Marianites of Holy Cross

The Marianites of Holy Cross (MSC) is a Catholic congregation of nuns, founded in Le Mans, France, in 1841, by Fr Basil Moreau. It was founded as a third distinct society within the Congregation of Holy Cross. The Marianites of Holy Cross is now an independent congregation.

In 1835 Father Basil Anthony Moreau, then assistant superior of the seminary at Le Mans, founded a group of priests to assist him in his endeavors to re invigorate the Church throughout the diocese. He called them the Society of Auxiliary Priests. He also assumed supervision of the Brothers of St. Joseph when their founder Father Jacques Dujarié became too ill to continue their direction. In 1837 the two organizations were combined to form the Association of the Holy Cross. The following year he gave a rule of life to a group of devout laywomen who assisted the priests and brothers, first by doing domestic work, then in teaching and nursing. These women became the Marianites of Holy Cross. In 1841 the first Marianites received the religious habit. The Marianites were dedicated to Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Seven Dolors. The women of Holy Cross came to form three distinct congregations: Marianites of Holy Cross, Sisters of the Holy Cross, and Sisters of Holy Cross.

As the congregation grew throughout the 1840s and early 1850s in the United States and Canada, Fr. Moreau sent groups of priests, brothers and sisters to work together and support each other's mission within the Family of Holy Cross. The sisters initially supported the priests and brothers by providing domestic services. At the request of Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière, Bishop of Vincennes, Moreau sent some sisters who established in 1844, in Bertrand, Michigan, a school for girls. By 1855, this school moved the 6 miles to Notre Dame, Indiana to become Saint Mary's College, still one of the leading Catholic women's liberal arts colleges. In 1846 Bishop Ignace Bourget of Montreal asked Moreau, whom he had visited at Holy Cross, to send him sisters whom he might establish in his diocese. Four religious were sent in 1847 and founded their first house in the village of St. Lawrence, near Montreal. In 1965 the Marianites of Holy Cross founded Our Lady of Prompt Succor Nursing Home to provide long term health care and short term rehabilitation services to the surrounding communities. C'est la Vie Independent Living Center for seniors was added in March 1986. The Marianites of Holy Cross continue to work in their traditional geographical areas of Le Mans, France and New Orleans, Louisiana. They continue to operate several significant institutions including: Our Lady of Holy Cross College, founded in New Orleans in 1916 and Holy Family School, in Port Allen, Louisiana, founded in 1949. As of 2016 there were 140 sisters worldwide.

Sister Suellen Tennyson, age 83, who was at one time head of the congregation was kidnapped on the night of 4–5 April 2022 while working in Burkina Faso. She was released on 29 August through the efforts of the U. S. government, which thanked the government of Niger for its assistance in obtaining her release.