A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PROVINCE OF MANCHESTER

IN THE BEGINNING...

The Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, founded by Blessed Anne-Marie Rivier in Thueyts, France, in 1796, first came to the New World in 1853, in Marieville, P.Q., Canada.  By that time, many French-Canadians had begun emigrating to the industrial centers of New England.  Entire families had left their farms and moved southward to the United States seeking employment in the paper and textile mills.

A CALL TO THE UNITED STATES

A call arose from the Church in the United States asking for help in caring for these people who had left all they knew, seeking a better life for themselves and their families.  In 1873, in an attempt to meet the spiritual and educational needs of this population, the daughters of the Woman Apostle once again crossed international boundaries to teach Jesus Christ.

FIRST FOUNDATIONS

The first American foundation was in Glens Falls, New York.  From there, the Sisters opened a boarding school in Island Pond, Vermont, in 1886.  Many foundations quickly followed in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.  Most of these foundations were parish schools.  During all this time, the Sisters still belonged to the Canadian Province of St. Hyacinthe.  For dates of all the foundations in the USA  click here.

PRESENTATION OF MARY ACADEMY

At the request of Bishop Georges-Albert Guertin, Bishop of Manchester, the Sisters came to Hudson, New Hampshire, and in 1926, Presentation of Mary Academy opened its doors as a boarding school for girls.  Though the boarding school was phased out in 1971, there still thrives, within the halls of PMA, an elementary school which serves some 500 boys and girls from kindergarten to grade 8.

Since its foundation, Presentation of Mary Academy has held within its walls the beginnings of Rivier College, the first Provincial Administration of the United States, and from 1940-1969, the Novitiate, which was then transferred to Methuen, Massachusetts, until 1984.

RIVIER COLLEGE

From its humble beginnings in 1933, Rivier College, with Sr. Madeleine of Jesus as its founder,  continued to grow.  In September of 1941, the College left Hudson and opened its doors across the river in Nashua, New Hampshire.  Today, Rivier College continues is commitment to higher education, offering degree programs on both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

THE BIRTH OF TWO PROVINCES

In 1938, the United States became an independent province known as the Hudson Province.  Ten years later, due to the great number of vocations, and of schools where the Sisters ministered, it became evident that the Province of the United States was too large for one administration.  In 1948, the Province of Hudson, comprised of New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and the Biddeford Province, comprised of Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont, were established.  In 1957, the Biddeford Province moved to Methuen, Massachusetts, and is now known as the Methuen Province.

A CALL "AD GENTES" - PHILIPPPINES

In 1950, in response to the Pope’s call for missionary work “ad gentes,” four sisters sailed to the Philippine Islands. The region flourished and became a Province in 1997.

A CHANGE IN NAME - FROM HUDSON PROVINCE TO MANCHESTER PROVINCE

In 1958, the Hudson Province purchased a group of buildings that had once served as a hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire.  The Provincial Administration was transferred from Hudson to one of the existing buildings.  Henceforth, the Province became known as the Manchester Province.  Soon, the second building was opened as an infirmary for the Province.  This building served as the infirmary until 1980 when a new and more modern facility was constructed on the same property because of the increasing number of sick and elderly Sisters.

NEW MEXICO

In 1972, a Day Care was established in Hudson to meet the needs of working parents, and in 1973, a group of  Sisters embarked on a missionary journey to New Mexico, a journey which lasted 18 years and provided for the spiritual and educational needs of the local Native American and Hispanic populations.

PRESENT NOVITIATE

Accepting a challenge from Mother Jean-Théophane, Superior General, to trust the Spirit, a new edifice was erected in 1984, to house the formation program. This returned the Novitiate to the heart of its foundation, Hudson, New Hampshire.  In 2005 this edifice was loaned to GNIH to house families that are temporarily without a home.  The present Novitiate is on the same property but located in a smaller home.

MARIE RIVIER ASSOCIATES 

 In the same year, the Province’s Marie Rivier Associates held its first meeting.  This PM movement provides an opportunity for the laity to share in the spirituality of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, according to the spirit of their foundress, Anne-Marie Rivier.

PROJECT CONCERN - KENTUCKY

Hearing the cry of God’s poor, the Province encouraged the beginnings of the CONCERN program, a summer experience of evangelization among the destitute families of Eastern Kentucky.  This program enlisted the aid of women who hear Christ’s call to live community life while ministering to the poor.  After some 20 years of existence, this program to Kentucky ended in 2005.  Concern, however, as an organization to help the poor has found other areas closer to home to exercise its ministry to the poor.

AN EXPERIENCE OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY FOR LAYWOMEN

From this program, the concept of Emmanuel House, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, emerged.  In this ministry laywomen can come to live a year-long experience of Christian community.  This program has since been moved to Trinity House in Hudson, New Hampshire.

OUR LADY OF HOPE HOUSE OF PRAYER

Responding to the call of an earlier General Chapter which reiterated Mother Rivier’s desire for a “house full of adorers,” and to a heart-wish of the Sisters of the Province, Our Lady of Hope House of Prayer in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, was opened in 1990. Begun as a place of adoration, silence, and solitude for the Sisters, Our Lady of Hope has since opened its doors to welcome any and all persons who sincerely seek the Lord.

HOUSTON, TEXAS - CASA DE ESPERANZA

Two hundred years after Blessed Anne-Marie Rivier shared spiritual treasures with groups of mothers, and met the needs of deprived children in her country, the Sisters of the Manchester Province have taken up the challenge in Houston, Texas.  Joined to a program called Casa de Esperanza, the Sisters live as a prayerful, committed community whose doors and hearts are opened to children shunned by society:  little ones dealing with AIDS, abuse, and abandonment, and providing a place of rest, a word of encouragement and an opportunity for spiritual refreshment for the women who serve as foster care-givers to the children.

LOCATION OF PRESENT MINISTRIES

Two centuries and several thousand miles separate us from Marie Rivier and the sacred ground she walked, yet today, in 2002, her Sisters of the Manchester Province continue to keep alive her charism:  to live and teach Jesus Christ.  They minister in Berlin, Hudson, Keene, Manchester, Nashua, New Ipswich, and Plaistow, New Hampshire; Taunton, Massachusetts; Woonsocket and East Providence, Rhode Island; Houston, Texas.

Our presence to the world is the presence of Jesus Christ.

We are deeply attentive to the true needs of the people of our time.

We make their distresses our own and constantly carry them before God. (C 111)