Missionary Order of Mariannhill
The Missionary Order of Mariannhill is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of the Roman Catholic Church founded on, 1909 by Franz Pfanner, an Austrian Trappist monk. The name of the order come from Mariannhill, a little suburb near Pinetown in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
Formation of the Missionary Order of Mariannhill
A few months before the death of Abbot Franz Pfanner, the Holy See, at the request of the Trappists of Mariannhill, made a considerable change in their status. The Cistercians' rule in its rigour, for which Abbot Pfanner was most zealous, was found to be an obstacle to missionary development in some particulars. In 1906 Pope Pius X approved the constitutions of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood, and in 1909 separated Mariannhill from the Trappist Order, erecting their church into a collegiate church, under the leadership of a provost, and changing the name of the group, who were given a milder rule, to that of Missionaries of Mariannhill.
The members of the congregation are exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary of the diocese and take simple, but perpetual, vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, to dedicate the entire life to the missions.
Membership
There at present number about 60 priests, with 260 choir-religious and lay-brothers. From its foundation until 1 January 1910, nearly 20,000 persons, mostly adults, have been baptized in the 55 churches and chapels scattered throughout the 26 missions and stations.
