The sisters in Romania are part of the Latin European province.
The first Mary Ward sisters came to Romania from Bavaria in the mid-19th century. Up until the advent of communism they ran large schools for girls in Bucharest, Brăila, Craiova and Turnu Severin.
Shortly after the installation of the Stalinist communist regime in Romania the sisters of German and other nationalities, and the Romanian sisters as well were expelled, and some sisters, mostly Romanians were imprisoned for refusing to hand over confidential information to the authorities.
From 1984, with the support of the Archbishop of Bucharest young women seeking religious life worked ‘underground’ in parishes and in factories making church vestments.
With the downfall of communism in 1989 the CJ were able to build on a strong foundation and the number of young women wanting to enter the CJ increased rapidly. This has enabled several new foundations and new educational works, especially Kindergartens, to be established. Besides education ministry, there are sisters working in health care; social projects; pastoral ministry; and spiritual outreach. There are Romanian sisters in mission in Italy, Austria, Cuba and Spain.
On 1 January 2021 the Latin European Province (LEP) was established as a result of the merger of the Province of Romania and the Province of Italy.
To know more, you can visit the Congregatio JESU Romania – facebook page.
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.
