BEGINNINGS | Sisters of Humility of Mary

1854 -- A little congregation was founded by Marie-Antoinette Potier (Mother Madelaine) and Father John Joseph Begel in the village of Dommartin-sous-Amance in France. They formed a Christian school for girls.1854-1864 -- The bishop recognizes the group and names them the title "Sisters of the Humility of Mary." 1864 -- The 11 sisters leave France for America. They travel with Father Begel and four orphan children in their care. They bring with them the statute of Mary that still stands in on the grounds. 1864 -- Mother Madelaine dies two months before the trip. The sisters can't buy the large brick residence in Cleveland as they had planned, so they buy a house on a 250-acre farm in western Pennsylvania near the Ohio line. 1864 -- A few sisters remained in Louisville teaching the children, while the others went on to establish the motherhouse on the Pennsylvania farm, now known as Villa Maria.1864/1872 -- Smallpox breaks out in New Bedford, Pa., in 1864 and in Lowellville, Ohio, in 1872. The sisters cared for the families, bringing the children to the convent. 1870s -- The sisters continue the ministry to orphans by caring for area children who have lost their parents. The sisters establish an elementary school that becomes Villa Maria High School. It operated until 1989. Today, it is the Villa Education Center.1870s -- The sisters' first health-care facility is a two-room clinic on the Villa Maria grounds. The clinic was started for railroad workers after Mother Anna Tabourat struck a deal to raise funds by selling trees to a local railroad for cash and the offering of the medical services.1879 -- The clinic grew, and the sisters built St. Joseph Infirmary, a larger facility, next door. It was known as "The Sisters' Hospital up Lowell Hill." It closed in 1911 when St. Elizabeth Hospital was established in Youngstown.
Source: Sisters of Humility of Mary