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Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary

 

 
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The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary or the Visitation Order is a Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
 religious order
Religious order

A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice....
 for women
Nun

A Nun is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an monasticism who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent....
. Members of the order are also known as Filles de Sainte-Marie, Visitandines, Salesian Sisters and, more commonly, Visitationists.

History of the order
The Order was founded in 1610 by Saint
Saint

A saint in Christianity is a human being who has been called to holiness. The term is used differently by various denominations, with some, such as the Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans distinguishing between Saints and saints....
 Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales

Saint Francis de Sales was Bishop of Geneva and a Roman Catholic saint. He worked to convert Protestants back to Catholicism, and was an accomplished preacher....
 and Saint Jane Frances de Chantal in Annecy
Annecy

Annecy is a city in the Rh?ne-Alpes Regions of France in southeastern France. It lies on northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometers south of Geneva....
, Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie

Haute-Savoie is a France departments of France, named for its location in the Alps mountain range....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
. The special charism
Charism

Religious meaningA charism is a power, generally of a spiritual nature, believed to be a freely given gift by the grace of God.In the study of church matters, it also refers to the particular grace granted by God to religious founders and their organization which distinguish them from other organizations within the same church....
 of the Visitation Order combines gentleness with a valiant spirit; initiative with communal support; dedication to prayer with presence in the world; a contemplative life with an apostolic dimension.






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The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary or the Visitation Order is a Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
 religious order
Religious order

A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice....
 for women
Nun

A Nun is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an monasticism who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent....
. Members of the order are also known as Filles de Sainte-Marie, Visitandines, Salesian Sisters and, more commonly, Visitationists.

History of the order


The Order was founded in 1610 by Saint
Saint

A saint in Christianity is a human being who has been called to holiness. The term is used differently by various denominations, with some, such as the Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans distinguishing between Saints and saints....
 Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales

Saint Francis de Sales was Bishop of Geneva and a Roman Catholic saint. He worked to convert Protestants back to Catholicism, and was an accomplished preacher....
 and Saint Jane Frances de Chantal in Annecy
Annecy

Annecy is a city in the Rh?ne-Alpes Regions of France in southeastern France. It lies on northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometers south of Geneva....
, Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie

Haute-Savoie is a France departments of France, named for its location in the Alps mountain range....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
. The special charism
Charism

Religious meaningA charism is a power, generally of a spiritual nature, believed to be a freely given gift by the grace of God.In the study of church matters, it also refers to the particular grace granted by God to religious founders and their organization which distinguish them from other organizations within the same church....
 of the Visitation Order combines gentleness with a valiant spirit; initiative with communal support; dedication to prayer with presence in the world; a contemplative life with an apostolic dimension. The order's motto is "Vive Jésus" (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 for "Live Jesus").

Dispersal

The Order spread from France throughout Europe and to North America. According to the Old Catholic Encyclopedia
Catholic Encyclopedia

The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English language encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia Press....
 of 1914,
The convent of Georgetown was the first house of the Visitation founded in the United States.... The Visitation of Georgetown founded that of Mobile 1833 and in the same year that of Kaskaskia [Illinois], which was transferred to St. Louis in 1844. In 1837 it founded the Visitation of Baltimore, that of Frederick [Maryland] in 1846, and Philadelphia in 1848. These various convents founded others, and at present there are in the United States 21 houses of the Visitation in relation with Annecy.


Today the Order numbers approximately 3000 Sisters in 168 monasteries located in most countries of the world. In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 there are 12 monasteries in two federations. Six are dedicated to the contemplative lifestyle, and the other six (Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Georgetown is a neighborhood located in the Washington DC Address #Quadrants of Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River waterfront. Founded in 1751, the city of Georgetown substantially predated the establishment of the city of Washington and the District of Columbia....
, St. Louis, Mendota Heights, Wheeling
Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia and Ohio County, West Virginia counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Most of the city lies in Ohio County, for which it is the county seat....
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn

Brooklyn is one of the five Borough of New York City, located at the western end of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area....
 and Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Hennepin County, Minnesota. The city lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, Minnesota, the state's Capital ....
) add apostolic monasteries to their contemplative life.

Visitation schools in the United States


In 1799, three Sisters in the order were given permission by Archbishop
Archbishop

In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and others, this means that they lead a diocese of particular importance called an archdiocese, or in the Anglican Communion an Ecclesiastical Province, but this is not always the case....
 Leonard Neale
Leonard Neale

Leonard Neale, Society of Jesus became, in 1800, the first Roman Catholic bishop ordained in the United States, and the second Archbishop of Baltimore....
 to start a girls' school located next to Georgetown University
Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a Society of Jesus private university located in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Father John Carroll founded the school in 1789, though its roots extend back to 1634....
, called the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School

Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School was founded in Washington, DC in 1799 as the Georgetown Academy for Young Ladies. Since then, the school has continued for over 200 years as a college preparatory school for women....
. In 1833, the sisters were granted permission by Bishop Joseph Rosati
Joseph Rosati

Joseph Rosati was a United States Catholic bishop. He served as the first Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis between 1826 and 1843.He was born in Sora, Italy, in what was then the Parthenopaean Republic....
 to travel to St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
 and begin another school, now called Visitation Academy of St. Louis
Visitation Academy of St. Louis

Visitation Academy of St. Louis is a private school, all-girls, Roman Catholic high school in St. Louis, Missouri. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis....
. They settled in Kaskaskia, Illinois
Kaskaskia, Illinois

Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. In the 2000 census the population was 9. It was Illinois' first List of capitals in the United States, before the Capital was moved to Vandalia, Illinois in 1820....
, but moved into St. Louis proper in 1844. The sisters were once again offered a location to establish a new school in 1848 in Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia and Ohio County, West Virginia counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Most of the city lies in Ohio County, for which it is the county seat....
, and the school was named Mount DeChantal Visitation Academy. Bishop Thomas Grace
Thomas Grace

Thomas Langdon Grace was the second Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota. He was installed as Bishop on July 29, 1859 after a year and a half long period of sede vacante in that see, and resigned on July 31, 1884, succeeded by John Ireland ....
 of St. Paul, Minnesota asked the sisters to open a school in 1873, and the Convent of the Visitation School was founded. All four schools are still operating, and are all-girls schools.

Visitation schools in other countries

In 1835, the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary of Dietramszell
Dietramszell

Dietramszell is a municipality in the county of Bad T?lz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria, Germany. The community of 5282 residents sits 685 meters above sea level....
 acquired Beuerberg Abbey
Beuerberg Abbey

Beuerberg Abbey , formerly a monastery of the Augustinian Canons, is now the Monastery of the Visitation, Beuerberg, a house of the Visitandines in Eurasburg in Bavaria, Germany....
 (Kloster Beuerberg), in Eurasburg
Eurasburg

Eurasburg is a municipality in Oberbayern . It sits about 40 kilometers south of the Bavarian state capital, Munich, in the county of Bad T?lz-Wolfratshausen....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
. Between 1846 and 1938 they ran a girls' school and a home for nursing mothers at Beuerberg Abbey, and afterwards an old people's convalescent home. The abbey still belongs to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary.

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