[1] On the first Friday in Lent 1936, Sister Maria Pierina de Micheli, a member of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception in Milan, reported a vision in which Jesus told her: "I will that My Face, which reflects the intimate pains of My Spirit, the suffering and the love of My Heart, be more honored.
"[2] In 1938, whe was sent to Rome where she subsequently met Sylvestrine Benedictine Hildebrand Gregori, Abbot of the monastery of Santo Stefano del Cacco.
Inspired by her efforts to promote devotion to the Holy Face, Grefori became similarly dedicated.
In 1950, the Venerable Abbot Hildebrand Gregori formed the organization "Prayerful Sodality" which in 1977 became the Pontifical Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face.
[4][5] In his letter of 27 September 2000 to Cardinal Angelini, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the formation of the order, Pope John Paul II described the goal of the Benedictine Sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face as: "The unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified.