Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Founded 1863 , in the Field of Scheut, near Brussels , by Venenable Theophile Verbiest, for mission work in heathen lands; constitutions definitively approved, 1900 . Placed under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in 1921 ; Constitutions revised and approved, 1923 . From the seminary in Belgium (Scheutveld College) the first mission was established in Mongolia, 1863 . The congregation operates in Northern and Southern Kansu, China , in Mongolia, the Belgian Congo , the Philippines, and among the Indians on the Mississippi. There is a procurator resident at New York and a procurator general at Rome; two of the Fathers devote themselves to parish work among the Belgians of London. The great scientific and intellectual activity of the missionaries, evinced through 539 publications, is considered a necessary supplement to their apostolic labors. In connection with their missions the Fathers maintain a number of benevolent institutions, such as hospitals and schools.