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Religious Order

Franciscan Missionaries of Mary

Catholic Religious Orders and Congregations
Origin from 1877

The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM) are a Catholic women's religious institute founded in 1877 in Ootacamund, British India, by Hélène de Chappotin de Neuville, known in religion as Mother Mary of the Passion, originally to provide medical care to women restricted by purdah practices from being treated by male doctors. The congregation adopted the Rule of the Franciscan Third Order Regular in 1885 and grew into a centralized religious institute of pontifical right representing 77 nationalities across 74 countries on five continents, with roughly 5,000 members recorded in 2024, making it the fifth largest women's religious institute in the Catholic Church; its work expanded from medical care into education and broader social service, and seven of its members were canonized in 2000 as Martyrs of China, killed during the Boxer Rebellion. It is headquartered in Rome under Superior General Sister Eufemia Glenny.

Facts
Classification
Kind of order
Catholic Religious Orders and Congregations 1
Apostolate
Teaching and Education 2
Apostolate
Preaching 2
Who may join
Women Only 1
Who may join
Lay and Ordained Together 2
Origins
Origin Period
from 1877 1
Belief
Defining Doctrinal Position
Catholic Apostolic Magisterial Authority 2
Practice
Liturgical Language
The vernacular 2
Liturgical Language
Latin 2
Organisation
Ordination
Holy Orders / Apostolic Succession 2
Ordination
Vowed Religious Profession (not ordained) 2
Status
Status Today
Living tradition, practised today 1
Connections

Belongs to Tradition

Rooted In

Source Wikipedia: Franciscan Missionaries of Mary

Uses Liturgical Language

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Franciscan Missionaries of Mary
Wikipedia
  • Introduction, kind of order
    The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary are a Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women founded by Mother Mary of the Passion (born Hélène Marie Philippine de Chappotin de Neuville, 1839-1904) at Ootacamund, then British India, in 1877.
  • Rooted In: Roman Catholicism, Lead section
    The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary are a Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women founded by Mother Mary of the Passion (born Hélène Marie Philippine de Chappotin de Neuville, 1839-1904) at Ootacamund, then British India, in 1877.
View the Source
2. Islamic Mysticism: A Short History
Alexander Knysh, Brill
Wikidata: Franciscan Missionaries of Mary
Wikidata Q2665582, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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