[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 55 (Friday, March 24, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  TRIBUTE TO THE IHM SISTERS: SERVANTS OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

                                 ______


                          HON. DAVID E. BONIOR

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 24, 1995
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, this coming Sunday, March 26, 1995, the IHM 
Sisters in my home State of Michigan, are celebrating their 150th 
anniversary.
  The Sisters, servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary were founded in 
1845. One of the founders was Theresa Maxis, a member of the Oblate 
Sisters of Providence. She was an educated and deeply spiritual woman. 
Another founder was a young Redemptorist priest named Louis Florence 
Gillet. He was a missionary experiencing difficulty in recruiting 
religious women to educate young girls. Along with Oblate Charlotte 
Schaaf and Theresa Renauld, a young women from Fr. Gillet's Mission, 
they formed the new religious institute.
  Maxis was the daughter of a Haitian woman and a British Army officer. 
As a women of color, she was subject to the racism that pervaded civic 
and ecclesial society. Discrimination against people of color and women 
was the norm. In many ways, the founders of the IHM's were visionaries 
who were ahead of their time. Together, they began an on-going mission 
of educating and advocating for spiritual and psychological 
development--and, social justice.
  As a former seminarian, I feel a close affinity with the Sisters and 
their commitment to develop an understanding of the structural causes 
of injustice. This is not merely an academic exercise, but an attempt 
to alleviate oppression and provide the tools to critique and transform 
its causes.
  The IHM's pursuit of this endeavor lead to the founding of Marygrove 
College in 1910. Moved from Monroe to Detroit in 1927, the Sisters of 
IHM continue to respond to the religious, intellectual, moral, and 
social well-being of men and women in our rapidly changing society.
  The devotion the IHM Sisters have displayed to their faith and the 
community is an inspiration. Although they are a congregation of women 
in the Roman Catholic tradition, people of all faiths and denominations 
around the world have benefited from their work. Their social and 
spiritual contributions are many and they deserve our gratitude for 
their compassion and leadership.
  As the Catholic community prepares for an afternoon of celebration 
and song, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking the Sisters for 
their many contributions. May the next 150 years be a continued 
fruitful ministry.


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