Marianites of Holy Cross
The
Marianites of Holy Cross (MSC) are a
Catholic congregation of
religious sisters founded in
Le Mans,
France in
1841 by the
Venerable Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC. Originally founded as a third distict society within the
Congregation of Holy Cross (that is, the congregation of the priests and brothers of Holy Cross), the Marianites of Holy Cross are now an independent congregation.
As the congregation grew through out the 1840's and early 1850's in the United States, Canada and Bangladesh, Fr. Moreau would always send groups of priests, brothers and sisters to work together and support each others mission within the Family of Holy Cross. The sisters initially supported the priests and brothers by providing domestic services. Very quickly, however, particularly in the United States, the sisters began their own educational institutions. In
1844, in
Bertrand,
Michigan the sisters started a school for girls. By
1855 this school would move the 6 miles to
Notre Dame, Indiana to become
Saint Mary's College, one of the leading Caholic women's
liberal arts colleges even today.
in
1856, Rome approved the constitutions of Holy Cross for the men. Doubting the propriety of a mixed congregation of men and women, Rome separated the women into an independent community at that time. Fr. Moreau, continuing in his role as their founder continued to work for Rome's approval of the sisters' constitution. in
1865, Rome approved the constitutions of the
Marianites of Holy Cross, granting them the status of "congregation" within the Church. Meanwhile, the sisters' works continued to grow and multiply, particularly in schools throughout the eastern United States, at Saint Mary's in Indiana, at
New Orleans, Louisiana, Le Mans, France and in
Quebec,
Canada.
The unity of the Marianites of Holy Cross would not last long. Competing authorities at Notre Dame and Le Mans complicated by slow communications over large distances led to the withdrawal of the sisters at Indiana in 18 to form two new independent congregations, the
Sisters of the Holy Cross at Notre Dame, Indiana and the
Sisters of Holy Cross at
Montreal,
Quebec, respectively.
The Marianites of Holy Cross continue to work in their traditional geographical areas of Le Mans, France and New Orleans, Louisiana. They continue to operate several significant institutions including:
Our Lady of Holy Cross College, founded in New Orleans in 1916 and
Holy Family High School,
Port Allen, Louisiana, founded in
1949.
