Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Hsin Chu (Agenzia Fides) – The community of Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit in Taiwan celebrated Mission Sunday on October 19, with the beatification of their co-foundress, Mother Josepha Hendrina Stenmanns, with a Mass and a great celebration in the Diocese of Hsin Chu, where the Provincial House of the congregation is located. The presence of both common folk and authorities showed that the presence and pastoral services of the religious have been well-received and recognized by all. One of the common officers present pointed out the dedication and contribution of the sisters towards the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, such as the elderly, children, the imprisoned, the prostitutes, the disabled...The Provincial Superior thanked the local community for their warm welcome and confirmed their intention to continue with their mission, following in the footsteps of their foundress.
Josepha Hendrina Stenmanns (Issum (Germany) 28 May 1852 – Steyl (Holland), 20 May 1903) was the co-foundress of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit and the the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration, the contemplative branch. She entered religious life on 12 February 1884. Ten years later, after having made first vows in the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, she became the Mistress of Postulants and not long after, Superior General. She made an important contribution to the missionary expansion of the congregation in Latin America, the United States, and Africa. And when she died in Steyl, the founder Fr. Arnold Janssen attributed to her the title of co-foundress of the religious institute. Her beatification was celebrated on June 29, 2008 in Holland in a ceremony presided by Bishop Franciscus Jozef Maria Wiertz of Roermond.
The congregation of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit was founded on 8 December 1889 in Steyl (Holland), by Dutch priest Fr. Arnold Janssen (1837-1909, canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2003) and religious Sisters Maria Helena Stollenwerk and Josepha Hendrina Stenmanns, with the mission of supporting the work of the Society of the Divine Word, founded by the same Fr. Janssen in 1875. Today, there are nearly 3,800 Sisters of 40 nationalities working in 39 different countries all over the world. They have recently begun working in Antigua (Caribbean Islands) and South Africa. The missionary activity includes the pastoral work and catechesis, education, and sanitary assistance of the elderly, as well as social work, education of adults, and many other services geared towards the promotion of human dignity.
In China, the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit and “Verbiti” (male branch) have been running a hospital, orphanage, and school, and carrying out pastoral work since 1905. Today, in the Diocese of Lan Zhou and in many other areas of China, they are fairly active. From Beijing and Shan Dong in the east, to Ga Su in the west, and all the way to Taiwan, the religious have left a profound impression of love and dedication towards those most in need, from both a material and spiritual perspective. In 2005, they celebrated their 100th anniversary of the mission in China. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 21/11/2008)
