Consolata Missionary Sisters

Devotional status: Approved devotion
Evidence type: Historical account
GuideThe entry concerns an approved or received form of Catholic life whose practice and development must be distinguished from dogma.
Contents

Consolata Missionary Sisters is an international Catholic religious institute of pontifical right founded by Saint Joseph Allamano at Turin in 1910 for mission ad gentes and commonly abbreviated M.C.[1]

Foundation and identity

Joseph Allamano, rector of the Shrine of Our Lady Consolata, founded the women's institute at Turin on 29 January 1910 after establishing the Consolata Missionaries for priests and brothers in 1901. Giacomo Camisassa assisted the early foundation, and Margherita Demaria led the first group of sisters sent to Kenya in November 1913. The institute belongs to the wider Consolata missionary family while retaining its own government, constitutions, formation, and community life.

The customary initials M.C. used by members refer here to the Consolata Missionary Sisters. They must not be confused with the same initials used by the Missionaries of Charity or with I.M.C., the postnominal of the men's Consolata Missionary Institute. Blessed Irene Stefani was a professed Consolata Missionary Sister, and the precise article link attached to her postnominal identifies this institute rather than another congregation.

Charism and apostolate

The sisters profess the evangelical counsels in common religious life and understand their particular charism as the first proclamation of Christ, the Father's consolation, among peoples and in local Churches where evangelizing personnel are limited. Their apostolates have included catechesis, health care, education, pastoral formation, social service, dialogue, and the building of local Christian communities across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Contemporary Catholic mission respects human dignity, religious freedom, local cultures, and the responsibility of each particular Church; it cannot be reduced to exporting European custom.[2]

References

  1. 1.Consolata Missionary Sisters official history — The institute's own account of its status, foundation on 29 January 1910, first mission to Kenya, spirituality, international presence, and mission ad gentes.
  2. 2.Code of Canon Law, canons 607–709 — Universal Latin discipline on religious institutes, profession, governance, apostolate, and the rights and duties of members.