The Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, also known as Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, or simply Holy Spirit Sisters (Latin: Servae Spiritus Sancti, SSpS) is a religious congregation within the Catholic Church. The group has 3,000 members in 46 different countries. The congregation was founded by Arnold Janssen in 1889 in Steyl, the Netherlands. Janssen had previously founded in 1875 a male missionary congregation called Divine Word Missionaries. Janssen chose Maria Helena Stollenwerk, called Mother Maria (1852–1900) and Hendrina Stenmanns, called Mother Josepha (1852–1903) as co-foundresses.
This community of religious women is rooted in the Trinitarian spirituality.
Founders
Main article: Arnold Janssen
Father Arnold Janssen
Arnold Janssen (November 5, 1837 – January 15, 1909) was born in Goch, Germany, near the Dutch border and ordained a priest in 1861. In 1875 he founded in Steyl, the Netherlands "St. Michael the Archangel Mission House" to train priests for the missions. From this developed the Society of the Divine Word.
Helena Stollenwerk
Helena Stollenwerk was born on 28 November 1852. At a very young age she developed an interest in joining the missions and going to China, but was unable to find a convent that sent missionaries abroad. In 1882 she met Arnold Janssen and worked as a kitchen maid at St. Michael Mission House in Steyl. In 1884, she was joined by Hendrina Stenmanns.
Janssen perceived a need for female missionaries to complement the work of the male missionaries. On 8 December 1889 Stollenwerk became a postulant of a women's congregation established by Janssen, the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, and on 17 January 1892 assumed the religious name "Maria Virgo". She made her vows on 12 March 1894 and later became abbess on 12 August 1898.
History
The first missionary sisters set out in 1895 for Argentina. Others were sent to Togo in 1897.
Ministry
Ministries include education, health, pastoral care, spiritual guidance, adult education, communication, catechetics, chaplaincy work, social work, administration and interfaith dialogue.
