Today, March 16, we celebrate the anniversary of our Constitutions, the “book of life” that guides our vocation, its spirituality, and its mission in the Church and in the world.
On a day like today, in 1910, Pope Pius X definitively approved this fundamental text for the Congregation. Since then, the Constitutions have been a guide for living the charism of hospitality, inspiring community life, the relationship with God, and service to the most vulnerable people.
The first Constitutions were written in 1882 by Saint Benito Menni, founder of our Congregation. They contain the spiritual and apostolic experience of the first sisters, as well as their journey toward holiness through hospitality.
More than a set of norms, the Constitutions reflect a concrete way of following Christ: living in fraternity, cultivating a deep spiritual life, and giving one’s life to the care of those who suffer, especially in the field of mental health and in the care of the most vulnerable.
Over time, this document has accompanied the growth and expansion of the Congregation, adapting to new realities and the challenges of each era.
Following the Church’s call to discern the changes in society, especially since the Second Vatican Council, in 2019 the Congregation began an international process of revising its Constitutions.
The goal was to revisit the text with fidelity to the founding charism, but also with the need to respond to the challenges of the contemporary world and the new realities of the hospitaller mission.
This process was deeply participatory: more than 900 sisters from all over the world contributed their reflection, experience, and communal discernment.
The revision culminated in November 2022, when the new text was approved by the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, marking a significant stage in the history of the Congregation.
The updated Constitutions include essential elements for living the hospitaller charism today:
An integral hospitaller spirituality, understood as an experience that encompasses the whole of life, from prayer, community life, mission, and the encounter with the people we serve.
Ongoing formation that supports the human, spiritual, and apostolic growth of each sister throughout her life.
Interculturality, which enriches our community life and mission, as a Congregation present in more than 25 countries, recognizing the importance of different realities and contexts.
Authority as service, where the exercise of governance is understood through hospitality, embracing a close leadership style that listens, accompanies, and fosters fraternity.
In a world marked by profound social and cultural transformations, this “book of life” continues to inspire the Congregation to be a witness of God’s healing mercy, living in fraternity and bringing hope where humanity suffers most.
On this path of deepening and renewal, many sisters have shared how the Constitutions continue to illuminate their life and mission today. As Sister Cécile, from the community in Rome, expresses: “We ask ourselves: what does the text say to me? What is it calling me to? To what concrete commitments does it invite me?” A time of reflection and encounter that, as she herself notes, “has helped us renew our sense of belonging to the Congregation and our love for our vocation,” strengthening the commitment to live hospitality where the world needs it most.
