A brief history of the founding of the Congregation Sisters of Our Lady of Amersfoort
On the initiative of Pastor Matthias Wolff SJ, seven young women were admitted to their institutes in Namur and Ghent by the Sisters of Our Lady of Namur in 1819 – 1820. There they received their religious formation in postulates and novitiates. They returned to the Netherlands in 1823 – 1824 and settled in Muurhuizen in Amersfoort.
The congregation, La Pédagogie Chrétienne, was formed in collaboration between:
- Pastor Matthias Wolf SJ
- Masyarakat RC
- Sr. Maria Van Werkhoven, Sr. Martha Pijpers, Sr. Pendiri Mathia
La Pédagogie Chrétienne received a decree from Father Matthias Wolff which was approved by the high priests of Utrecht and the Netherlands in June 1823.
Subsequently, a few months later the Associatie Firma van Werkhoven & Compagnie was established in Amersfoort to obtain legal status for the establishment of a Boarding School.
In 1824 the first sisters took temporary vows in the church of Soli Deo Gloria aan 't Zand in Amersfoort.
The guidelines for social life are the rules of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Namur. The founder of this congregation is St. Julie Billiart and Mère St. Joseph Blin de Bourdon. More St. Joseph Blin de Bourdon was the superior general when the young Dutch women went to Belgium. In 1840 conflict arose and the church split. The sisters in Amersfoort and the sisters in the succursal houses under the great rivers continue as independent congregations. The Sisters at Amersfoort continued as Sisters of Our Lady of Amersfoort and the others as Company Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, with Engelen as headquarters and then Den Bosch. Only the Sisters of Our Lady of Amersfoort maintain the power of the Sisters of Our Lady of Namur. The JMJ sisters received a message from Mgr.J. Zwijsen.
The guidelines for social life are the rules of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Namur. The founder of this congregation is St. Julie Billiart and Mère St. Joseph Blin de Bourdon. More St. Joseph Blin de Bourdon was the superior general when the young Dutch women went to Belgium. In 1840 conflict arose and the church split. The sisters in Amersfoort and the sisters in the succursal houses under the great rivers continue as independent congregations. The Sisters at Amersfoort continued as Sisters of Our Lady of Amersfoort and the others as Company Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, with Engelen as headquarters and then Den Bosch. Only the Sisters of Our Lady of Amersfoort maintain the power of the Sisters of Our Lady of Namur. The JMJ sisters received a message from Mgr.J. Zwijsen.
