About Religious Congregations
Founded in 1925 by Bishop Louis Auneau – a French Montfort missionary. The charism of Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to lead a holy life deepened in humility of serving God. The sisters embrace holy poverty to emulate Mary in sharing and living together in community. Their spirituality is simplicity of Mary the handmaid of the Lord who accepted to do the will of God by becoming the mother of God.
Their headquarters is Mary View at Nguludi, Chiradzulu district. Their first profession of the congregation took place in 1928. Currently they have three communities St Felix in Chikwawa, ST Martin in Molere and St Matthews in Nchalo.
The congregation started on 3rd November 1842 in Munster Germany. It was founded by Fr Edward Michelle’s, a Diocesan priest from Germany. The sisters came to Malawi on 6th July 1960 and settled at Muona in Nsanje, where their mother house is up to date. In Malawi, the regional house is in Chinyonga. Their charism is “helping the poor both physically and spiritually so that they may experience God’s love”.
In the Diocese they have community in Muona, Trinity community and mother Virginia formation house. They celebrate their feast on Holy Trinity Sunday.
It was founded in Ireland in 1815 by Mary Akenhead. The congregation came to Malawi in October 2011 and set up a community at Konzalendo in Chikwawa Diocese. Their motto is “caritas urget nos”: The love of Christ urges us on. The founding grace for the congregation is the story of Lazarus in the scriptures, whose sermon moved the founder to give her life in service of the poor.
Sisters of the congregation take a fourth vow of charity. Their international headquarters is in Dublin Ireland. Apart from Malawi, they also serve in Nigeria, Ireland, England,Scotland and Carlifonia
The association was founded in 1999 by Late Bishop Felix Mkhori. There were two pioneer girls who were accompanied by Teresian sisters. These girls took their final vows in 2011. Their first community as an association was in Nsanje parish. From 2013 to 2019, these pioneer sisters were assisted by Good Shepherd sisters from Chipata Diocese in Zambia in recruiting and formation of girls to sisterhood. Their charism is “Compassion for the poor”
They have community houses at St Lawrence girls Secondary School, Nchalo, the Bishop’s residential area where there is a Postulate, and Bangula, a novitiate.
Also known as Sisters of Our Lady, Sisters of Our Lady of Amersfoort were founded on 29th July 1822 in Amersfoort in Holland. The founders were motivated by zeal to serve young people and poor children living under oppression through education.
The founders of the congregation were: Fr Matthias Wolff, SJ, Maria Stichters- Sr Matthia, Maria van Werkhoven – Sr Ignace and Martha Pijpers – Sr martha. The purpose of the congregation is for the glory of God, sanctification of members and the education of young people and the poor. They are found in Netherlands, Indonesia, Philippines and Malawi. Their communities in Malawi are at Stella Maris in Blantyre, Jacaranda in Blantyre, St Julie convent in Lilongwe and Bangula convent in Chikwawa Diocese.
The sisters arrived in the Diocese of Chikwawa in 1970 at the invitation of Bishop Vrouemen and devoted themselves to serve the needs of the poor at Bangula and surrounding areas.
Charism
Featured News
Wed
30
Jul 2025
A total of 40 Children have departed from the Diocese for the Children’s Congress in Lilongwe. They have been accompanied by 4 animators. The Children’s congress is the first to be held in Malawi. It promises to be an enriching experience for the children. It is a clear sign of the Church’s efforts to nurture the faith of children as they grow. The congress will be graced by Ines Paulo, the Secretary General for Pontifical Mission Societies for Holy childhood in Rome, Kizito Nthundu, National PMS Director for Zimbabwe and 15 other delegates from Zimbabwe. The congress will run from 30th July to 4th August 2025, at Don Bosco parish in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe.
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Fri
27
Jun 2025
The road to September 16 elections has already signaled volatility and danger. Episodes of violence and counter violence seem to have taken center stage. Just yesterday, violence and anarchy reigned supreme in Lilongwe as peaceful demonstrations turned hostile and violent. in the wake if this, Catholic Bishops in Malawi have strongly condemned the acts describing them as concerning. Through a statement produced by the Malawi Conference of Catholic Bishops (MCCB), the Bishops have with one voice stood up in what they call in defense of democracy. “In defense of democracy and peace, we condemn in the strongest terms possible, all forms of violence and lawless behavior which we have noted over the recent months/days.” said the statement. Drawing their inspiration from scripture, the Bishops while quoting Mt 5:9, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God, the Bishops recall the neutrality in partisan politics and therefore call on all Catholics, and all people of good will to remain united in spite of political differences, to preaching and living Christ’s supreme commandment of love. The call by the Roman Catholic authorities comes after peaceful demonstrations meant to force resignation of Malawi Electoral Commission for alleged failure to address electoral stakeholders concerns most notably the refusal to have independent audit of the Smartmatic system of managing the elections. During the demonstrations, senior actives were beaten and ambushed in full view of security agents as Malawi Defense Force and the Malawi Police Service. Meanwhile, the US embassy has released a statement condemning the violence and the seeming failure to carry out duty by security agents. The diplomatic mission in the Malawi has released a statement on the same.
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Thu
19
Jun 2025
Catholic bishops in the country, will celebrate the Jubilee Year in their status as pastors of souls on 25th June 2025. The Secretary for the Malawi Conference for Catholic Bishops (MCCB), Fr Valeriano Mtseka, has confirmed. Fr Mtseka disclosed that the Jubilee Year celebrations for the Bishops will be held as a public liturgical function on Wednesday next week after the annual plenary that the Bishops will have. “The Bishops will reflect on their roles and discuss how they can best collaborate to embody the spirit of synodality.” added Fr Mtseka. After these deliberations, the Bishops will have a penitential service at St Patrick’s parish Area 18 in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe. This will be followed by Eucharistic celebration. Mindful of the number of Bishops in the country and that all the faithful are part of the mission of the Bishops, the Conference is inviting all Christians to join in the celebration. “We are calling all Christians to be part of the celebrations as this is a big day in the Church,” he added. Bishop Raphael Ncube from Zimbabwe will facilitate the day’s activities. The Jubilee Year was pronounced by late Pope Francis at the end of last year and runs till the end of this year 2025. Since its declaration, different agents of evangelization and lay groups have celebrated their jubilee, an enormous opportunity to share and reflect on their ministries.
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Sat
14
Jun 2025
At the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of St Lawrence Girls Catholic Secondary School, Bishop Musikuwa has invited all people to look back at the history of the school with gratitude to God, as it is suicidal for believers to neglect God when things are going their way. The remarks were made during Eucharistic celebration marking 25 years of existence for St Lawrence secondary school, the sole girls’ boarding school both in the Diocese and the whole lower Shire valley. Established in the year 1999, the school has remained the only sign of the Church’s commitment to promoting girl child education and so impact their life. The school is one of the long standing signature left behind by the late Bishop Mukhori who had unmatched passion in caring for his flock. Bishop Musikuwa then called all people to remember different people who have contributed to the establishment of the school, of particular mention is the family of Mr and Mrs Manda who generously donated the land on which the school stands today. “Now the ball is in our hands. All of us need to reflect on how much we ourselves have given and benefited others. Remarked Bishop Musikuwa. The celebration is being held at St Lawrence Girls Catholic Secondary School in Chikwawa. Honourable Patricia Kaliati is gracing the occasion as the Guest of Honour.
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