Phone: (202) 543-2064
Provincial House
28 15th Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
Washington, D.C. | Provincial House
The Provincial House is a center for the Province as a whole. Mother Mary of the Immaculate Conception Ambrogio, Provincial Superior resides here. The house hosts activities of the Provincial Council, Formators’ Conferences and apostolic sisters, remaining constantly at the service of the many sisters in the missions of our Province. Serving in the Archdiocese of Washington, the Provincial House is currently located at the Convent of the Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Church.
Presently, one sister serves in the Missions Office of the Archdiocese of Washington, one sister is completing a PhD program at The Catholic University of America, two sisters assist at St. James Parish in Mount Rainier, MD, and other members of the community are dedicated to the administration and service of the communities in the Province.
Apostolates
James Church in Mount Rainier, MD: Director of Religious Education (DRE). Our sisters have been working at St. James since 2005, running the Oratory on Saturdays and heavily involved in both the Spanish and English catechism programs. Since 2009, one of our sisters has been the Director of Religious Education (DRE) for the parish. Other parish apostolates include the recently founded “Blessed Carlos Gnocchi Group” for families with special children.
Pontifical Mission Societies: “The Pontifical Mission Societies have, as their primary purpose, the promotion of a universal missionary spirit – a spirit of prayer and sacrifice – among all baptized Catholics and to gather support for the worldwide mission of the Church”. One sister oversees both of the following initiatives of the Office of Missions:
The Missionary Childhood Association (MCA) is one of the four societies which comprise the Pontifical Mission Society. It was founded in 1843 by French Bishop Charles de Forbin-Janson. As the Missions Education Coordinator of MCA, our sister helps coordinate mission education in schools in the Archdiocese.
The Missionary Cooperative Plan (MCP) is an archdiocesan cooperative program of His Eminence, Donald Cardinal Wuerl and plays a vital role in sharing with the faithful of the Archdiocese of Washington about the worldwide evangelistic mission of the Church and how they can support the missions. As the Coordinator for the MCP, our sister works with the pastors of the local churches in the Archdiocese in order to facilitate selected missionary dioceses and congregations to share with the faithful the call to pray and make sacrifices for the missions in their efforts to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations and cultures.
Our Patroness | Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception speaks to us of the promise of redemption made to Mary at “the first instant of her conception in the womb of her mother Saint Anne.” By the power of Christ’s redeeming death, God preserved Mary before hand from all stain of sin, in order that she could be a worthy Mother of the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ. Our Lady in her Immaculate Conception is thus a sign for us of expectation, and of fulfillment. As the Lord “has done great things” for her, so do we trust and believe that He will do great things for us!
In an apparition to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830, Mary asked the young nun to produce the Miraculous Medal honoring the Immaculate Conception. This dogma was proclaimed when Pope Pius IX promulgated Ineffabilis Deus in 1854. Four years later Mary appeared to the uneducated and sickly youth, St. Bernadette Soubirous, at Lourdes. When Bernadette asked the Virgin Mary on March 25, 1858, to identify herself, Mary replied, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception in celebrated December 8th.
