The sisters living in Austria are part of the Middle European Province.
If there is somewhere where you can follow the long history of Mary Ward Women, that is here, in Austria.
The CJ Congregation has been present here for over 300 years, and the oldest house was founded in 1706 in St Pölten (Linzer Straße).
Today, the sisters in Austria belong to the Middle European Province (MEP), created in 2005, as an amalgamation of eight German-speaking provinces spread across Germany, Austria and South Tyrol, and since 2017 the province of Hungary too.
In St Pölten, there is a path for pilgrims with artwork illustrating important words of our foundress, Mary Ward. It invistes visitors to take a deep dive into her and our spirituality.
In St. Pölten you can also find a statue of Sr. Margarate Schörl, a pioneer of open-plan nursery education.
Vienna is the home of the European Noviciate where young women from different countries in Europe begin their way to become a CJ sister.
To know more, you can visit their website: www.congregatiojesu.de
We are an international multicultural congregation of around 1,800 sisters present in more than 40 countries around the globe. Founded in 1609 by the Venerable Mary Ward, we are a group of unenclosed apostolic religious women, rooted in the Ignatian Spirituality.
We are working in different areas and projects – not out of ourselves, but because we allow ourselves to be sent by God. We form our sisters to be mobile and available, willing to go wherever they are sent. We expect them to strive, like Mary Ward, to have that inner freedom to respond to the call to leave all and follow Christ with passion and compassion.
“Vocation” – a word that tastes of MORE, of what Saint Ignatius of Loyola called “THE MAGIS”: Longing, meaning, fullness of life, a task and the experience of being needed. It sounds like someone who is calling me personally and with whom I can give my life a unique shape.
People all over the world are inspired and enthusiastic about Mary Ward and her way of following Jesus. There are different ways to join our network and become part of the wider Mary Ward Family.
Mary Ward once said: “I listened to God’s deep dream for me and felt a longing to respond.”
In this spirit, we invite you to pray with us. We offer a variety of prayers and material for reflection.
