The Sisters of Mercy of Verona (Italian: ''Sorelle della Misericordia''; Latin: ''Institutum Sororum a Misericordia Veronensium''; abbreviation: ''I.S.M.'') is a Catholic

religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...

pontifical right In Catholicism, "of pontifical right" is the term given to ecclesiastical institutions (religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See, or approved by it with the formal decree known by the Latin na ...

whose members profess public vows of

chastity, poverty, and obedience In Christianity, the three evangelical counsels, or counsels of perfection, are chastity, poverty (or perfect charity), and obedience. As stated by Jesus in the canonical gospels, they are counsels for those who desire to become "perfect" (, ). ...

and follow the evangelical way of life in common. Their mission is primarily for the care of the sick in hospitals and subsequently for the education of youth. Their rule is based on that of St.

Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was an Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622, Vincent was appointed as chaplain to the galleys. ...

. This religious institute was founded in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, Italy, in 1840, by bd. Charles Steeb, with the help of bd.

Luigia Poloni Luigia Poloni, ISM (26 January 1802 – 11 November 1855), in religion Maria Vincenza, was an Italian Catholic religious sister who cofounded the Sisters of Mercy of Verona, which she established with Charles Steeb. Cardinal Angelo Amato, on ...

, the first superior, who assumed the name of "mother Vincent Mary". The institute received pontifical status in 1931. The sisters have houses in Albania, Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Burundi, Chile, Germany, Italy, Portugal, TanzaniaCatholic Saints website, Calendar page (November 11)
/ref> and the Generalate of the Congregation can be found in

, Italy; in 2008 there are 1029 sisters around the world.

References

External links

Sisters of Mercy official site
Catholic female orders and societies Religious organizations established in 1840 Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century 1840 establishments in Italy Vincentian Family {{Christian-org-stub