Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions

Mission

Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions,(Religieuses de Notre Dame des Missions or RNDM) are missionaries with a heart for the world! Our Founder, Euphrasie Barbier (1829-1893), believed that what was important were “not our own poor missions” but the mission of the Trinitarian God in which we participate. Mission originates in the Trinity, and is first and foremost a flow of life and love within the Trinity reaching out to all Creation. Mission is not primarily what we do – it is a way of life, a deep contemplation, a dwelling in possibility, a dwelling in Trinity.

This Trinitarian aspect of our spirituality gives to the mission of the Congregation a universal character and is the source of the zeal and daringness which characterized RNDMs from the beginning.

We work principally with women and youth on the margins of society in 23 countries. Euphrasie Barbier sent her first Sisters from France to New Zealand (1864). The Congregation has since extended out to Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. The newest missions are South Sudan, Laos, Orissa in India, Thai-Myanmar borders, Kazakhstan and Taiwan.

Charism

In choosing a name for the Congregation, Euphrasie Barbier wished “to honour in a very special way the Divine Missions which were the sole object of Mary’s deepest aspirations”. More important than the works we undertake, mission is essentially the witness of a person who lives in God. The two patronal feasts of the Congregation, Pentecost and Visitation highlight this.

Pentecost celebrates the outpouring of the untamed, unpredictable Spirit of God who came upon Mary and the disciples at the first Pentecost, and comes to us still. This Spirit kindles courage and power, inspires boldness in proclaiming the Good News, and works with us for the transformation of the world.

The spirit of Visitation is that of one who, under the impulse of the Spirit said “Yes” to God, who under the guidance of the same Spirit, “set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill county of Judah” (Lk 1:39). It is the spirit of a courageous, humble, enthusiastic and generous service that RNDMs seek to incarnate.

We invite you to join us:

• as contemplative missionaries drawn into the mystery of Divine Love
• in awakening a new respect for earth
• in solidarity with our missionary activity in the 23 countries where we live and work.
• in sharing our dreams of building a brighter future of peace, justice and integrity for all creation