SISTER OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES

Sister of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady of Lourdes –  Sister Ave Maria, M.I.C.                            “Total abandonment of all in the Hands of Him Who knows everything”

Founders:  Reverend Jean-Louis Peydessus                                                                                                              Marie-Eugénie Ducombs

Place:  Lourdes, France

Year:  1870 A.D.

Her Charism:  Like Mary, St. Bernadette, and the founders of this Order, this Sister is a missionary of God’s tenderness.  Mary was the mirror of God when she smiled at                     St. Bernadette.  That smile was the “smile of God for the poor.”  This Sister is “captivated and arrested” by Jesus her Savior and becomes a sign of hope and a witness of consolation to the saving and unconditional love of God for all.  By transmitting the love of Jesus Christ and the Virgin at Lourdes as a basis for a personal path of reconciliation, she makes herself a “Fertile Garden of the Lord.”  This Sister is in charge of the Grotto and Sanctuary at Lourdes, and she also provides assistance to pilgrims.  More recently her mission has turned toward education, retreats, and catechesis for both children and adults.  Her life is devoted to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.