- Missionary Order of Mariannhill
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The Missionary Order of Mariannhill is a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church founded on, 1909 by Franz Pfanner, an Austrian Trappist monk. The name of the order come from Mariannhill, a little suburb near Pinetown in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
Formation of the Missionary Order of Mariannhill
A few months before death of Abbot Franz Pfanner the Holy See, at the petition of the Trappists of Mariannhill, made a considerable change in their status. The Cistercians rule in its rigour, for which Abbot Pfanner was most zealous, was found to be an obstacle to missionary development in some particulars. In 1906 Pope Pius X approves the constitutions of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood. In 1909, Pope Pius X decided to separate Mariannhill from the Trappist Order by official decree, and erecting their church into a Collegiate Church, under the guidance of a provost. Hence the name of the order was changed to that of the Missionaries of Mariannhill, and they were given a milder rule. The members of the congregation take simple, but perpetual, vows and are exempt from the jurisdiction of the Ordinary of the diocese. They professed religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, to dedicate the entire life to the missions.
Membership
They at present number about 60 priests, with 260 choir-religious and lay-brothers. From its foundation until 1 Jan. 1910, nearly 20,000 persons, the greater number adults, have been baptized in the 55 churches and chapels scattered throughout the 26 missions and stations.
External links
Categories:- Roman Catholic missionary orders
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