In Canada, our sisters are known as “Loretto Sisters” (with double t).
The Congregation of Jesus traces its presence in Canada to 1847, when Bishop Michael Power of Toronto invited five young “Loretto” Sisters from Ireland to serve the growing Irish immigrant population. Courageous in the face of great need, the Sisters faced hardship, poverty, and the challenge of establishing a new community far from home. In the years that followed, additional Sisters arrived from Ireland, and young women from Toronto’s Catholic community began to join the congregation.
As the mission grew, distance from the Motherhouse in Ireland and the realities of life in Canada created practical and cultural challenges that required adaptation. To better support the administration of its ministries, the North American community was granted independent status in 1881. More than a century later, in 2003, it was reunited with its founding branch in Ireland.
Through these ministries and partnerships, we continue to respond to emerging social needs with a particular commitment to vulnerable communities, newcomers, seniors, women, and young people across Toronto and Canada.
We also support the Congregation’s international mission, including its work at the United Nations, promoting human dignity, justice, and the Sustainable Development Goals in Canada and beyond.
Find out more at: www.congregationofjesus.ca
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.
