Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God

They were founded in 1910 in Santarém, Brazil, by Armand August Bahlmann, OFM, and Mother Immaculata (born Elizabeth Tombrock), both natives of Germany, to educate the children of the poor throughout the world.

He went to Rome, where he was consecrated a bishop on 19 July of that year, by Cardinal Girolamo Maria Gotti, OCD, the Prefect of the Propagation of the Faith.

[1] In the course of his service in the country Bahlmann developed a desire to establish a community of teaching Sisters for the children of the region.

Early in her life, she learned to love God and would accompany her mother in visiting the sick and bringing food to the poor.

As a teacher, she devoted herself to educating her charges with knowledge, life values, and a great love for Jesus and his Mother.

Not abandoning hope, Tombrock made a pilgrimage to the famed Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, noted for the many healing miracles which had taken place there.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door and she received a telegram from Bishop Bahlmann, asking her if she were willing to become a missionary in Brazil and teach poor children there.

Yet, despite continued poor health due to the climate and diet, Mother Immaculata led the group successfully.

Mother Immaculata was reluctant to commit her community to this work, but eventually concluded that it was the best solution to their financial stability.

She was referred to a hospital in New York City, where she was advised that she would eventually be paralyzed for the rest of her life, and that she could not survive a trip to Brazil.

Early in 1924, the abbess became bedridden and in July of that year was transported to the convent at St. Bonaventure, where she spent the rest of her life.

Mother Immaculata's title changed from Abbess to Superior General, and a Council was established of four Sisters to assist in the governance of the new congregation.

In their response to the call of the pope, the congregation established missions in China, which, after the Chinese Communist Revolution, were forced to relocate to Taiwan, but recently some of the Sisters have returned to the mainland to work.

In the United States, besides New Jersey, they serve in California, Maine, New Mexico, Texas and Washington, D.C.[3] A Brazilian member of the congregation has gained international renown, Irmã Dulce Pontes, SMIC, (1914–1992).

From the time she joined the congregation, she became a leading social activist, caring for the poor and defending the rights of workers in that country.

At the time of her death, Pontes had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, she had received two personal audiences with Pope John Paul II, and she had, almost single-handedly, created one of the largest and most respected philanthropic organizations in Brazil, the Social Works Foundation of Sister Dulce.