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Handmaids of Mary Immaculate


annamarie

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Hi I am looking for some information.  Back when I was younger there was a community of sisters that resided on the grounds of the Blue Army Shrine in Washington NJ.  They were called the Handmaids of Mary Immaculate.  I no longer live in NJ, however I am trying to contact that order.  However, I am not finding anything on them.  Are they still there?  or did they disband?  Does anyone know what happened?

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I can’t say i am familiar with this order. Maybe try contacting the vocations office of the diocese of metuchen email is religious@diometuchen.org

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  • 5 months later...

I looked them up too.They are in the book Convent Life  By Joan Lexau  published 1964 by Dial press. You can also go to archive.org and search for A Guide to Catholic Sisterhoods in the United States, by Rev.Thomas P McCarthy.You can read  the book for free on line.You can flip the pages and see all the communities, some of which  like the Handmaids of Mary Immmaculate,, Society of christ Our king, Grey Sisters of St.Elizabeth  and a few others are no longer here.The Grey Sisters of St.Elizabeth were founded in I believe Lativa, by some german women to help the poor and sick.The order  is still around, but not in America. And yes, the HMI were supressed.Think it was all over issues with the Blue Army Shrine.

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  • 1 month later...

I was a sister with them. Now I am currently a Religious in another Order.

It is a long story. Our Lord and Blessed Mother used them for God’s work for a time... They are no longer in existence.

Mother Mary Joseph was a wonderful Superior... but then another took charge.

And everything fell to pieces. Faith and humility are safeguards...

God works through and uses everything for good, however. I loved them very much. God bless

 

 

Edited by Former AMI
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On 9/14/2019 at 12:22 PM, Former AMI said:

Faith and humility are safeguards...

God works through and uses everything for good, however. I loved them very much. God bless

Very sorry you had to experience the demise of something you loved much, Sister. It must have been a quite painful experience. 

It was good that you have pointed out that one can know God "works through and uses everything for good"........and that this knowledge and understanding does not of necessity remove related difficulty and suffering, while Faith and humility can support and guide one through trauma.

____________

I think there might be a bit of a delay, but do advise moderators that you are a religious sister.

 

Edited by BarbaraTherese
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  • 1 month later...
Dougald McCallum

Hello former sister of the A.M.I. order.

I am a priest in Anaconda, MT. seeking some information about a statue of Mary that was originally in St. Paul's Church in Anaconda. Sr. Mary Celeste A.M.I. came to Anaconda in 2003 inquiring about the statue of Our Lady claiming that Sr. Mary Stanislaus had received a special grace when praying before the statue. Sr. Mary Celeste was given the statue in good faith.

Now that I know the order A.M.I. are suppressed we would like to get the statue of our Lady back for our renovation of St. Peter's Church in Anaconda. We already have the matching statue of St. Joseph which is currently being restored.

If you know how we can contact anyone who might have the Mary statue please contact me at anacondacatholic@qwestoffice.net

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  • 2 months later...

I worked there as a teen in high school, please if any sisters are out there I would love to reconnect! They helped me so much during my mothers illness and her passing! My name is Lisa, hope someone can contact me and we can reconnect. If not, know that your time there was a true blessing in my life! Thank you

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  • 1 year later...
On 1/14/2020 at 5:26 PM, Lisa949 said:

I worked there as a teen in high school, please if any sisters are out there I would love to reconnect! They helped me so much during my mothers illness and her passing! My name is Lisa, hope someone can contact me and we can reconnect. If not, know that your time there was a true blessing in my life! Thank you

Lisa, what years were you there? I too have wondered what happened to the Sisters, I have searched, for them, only to come up empty. 

On 9/13/2019 at 10:52 PM, Former AMI said:

I was a sister with them. Now I am currently a Religious in another Order.

It is a long story. Our Lord and Blessed Mother used them for God’s work for a time... They are no longer in existence.

Mother Mary Joseph was a wonderful Superior... but then another took charge.

And everything fell to pieces. Faith and humility are safeguards...

God works through and uses everything for good, however. I loved them very much. God bless

 

 

Do you know when they broke up? Is Mother Mary Joseph still alive? I knew her many years ago, she has to be in her 90's. I would really like to know. We are planning a family trip this summer to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. I was hoping to see the Sister's. 

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I tried my vocation there in 1987.  At that time, there were ten of us (four final profession sisters, two novices, and four candidates), with Sr. M. Joseph our superior and S. M. Francis novice mistress.  It was a time I still treasure.  I saw Sr. Mary Francis on Fatima's Peace Plan (on youtube) and it brought back such wonderful memories of my days at Holy House.

 

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FormerAMI now Nun
On 1/23/2021 at 9:22 PM, aigh said:

Lisa, what years were you there? I too have wondered what happened to the Sisters, I have searched, for them, only to come up empty. 

Do you know when they broke up? Is Mother Mary Joseph still alive? I knew her many years ago, she has to be in her 90's. I would really like to know. We are planning a family trip this summer to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. I was hoping to see the Sister's. 

 

Mother Mary Joseph and Sr. Mary Grace are buried at the Blue Army Shrine in unmarked graves by Mother Mary Stanislaus- which upset me. At least this is how it was in late 2017. I asked them to please mark their graves so people can be prayed for and not to be forgotten and walked on. These were some of the happiest years of my life. I do understand what happened- the whole story- and we have to remember that they did what they were needed to do and God let them go the way they did- even if there were some Very human Parts to play. I know that two of the others are now still a Sister and a Nun both elsewhere. The rest I do not know today.
As for the statue- if it was Our Lady of Fatima statue that was our community statue- a volunteer broke that in 2001 while cleaning and it had been another Mary Stanislaus’. Quite symbolic.

The shrine has never been the same... when the soul went out. Lesson.... let us love the Gospel and be humble. And not engage in politics. This lesson was and is for both sides. Amen. But in the end. All is grace.

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