The Sisters of Holy Cross Menzingen is a Religious congregation for women in the Roman Catholic Church.
Theodosius Florentini OFMCap envisaged a religious congregation of teachers who would educate children, especially girls, who as future mothers would preserve the faith in their families.
Thus, he founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in October 1844 with three young ladies, Maria Anna Heimgartner (later Mother Bernarda), Cornelia Mader, and Feliciana Cramer.
In July 1883 the first five Holy Cross Sisters arrived in Durban in answer to a call for missionaries in Southern Africa.
Upon arriving they up the St John's River and continued their journey by ox wagon to Umtata, where they established their first school and a hospital.