Who we are

The happy synthesis of active life and contemplative life, based on the meditation of the Word of God, on the apostolate and religious formation, and on a profound Christocentric spirit, having Christ as the fulcrum of ecclesial life with the consequent emphasis on the importance of the Eucharist, has permitted an equilibrium which was the characteristic feature of the very first communities, well before Vatican II. The heirs of the spiritual guidance of Mother Elisabeth Hesselblad, interpreting the thought and the spirit of their Foundress, have intensified the missionary ecumenical spirit. Under the direction of the Abbess General, Mother Tekla Famiglietti, at the head of the Order since 1979, the sense of religious life has been strongly consolidated and developed through a profound search for perfection in the practice of the Evangelical Counsels, as called for in the religious state.

A spirit of trust and co-operation between the various members of the Order and a deep spirit of faith, have helped to intensify fraternal charity, contemplation and credence in the growth of the Order. The spreading and consolidation of the Order are the fruits of vocational activity. This numerical increase has made possible the presence of the Sisters in Finland (1986), Poland (1990), Estonia (1994), Bethlehem (2002), as also the foundation of International Centres at the service of ecumenism, spirituality, culture and human formation. The sure intuition of Mother Tekla has permitted the realisation of many important projects: la Paz in Mexico (1984), Farfa (1987), Olgiata (1991) and Camaldoli at Naples (1998) in Italy, Sipcot (1990), Goa (1994) and Chikmagalur (1995) in India, Colima in Mexico (1995), Maribo (2003) in Denmark, Trondheim in Norway (1998), Czestochowa (1990) and Gdansk (1998) in Poland, Birmingham in England (1999), Philippines (1998), Bremen (2001) in Germany, Bethlehem in Palestine (2002), Holland (2006) and Cuba (2003).