Our Emblem

The emblem of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate is the letter M surmounted by a cross, flanked by three stars. This emblem, adopted by the First General Chapter in 1907, signifies that the Sisters are followers of Christ who have taken up their cross and who claim in Christ's cross, their glory and salvation. The letter M indicates that the Sisters are under the protection of Mary Immaculate and strive to walk in faith and trust in response to God's call, as she did. The three stars symbolize the three religious vows, the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity and the three virtues, which every Sister Servant especially cherishes: meekness, humility and sisterly love. The three stars also represent the three main works of the Congregation: education, health care and concern for the beauty of churches. 

Charism

We, the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, a Ukrainian Catholic apostolic congregation, are called to be witnesses of Christ, living out His Gospel through sharing our lives with each other as a community, in prayer, love and service. 

We are called to respond with openness in a spirit of trust, humility, simplicity, hospitality and joy in service of God's people, primarily but not exclusively, those of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. 

Patroness

"Mary Immaculate is a model of life for the Sisters. She fully responded to the will of God and thus entered totally into His plan of redemption which included her and all mankind. It was the faith and humility of the Immaculate Virgin which gave her the strength and courage to co-operate fully in God's plan of salvation. Let these virtues of our heavenly Patroness serve as a source of inspiration for the Sisters." From Chapter 1, # 3 of the Constitution and Directives of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate.

The Sisters' day ends with the singing of a third-century hymn to the Mother of God: 

"We fly to your tender protection, Virgin Mother of God - Theotokos. Do not turn away from us in our time of great need, but deliver us from danger. You alone are pure, you alone are blessed." 

Icon in "Ancaster Mother of Divine Love" Shrine 
Mount Mary Immaculate Retreat Centre, Ancaster, Ontario 
Iconographer: Emil Telizyn
(Click to see full version.)

Identity & Purpose

The Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate is a Ukrainian Catholic international religious institute with roots in Ukraine. 

We, Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, are women who have responded to Christ's call to dedicate our entire beings and lives to God. In freedom and love, we vow life-long fidelity to evangelical celibacy, poverty and obedience. Through a life of prayer and active service, we are called to share our experience of God's compassion, forgiveness and unconditional love. We live in community, encouraging and supporting one another in our apostolic life journey. Daily we unite in prayer in response to the requests of many, trusting in the Lords words: "Ask, and it shall be given to you." 

Our congregation, which was founded in Ukraine in 1892, is of the Byzantine-Ukrainian rite. Through a life of prayer and active service, ministering to the spiritual, moral, intellectual and social needs of our people, we witness to God's love and care. Since our founding we have identified with the plight of our Ukrainian people, who immigrated to other countries in search of a better life. The congregation over the years thus branched out from western Ukraine to Canada, Brazil, United States, Yugoslavia, Poland, Slovakia, Italy, Great Britain, France, Argentina, Germany, and Australia and Kazhakstan. 

In the 1940's the communist regime in western Ukraine suppressed all the religious orders and congregations. All of our homes and institutions were seized and the Sisters were forced to go "underground". Sister Veronica Gargil, Superior General and her Councillor, Sister Chrystophora Kachkowska, were able to escape to Rome. In the late 1940's and early 1950's our Sisters in Czechoslovakia also were suppressed by the communist regime and also had to live and serve our people "underground". 

In 1947 the Generalate was officially transferred from Lviv, Ukraine, to property which the Canadian Sisters Servants had purchased in Rome at 104 Via Cassia.

In commemoration of our 75th Anniversary of Founding, we published a 767-page history in 1968, written by Father Athanasius Welykyj, OSBM. 

With the downfall of communism in Ukraine and Slovakia in the early 1990's, our Sisters emerged from the "underground" and have re-established their homes and mission work, adapting to new circumstances. Sisters from Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Poland, Slovakia, Yugoslavia and from the generalate in Rome went to Ukraine to assist the Mother province in its time of rebirth. 

It was truly a great blessing to celebrate the Centenary of our Founding in 1992 in Ukraine. The Sisters in Ukraine hosted Sisters Servants from North and South America and other European countries for the first world-wide gathering in the congregation's history. An especially memorable Centenary Year celebration was in Zhuzheliany (formerly Zhuzhel), the location of our first home. Sisters from thirteen countries participated in a Divine Liturgy of Thanksgiving and a special Jubilee program. 

Our Centenary history, Glory to You, O God, published in 1992, recaptures the remarkable story of the Sisters Servants in our first hundred years. It is available in English, Ukrainian and Portuguese. 

Our Founding Member

The first Sister Servant was Michaelina Hordashevska, who took the religious name "Josaphata". She was born in 1869 in Lviv, Ukraine. She experienced a call to the religious life and searched for a way to respond. Her spiritual director Father Jeremiah Lomnitsky OSBM asked Michaelina to be the first member of a new apostolic congregation which he was founding with Father Cyril Seletsky, pastor at Zhuzel. She consented and was prepared for this challenging responsibility by the Felician Sisters in Zhovkva. 

On August 27, 1892, seven young women were received as postulants of the newly-founded Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate in the church in Zhuzhel, and under the guiding hand of Sister Josaphata began their formation in religious life. She initiated the educational and health care ministries and oversaw the opening of new missions. 

Sister Josaphata made her first profession of vows for a three-year period on November 20, 1892, and profession of perpetual vows on May 11, 1909. 

In 1902 the Sisters elected Sister Josaphata as the first Superior General. By this time there were 128 Sisters, missioned in twenty-six homes in the three eparchies of western Ukraine. One of her important decisions was to mission four Sisters to Canada in late 1902. 

Sister Josaphata endured much during her short life from misunderstanding, calumny and the ambition of others. On April 7, 1919 at the age of 49, she died in excruciating pain from tuberculosis of the bone. 

Sister Josaphata's life was an interweaving of prayer and service, love of God and others, especially the suffering and spiritually neglected. 

In November 1982 the mortal remains of Sister Josaphata were transferred from the cemetery in Krystynopil, Ukraine, to the Generalate in Rome. Her mortal remains were placed in an urn, which rests now in a small altar in the chapel in the Generalate. Hundreds of visitors to the Generalate have sought her intercession for their temporal and spiritual needs. The Generalate has received numerous testimonials of special graces received through her intercession. 

The Process of Canonization of Servant of God Sister Josaphata was initiated in the Eparchy of Przemysl in Poland in March, 1992. A member of the Canadian Province, Sister Dominic Slawuta, is the postulator. She wrote a biography of Sister Josaphata, "Prayer and Service", which was published in Canada in1996. It is available in English and Ukrainian. 

April 6, 1998, Pope John Paul II read the decree proclaiming the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Josaphata Hordashevska, cofoundress of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, and granted her the title of "venerable". At the ceremony of the reading of the decrees were present: church dignitaries, the personnel of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Sister Teresa Kito, Superior General of the Sisters Servants, Sister Dominica Slawuta, postulator of the cause and other Superior Generals and postulators. 

Josaphata was solemnly beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 27, 2001, in Lviv, Ukraine.  Her Feast Day is celebrated on November 20, the day of her birth.  Many throughout the world pray for healing and graces through the intercession of Blessed Josaphata. Her relics are venerated wherever there are Sisters Servants.

PRAYER 

Lord God,
we praise you and we thank you 
for having called your servant Josaphata Hordashevska
to the work of evangelization and education of youth. 
She was the first to respond to the charism
of the Servants of Mary Immaculate, 
and throughout her virtuous life was an apostle 
among her Ukrainian people 
through her evangelical witness and her sanctity. 

Lord God,
for your greater glory, 
and the spiritual good of souls, 
glorify your faithful servant, Sister Josaphata. 
Grant us the grace for which we so ardently praythrough her intercession. 
Amen. 

With Ecclesiastical Approval 

Acknowledgment of answered prayers through the intercession 
of Sister Josaphata are to be sent to: 
Sister Dominica Slawuta SSMI 
Postulator 
Via Cassia Antica, 104 
00191 ROMA, Italia