HOLY
408
HOLY
Noailles, under the name of Sisters of Loreto. It now
consists of seven congregations, each with distinctive
worli, garb, and particular rules, but all under com-
mon constitutions, and directed by the Superior Gen-
eral of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, aided by
another priest of the same congregation, as well as by a
directress general and her assistants. The association
has received papal approbation many times, beginning
with 1831, even as recently as 1904. (1) The Sisters o/
the Holy Famihj proper, or Solitary Sisters, lead a con-
templative life, devoting themselves to perpetual
adoration and intercession for the success of the active
members of the institute. (2) The Sisters of St. Joseph
are occupied with the care of orphans, whom they m-
struct in various trades. (.'{) The Sisters of Loreto con-
duct private day schools and boarding schools for girls
of the liigher classes in France and Spain. (4) The Sis-
ters of the Immaculate Conception are in charge of day
schools, boarding schools, and kindergartens; they
devote particular attention to the poor, care for the
sick, and look after the sodalities in the parishes to
which they are attached. In England they are en-
gaged in the national or government schools. (5) The
Sisters of Hope nurse the sick in their own homes, and
conduct hospitals, infirmaries, and institutions of a
like nature. (6) The Field Sisters (Sceurs Agricoles)ha.ve
agricultural orphanages, where their charges are
trained in all agricultural pursuits. (7) TIte Sisters of St.
Martha, or lay sisters, attentl to all the domestic work
connected with the various institutions of the Holy
Family.
Owing to the pressure of new social conditions the number of congi'egations and their respective duties have undergone a gradual change. The institute has extended its activities to Ceylon (1862), South Africa (1S64), and India (1865), where the sisters have hos- pitals, schools, and orphanages. At present (1909) there are about 240 houses with 3400 sisters, in charge of 25,000 children and 16,000 poor and sick.
II. Brothers of the Holy Family, founded in 1824, in the Diocese of Saint-Claude by Gabriel Ta- borin who gathered about him five young men, for the work of teaching and the service of the cathedral as chanters and sacristans. The school proved most successful, but on various pretexts his companions deserted him, and Brother Gabriel was forced to give up the work temporarily. After labouring for some time in other parishes of the diocese, he entered the Diocese of Belley, where in 1827 he made a second and successful attempt to found his congregation at Hauteville, establishing a novitiate, first at Belmont, in 1829, and that house proving inadequate, at Belley in 1840. In 1841 the institute and its constitutions received the approbation of Gregory XVI, and in the following year government authorization and exemp- tion from military service in the Sardinian States. The mcinliers are teachers and lay brothers, under the direction of a superior general elected for life, assisted by a vice-superior, the council of the mother-house, and the general chapter. The only priests admitted as memliers are those needed to fulfil the sacred offices.
III. Little Sisters op the Holy Fanhly, founded at Memramcook, New Brunswick, 15 October, 1874, for the temporal care of colleges, seminaries, and epis- copal residences. In 1S95 the mother-house was re- moved to Sherbrooke, Qviobcc. The sisters, who are engaged in many dioceses of Canada, and in the Arch- dioceses of Baltimore, Boston, San Francisco, and the Diocese of Portlanil, in the United States, number about 500, in charge of 35 missions. Their pupils are employed as cooks, seamstresses, infirmarians, lavui- dresses, etc.
IV. Sisters of the Holy Family, formerly known as Daughters of the Holy Family, and later as Miramiones. In 1636 Franc^oise de Blosset (d. 1642), a zealous collaborator of St. Vincent de Paul, foimded
in Paris a religious community known as Daughters of
St. Genevieve, for the care of the poor and infirm, the
gratuitous instruction of young girls, and the training
of teachers for country schools. The statutes were ap-
proved in 1658 by Cardinal de Gondi, Archbishop of
Paris, and recognized by royal letters patent. Mme
de Miramion (b. 1629; d. 1696), having devoted the
sixteen years of her widowhood and her immense for-
tune to works of charity, in 1661, gathered about her a
number of young women to lead a community life,
under the patronage of the Holy Family, their aims
coinciding almost exactly with those of the Daughters
of St. Genevieve. In 1665 a union of the two congre-
gations was efTected with the consent of the Arch-
bishop of Paris and the new institute approved in
166S by Cardinal \'end6me, legatus a latere to France.
Mme de Miramion was elected superior, and in 1674
purchased a mother-house, defraying all expenses
herself until the community became self-supporting.
New constitutions were drarni up and submitted, for
both ecclesiastical and government authorization. In
time, several other communities also requested and
obtained union with the Daughters of the Holy Fam-
ily, known after Mme de Miramion's death as Mira-
miones. Under the direction of their superior, the
sisters distinguished themselves by their devotion to
the sick, especially in time of epidemic. It was she
also who, emulating the example of the Jesuit Fathers
at Paris, estalilished a house of retreat for women.
Lay si.sters performed all domestic labour, and f)ro-
vision was made for tho.se who, not being able to follow
the community exercises, wished to live under the
same roof and co-operate with the sisters in their good
works. After a year of probation, these were received
as associates, having no voice in the government of the
community. In 1806 the Miramiones, who had not
survived the Revolution, were re-established at Be-
sanron, b}' a pious widow, Jeanne-Claude Jacoulet,
and were soon in charge of day-schools, boarding-
schools, asylums, and schools of domestic economy.
V. Sisters of the Holy Family, founded at San Francisco, California, in 1872, by EUzabeth .'Vrmer, under the direction of \'ery Rev. J. J. Prendergast, for the instruction of neglected children for the sacra- ments, the organization of sodalities and .sewing classes, anil chiefly the daily care of the young chil- dren of working-women. In San Franci-sco are 90 sisters with 4 day homes, attended by 700 children. They have also a house at San 3os6.
VI. Sisters of the Holy Family, a congregation of coloured sisters founded for work among their own race, 21 November, 1842, at New Orleans, Louisiana, by Josephine Charles and Harriet Delisle, of New Or- leans, Juliette Gaudin of Culia. and Mile .\lcot. a young French lady, under the direction of Father Etienne Rou.s.selon. Vicar-General of the Diocese of .New Or- leans. They began by teaching the catechism and preparing children and adults for first Communion and Confirmation, a work which was gradually extended in scope, so that at the present time (1909) the 105 sisters of the congregation have charge of an academy and many parochial schools, attended by about 1300 pupils, an asylum for coloured girls, a home for the aged, orphanages for coloured boys and girls, and in- dustrial .>ichools in the Archiliocese of New Orleans and the Dioceses of Galveston, Little Rock, and Hon- duras. They follow the Rule of St. Augustine.
VII. Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazaketh, founded by Frances Siedliska. a noble Polish lady, in 1874. under the auspices of Pius IX. In 1885 they liegan work in the .Arehdioce.se of Chicago, and were soon in demand for many Polish parishes throughout the country. In the United States alone there are 4.50 sisters, in charge of 1 academy, 31 parochial schools, with an attendance of 12,000 pupils, an orphanage, a hospital, and a home for workmg-girls. The mother- house is in Rome.
