimate communion with Him: a life of adoration and contemplation intimately close to Mary."
The members of the Community of Saint John who include Brothers, Sisters (both apostolic and contemplative) and also the laity, live the evangelical counsels rooted in the three covenants revealed in the Gospel of Saint John : The Covenant with Jesus in the Eucharist, The Covenant with Mary, The Convenant with Peter in the person of the Holy Father. They now have several houses worldwide. More information on this vibrant community can be found at http://www.stjean.com/
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The Brothers of Merciful Jesus
Officially approved on July 11th 2005 by His Eminence Card. Joseph Audrys Backis, Archbishop of Vilnius, Lithuania, this new Community of Brothers under Fr. Igor (from Italy), takes as its spiritual founder, Bl. Fr. Michael Sopocko who founded the Sisters of Merciful Jesus.
Since then, the newly born Community has been able to live in the spirit of Mercy right in Vilnius, a place highly favored by the Divine Mercy where the holy image of Merciful Jesus (see Image) was painted and exposed to the public, where Saint Faustina received the Chaplet of Mercy and where for centuries the venerated icon of Mother of God of Mercy (see Icon) has been worshipped.
These brothers took the responsibility both personally and through community to respond to a “charism” of living and proclaiming God’s mercy as it was revealed to Saint Faustina and continued by her spiritual father, a servant of God, Blessed Father Michael Sopočko.
Since February 2010, there are eleven Brothers and one Postulant in the Brothers of Merciful Jesus. And there are several potential candidates and inquiries from around the world! Please check the following for more information, http://www.faustina-message.com/community-brothers-jesus.htm
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Sister Servants of the Eternal Word
Their Convent and Retreat House, Casa Maria, is located in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
More info...http://www.sisterservants.org/
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The Sisters of Life
The Sisters of Life is a contemplative / active religious community of women founded in 1991 by John Cardinal O’Connor for the protection and enhancement of the sacredness of every human life. Like all religious communities, they take the three traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They also are consecrated under a special, fourth vow to protect and enhance the sacredness of human life.
Reverence and gratitude for the unique and unrepeatable gift of each human life made in the image and likeness of God fuels the prayer of each Sister, their first mission in building the Kingdom of God and the “Culture of Life.” It also provides the starting point for their interactions with others, especially relationships in community between their 70 Sisters (who come from across the United States, Canada and New Zealand), and in their apostolates.
Their missions are carried out with the heart of the Church and with the hope of revealing to those they serve the inherent goodness and beauty of their own lives, so that each person may see and experience the truth that they are an unrepeatable creation of the Master.
For more information: http://sistersoflife.org/
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The Disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Founded in 1972, they are a Community of Franciscan and Charismatic Sisters. They seek to follow in the footprints of the Lord Jesus Christ through the profession of public vows of Chastity, Poverty, and Obedience. They also make a Promise of Fellowship in the Spirit with all members of our Institute.
They are a contemplative community with evangelistic apostolates, following the Rule of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis of Assisi, and the Constitutions of the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were born of the Charismatic Renewal and have a Charismatic sprituality that includes praise and worship, and the use of the charismatic gifts of the Spirit both in prayer and in ministry.
They were erected as a Religious Institute of Diocesan Right on April 7, 1991 by Most Reverend Leroy T. Matthiesen, the sixth Bishop of Amarillo, Texas. Their Motherhouse is located in the Diocese of Amarillo, and they have had a mission house in Monterrey, Mexico, since 1977. They also had mission houses in other locations such as Lubbock, Texas, and Miramar, Florida.
Contact: http://www.dljc.org/
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The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
The Institute was founded in 1990 by Monsignor Gilles Wach and Father Philippe Mora in Gabon, Africa, where they still have missions. Today, the motherhouse and international seminary of the Institute is located in Gricigliano, in the Archdiocese of Florence, Italy.
The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right whose goal is the honor of God and the sanctification of priests in the service of the Church and souls. Its specific aim is missionary: to spread the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ in all spheres of human life. Their work is carried out under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, to Whom the Institute is consecrated. Recognizing the importance of a deep harmony between faith, liturgy, life, and the power of beauty in attracting the human senses to the things above, an integral part of the Institute’s charism is the use of the traditional Latin Liturgy of 1962 for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the other sacraments. Great care for a solemn liturgy, complete fidelity to the doctrine of the Church and the Holy Father, and awareness of the central role of Grace, especially Charity – these are essential elements of the Institute’s spirituality, which is drawn from its three co-patrons, St. Benedict, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Francis de Sales.
Their motto, taken from St. Paul, is “Live the truth in charity." The Institute operates in more than fifty places in twelve countries, where their priests focus on the care of souls in many different ways. To assist their priests in their apostolic work, the Institute also has clerical oblates. In 2004, a community of religious sisters was canonically established to aid the priests in their mission through prayer and apostolic work.
More information available at http://www.institute-christ-king.org/
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Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word
Were founded in 1987, by Mother Mary Angelica, PCPA, who also founded the Eternal Word Television Network. Their main friary is located in Birmingham, Alabama, next door to the EWTN headquarters. They also have a residence at the Shrine in Hanceville.
Their religious family is composed of both priests and brothers, with an average age of 34 years old. Their apostolate is to preach and teach the Catholic faith, first, by their example, and when necessary, by using words.
It includes using modern means of communication, such as: television, radio, the Internet and publishing; it also includes conducting spiritual retreats.
At this time, They focus their attention on: celebrating the liturgy on EWTN television and radio, leading spiritual retreats for visitors to EWTN and the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament (Mother Angelica's new monastery), and providing for the spiritual needs of the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration and the EWTN employees. All of them also have other jobs around the friary, such as: cooking, cleaning, taking care of the sick friars, creating and laying-out our monthly newsletter and bookkeeping.
Information from: http://franciscanmissionaries.com/
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Missionaries of the Poor
The "Brothers of the Poor" was founded in 1981 by Fr. Richard Ho Lung who was associate pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Papine, Jamaica, when he ventured into the depressed community of Mona Commons and listened and shared the struggles of the people. Father Ho Lung encountered a fundamental problem: the absence or lack of family life and a sense of community. Thus, when the "Brothers of the Poor" was founded in 1981, one of the main objectives was to build family and community among the poor and disadvantaged.
These objectives were to be pursued in two ways: first, by building a community of men--religious brothers and priests--who would live in community, share all things in common, follow a common spirituality and charism with a common ministry of service to the least in society; second, by bringing together the poor (especially the destitute homeless) as a family and forging community relationships with the wider society.
Initially consisting of only four members, the Brothers of the Poor were approved by the Bishop of Kingston, Jamaica and the name changed to the "Missionaries of the Poor".
The Spirituality of their Institute is to be in union with Christ on the Cross, as they give joyful service to the least of our brothers and sisters and to each other in the community. They cheerfully serve the suffering and crucified Lord as He appears to us in the poor, knowing that through the Cross He attained for us Everlasting Life.
Since it's founding, the Missionaries of the Poor have received both papal and episcopal approval for their work and constitutions. Today, the order has over 550 brothers serving in nine missions around the world.
Contact: http://www.missionariesofthepoor.org/
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The Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal was begun in 1987 by eight Capuchin friars desiring to work more definitively for personal and communal reform within the Catholic Church. The life and apostolate of the friars are rooted in the ideals and spirit of the Capuchin reform born in the early 16th century.
The spiritual values uniting the friars are commitment to Christ, Our Savior, through contemplative and liturgical prayer, daily Eucharistic adoration, devotion to Our Lady, imitation of St. Francis and St. Clare, love for the Church and loyalty to the Holy Father.“This community is seeking to live the vows of authentic Franciscan life in a way that effectively challenges the worldly values prevalent in every age.
To preserve the spirit and life of St. Francis in their apostolate, the friars will carry on the work of evangelization by preaching and other non-parochial ministry in the manner of the early Capuchin reform.”
The community was formally established as a Diocesan Religious Institute by the late John Cardinal O'Connor on May 28, 1999For more information contact: http://www.franciscanfriars.com/
