The Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA Sisters) met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. The meeting occurred while the OLA Sisters are in Rome for a plenary council marking their 150th anniversary and the 200th birth anniversary of their founder, Fr. Augustine Planque. Pope Leo XIV encouraged the OLA Sisters to continue their mission serving the wounded and forgotten in the modern world. The Pope also met with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) and noted shared historical elements between the two French-founded congregations. The OLA Sisters, founded in the 19th century, operate in education, healthcare, and social outreach across 21 countries, primarily in Africa.
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Pope Leo XIV recently met with leaders of the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA Sisters) and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) at the Vatican.1
He urged both congregations to persist in their missions to the wounded and forgotten amid modern challenges.1
The Pope highlighted shared origins in 19th-century France and their common missionary vocation.1
The OLA Sisters' plenary council in Rome marks their 150th anniversary and the 200th anniversary of founder Fr. Augustine Planque's birth.1
Planque, a Society of African Missions (SMA) priest, established the congregation in 1876 in Lyon, France.1
A symbolic Mass was held at the Basilica of the Holy Apostles, where Planque entrusted the congregation to Mary 150 years ago.1
The OLA Sisters comprise over 600 members across 21 countries, focusing on education, healthcare, pastoral ministry, and social outreach, especially in Africa.1
The council unites leadership from various nations to reflect on their mission.1
Congregational Leader Sr. Mary T. Barron emphasized moving beyond past celebrations to address current realities and future challenges with courage and hope.1
The gathering sets a tone of renewed commitment, discerning "signs of the times" for ongoing mission work.1
Sisters’ 150th anniversary underscores Catholic mission amid modern realities
The 150th anniversary of a sisters' congregation celebrates 150 years of fidelity to the Church's mission, echoing papal teachings on the vital role of consecrated women in education, charity, evangelization, and service amid contemporary challenges like secularism, poverty, and division.
Religious congregations of sisters have long been integral to the Church's holiness and apostolate, as seen in their "glorious calendar" through the ages. Pope Pius XII in Provida Mater Ecclesia emphasized how these institutes grew "gradually and steadily in deeper and firmer self-consistency and unity and in wonderful variety of forms," intertwining their canonical life with the Church's mission. This legal framework, including provisions for simple vows and associations akin to religious life, ensured their stability and equivalence to diocesan incardination for clerics.
"We have only to look at the glorious calendar of religious men and women through the ages to see how a canonical religious life is closely interwoven with the holiness and catholic apostolate of the Church itself."
Such foundations underscore why a 150-year milestone reaffirms their enduring charisms, founded on figures like Augustine, Basil, and Francis, who inspired service to the weakest.
Sisters have historically prioritized Catholic schools as essential for forming Christian communities, beyond mere catechism or extracurriculars. The Congregation for Catholic Education praised dioceses and religious for establishing primary schools, noting that "what is needed is a school," often the Church's starting point in new regions.
In Haiti, sisters led evangelization through education, health care, and social advancement, making Christ present in diverse areas. Pope John Paul II urged strengthening bonds between bishops and religious conferences to integrate consecrated life into diocesan programs, appreciating local congregations' charisms for ecclesial vitality.
This mission persists today, as Pope Leo XIV recently affirmed to sisters from various orders, highlighting their "care for the weakest: children, poor girls and boys, orphans, migrants," and adaptation to new ministries like care for the elderly and sick.
The sisters' works of charity—aid to the poor, orphans, migrants—form the "magnificent glory" of Catholic Spain and beyond, even under persecution. Pope Pius XI decried laws stripping religious of teaching rights and sustenance, rendering their beneficence impossible yet affirming their indispensable role.
Contemporary papal addresses reinforce this: Pope Leo XIV praised sisters for fidelity to Gospel wisdom, urging an "apostolic spirit" imbued with religious life to serve Christ in his members. To Discalced Carmelites in the Holy Land, he commended their "vigilant and silent presence" amid hatred and violence, praying for peace. Similarly, Pope Francis called sisters to be "apostles of hope," always pointing to Jesus as the source of hope in a needy world.
In parishes, diverse sisters—Apostles of the Sacred Heart, Carmelites, Daughters of Mercy—unite in apostolate, serving the poor, sick, and lonely.
Modern realities mirror past trials: U.S. bishops reflected on sustaining religious amid "special problems and challenges," with John Paul II encouraging pastoral service to their evangelical counsels. Pope Leo XIV's inaugural homily called for a united, missionary Church as "leaven" against discord, violence, and exploitation, valuing differences while fostering fraternity.
"Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters."
These teachings frame the anniversary as a renewal call, echoing Vatican II's Gaudium et Spes on reading the signs of the times.
The anniversary spotlights sisters' integration into the Church's vitality, as John Paul II urged in Haiti: promoting consecrated life ensures its "indispensable presence." Pope Leo XIV greets chapters at Peter's tomb for fidelity renewal, blessing their global service.
This 150th anniversary embodies the Church's vision of sisters as witnesses of Christ's love, adapting ancient charisms to modern needs—from schools and health to peace amid conflict—sustained by papal encouragement and canonical tradition. It invites the faithful to support their mission for a reconciled world.