Rome (Fides Service) - Helene Marie Philippine de Chappotin de Neuville, was born in France in 1839. As a child she was already gifted with deep faith. After spending some time in a convent of Poor Clare Sisters she joined the Society of Mary of Reparation and while still a novice she was sent to India. Due to social tension Mary of the Passion, her religious name and twenty other sisters were separated from the rest of the institute and were put under the direct jurisdiction of the Vicar Apostolic of Coimbatore. To settle this situation on January 6, 1877 Pope Pius IX gave her permission to found a new missionary institute: the Missionaries of Mary. In her intense missionary work Mary of the Passion draws strength from contemplation of the great mysteries of the faith. She died in 1904 exhausted by years of hard work. Today the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary are 7,712 and they work in 77 different countries. See www.fides.org for more information. (SL) (Fides Service 19/10/2002)