To the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians²

Through the special favour of our Heavenly Father, the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, to which you have the happiness to belong, has for some time past being making great progress. In the course of a few years we have been able to open many Houses in Piedmont, Liguria, France, and even in distant America.

While the Institute was centred in the Mother house at Mornese, a few manuscript copies of the Rule was enough to enable every Sister to become acquainted with it; but now that Divine Providence has multiplied the Houses and the number of Sisters has increased, these copies are not sufficient.

Wherefore I have deemed it conducive to the greater glory of God, and to the benefit of your souls to have the Rule printed, and I now present it to you. It has already been approved by many Bishops who have found it well suited to sanctify one who aspires to be entirely devoted to Jesus Christ, and who desires at the same time to employ her whole life in the service of her neighbour, and especially in the education of poor children. Furthermore, the Institute itself was commended and approved by a special decree given by the Right Rev. Bishop of Acqui, in whose diocese the Institute had its origin in 1872, and where it still flourishes.

You should therefore hold in high esteem the Rules which govern the Institute and should meditate upon them, but above all remember that it would avail nothing even to know them by heart, if you did not practise them. wherefore each one must be deeply solicitous to observe them with exactitude. To this end both the vigilance and zeal of Superiors and the diligence and efforts of the Sisters should be directed. By this means you will find in your Congregation peace of heart, the path to Heaven, and thus become Saints.

Meanwhile I gladly avail myself of this opportunity to urge you to pray always for the repose of the souls of the Very Rev. Fr Domenico Pestarino, the first Director of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, whom God made use of to lay the foundations of the Institute and who by his charity and zeal, has indeed merited our deepest gratitude.

Pray also for one another that God may keep you constant and faithful to your vocation, and make you worthy to accomplish much good for his greater glory. Pray especially for those Sisters who have already gone, or will go to far distant lands in order to bear thither the name of Jesus Christ, and to make him known and loved. Pray above all for the Holy Catholic Church, for its visible Head on earth, for your Bishops and Pastors; pray also for the Salesian Society to which you are affiliated, and do not forget to pray for me who have your happiness at heart.

May Our Lady Help of Christians protect us and be our defence in life and in death; through her powerful intercession may she obtain from her Divine Son the inestimable grace of being one day gathered under her maternal mantle in eternal bliss.

Turin, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 1878.

Fr John Bosco  

Purpose of the Institute³

1. The object of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians is for them to attend to their own perfection and to cooperate in the salvation of others, especially by giving a Christian education to the girls of the poorer classes.

2. Therefore the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians will endeavour, above everything else, to practise Christian virtues, and then to act for the benefit of their neighbour. They will take special care in directing schools, teachers, kindergartens, festive oratories, and also opening workshops to the advantage of poor girls in the cities and villages. Wherever there is need they will also provide assistance to the poor and the sick and in other works of charity of the kind.

3. They may also receive in their houses girls of humble condition but will never teach them sciences or arts that are for noble and distinguished families. They shall put all their efforts into training them in piety, making them good Christians and also able, in due course, to earn an honest livelihood.

4 The Institute is composed of unmarried women who profess the common life in everything with three lots of temporary vows of three years each. The major superior, in agreement with the chapter superior, when the triennial vows have been professed one or two times, may also admit [the Sister] to perpetual vows when she judges that this would be good for her and for the Institute.

The principle virtues recommended for novices to study and for the professed to practise⁴

1. Patient and zealous charity, not only with children, but also with young girls.

2. Simplicity and modesty; inward and outward spirit of mortification; strict observance of poverty.

3. Obedience of will and judgement, willingly, and without comment accepting advice and corrections and the duties entrusted to her.

4 The spirit of prayer with which the Sisters carry out their practices of piety will keep them in God's presence and abandoned to his sweet Providence.

5. These virtues must be well-proven and deep-rooted in the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians since they must combine the active and contemplative life in equal measure, copying Martha and [Mary] Magdalene.

The vow of chastity⁵

1. A constant exercise of all the virtues to an uncommon degree is needed in order to continually practise charity towards our neighbour, and to deal fruitfully with poor girls. But the angelic virtue, the virtue dear above all others to the Son of God , the virtue of chastity should be practised in an eminent degree by the Daughters of Mary help of Christians. In the first place because the duty which they have of instructing and guiding their neighbour in the way of salvation is like that of the Holy Angels. It is therefore necessary that they should live with a pure heart and in the angelic state, since virgins are called Angels of the Earth; secondly because their vocation, to be properly carried out demands a total detachment, both internal and external, from all that is not of God.

2. In order to observe this vow the Sisters must practise a most vigilant guard over the senses which are like doors through which the enemy of the soul can enter. They must no longer live and breathe but for their Heavenly Spouse alone, in all uprightness, with all purity and holiness of spirit, of words, deportment and of deeds, by means of immaculate and angelic conversation, bearing in mind the words of Our Lord Who says "Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God".⁶

3. In order to preserve so great a treasure they shall call to mind the presence of God, turning to Him often with acts of lively faith, firm hope and ardent love. They shall flee from idleness; practise inward and outward mortification, the former without limits, the latter to the extent that obedience permits.

4 Let them foster a special devotion for Mary Immaculate which will also serve effectively for preserving the beautiful virtue, to the glorious St Joseph and to their Guardian Angels; and let them never forget that faithful spouses of Jesus Christ who shall have lived and died in the state of virginity, shall enjoy a particular glory in Heaven where together with Mary they shall sing to the Divine Lamb a hymn which it is not granted to the other Blessed to sing.

The vow of obedience⁷

1. The life of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, needing to be a continual holocaust, would be lacking in sacrifice if their own will were to enter in, and this is precisely what they offer to the Divine Majesty in the vow of obedience. Furthermore, we know that the divine Saviour himself said that he came on earth not to do his own will but that of his heavenly Father.⁸ It is to be certain that they carry out God's will in every action that the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians make the vow of holy obedience.

2. This vow obliges them to be only preoccupied with things that the superior judges to be for the greater glory of God and the advantage of souls, according to the rules of this Institute.

3. The Sisters should obey in a spirit of faith, seeing God in their superiors, convinced that what is ordained by obedience will redound to their greater spiritual advantage.

4 Let their obedience be willing and cheerful, that is without delay, dispute or sadness.

5. Finally, let it be prompt, without judging or criticising the hidden motives of the command.

6. Let no one be unduly anxious to ask for any particular thing or to refuse it. But on perceiving that such and such a thing is either harmful or necessary, let her respectfully mention the fact to the superior who will make the necessary provision for the need.

7. Let everyone have great confidence in their superior and consider her as an affectionate mother. Let them turn to her in all their doubts, mainfest their sorrows and all their difficulties.

The vow of poverty⁹

1. The observance of the vow of poverty in the Institute of Mary Help of Christians essentially consists of detachment from every earthly good, practised through common life with regard to food and clothing, not keeping anything for their own use, without special permission of the superior.

2. It is part of this vow [that the Sisters should] keep their rooms in the simplest possible style, seeking with all their might to adorn the heart with virtue and not their person of the walls of their room.

3. No one should keep, in the Institute or out of it, money as their own property, not even deposited for some reason, without the express permission of the superior.

4 Voluntary poverty makes us true followers of the Saviour who to leave us a great example practised it from his birth until his death.

General Rules¹⁰

1. Each day the Sisters will commemorate the Seven Sorrows of Mary, on seven occasions, and at the end of each they will recite a Hail Mary with the prayer that they shall also often repeat in the course of the day: Eternal father, we offer you etc.¹¹ Then from Vespers on Holy Saturday until Sunday in Albis [First Sunday after Easter], and throughout the octave of the Feast of Mary's Assumption into Heaven they will recite the Seven Joys of Mary, one for each occasion to replace the Seven Sorrows.

2. In the quarter of an hour assigned for spiritual reading they will use books that the Superior will indicate. Recommended above all are: The Imitation Of Christ, The Holy Nun, and the Practice Of Loving Jesus Christ by St Alphonsus, Doctor of the Church,¹² the Introduction to the Devout Life by St Francis de Sales adapted for youth, the Rodriguez,¹³ and the lives of saints who dedicated themselves to the education of children of a tender age.

3. All the Sisters, from their various houses, should come once a year to the Central House, or if they are a long distance away, to the House on which they depend, to make their retreat. If the work they have does not make it possible for them to come together for the retreat, there will be two or three separate possibilities, as judged by the Superior.

4. Letters to the Sisters, or that they wrote to others, will be opened and read where the superior judges this to be good. She then may pass them on or keep them.

5. However they have permission to write, without requesting it, to the Supreme Pontiff, the Major Superior and Superior General and likewise to receive answers to these letters without them being opened.

6. When they are visited by family members of other people, these will be taken to the parlour accompanied by a Sister who is assigned by the Superior. On other occasions for essential visits it is recommended that the Sisters exercise great prudence and Christian modesty and superiors should take all the necessary cautions to avoid everything untoward. Since the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians have many things to do, and when it is not a case of matters of importance, these people should not be allowed to visit more than once a month.

7. Let the Sisters love one another in the Lord, but to be careful about relationships amongst themselves or with anyone in terms of particular friendships which take us away from perfect love of God and end up being a plague in the community.

8. No one is allowed to give commissions, not to school children or family or anyone, except with a prior understanding of the superior, to whom any correspondence should be referred.

9. Each Sister should regard herself as less than all the others, thus no one will be lacking in humility nor will she refuse even the most humble tasks in the house ass assigned her by the superior according to her abilities and according to what she prudently judges to be good in the Lord.

10. The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians will always be happy with their Sisters, laughing, joking etc., always, however, as it would seem the angels do amongst themselves; but whenever people of the other sex are present they will deport themselves seriously and with dignity. When out on the street they will walk with great composure and modesty, never staring at people or things they come across, but nevertheless greeting people who greet them, or ecclesiastics who are nearby, with a nod of the head.

11. In the house and outside they will always speak humbly, not maintaining their own point of view, avoiding especially any harsh or biting words, words of reproach, vanity regarding themselves or the good things the Lord has deigned to do for them. All their activities in private and in common will be done solely for God. They will never speak about status, age, wealth, if they had any of this in the world. They will never raise their voice when speaking with someone, even during recreation. When in the presence of people of the other sex, their speech will be serious, because should they be people superior to them, ecclesiastics for example, they will give due respect to their status; if they are lay people, then decorum and good example are required.

12. All their efforts will be to show, in their dealings and whole demeanour, who they need to be, that is, imitators of Jesus Christ Crucified, and servants of the poor. In church they will stand in a composed manner, erect, will make a full genuflection when passing in front of the altar of the Blessed Sacrament.

13. They will take refreshment together in the refectory with the food given them. They will never complain about the food, nor discuss it amongst themselves, but if they have some need will confidently manifest it to the superior. No one may enter the kitchen without permission.

14. So long as the place permits it, each will sleep in a separate room but should not keep it locked; nor should they enter the dormitory outside of hours without permission. They will not use a mattress except because of illness or other similar need.

15. Next to the bed they will keep a holy water font, a crucifix with a wooden cross, a small picture of Mary Help of Christians or the Immaculate Conception with a black frame.

16. Clothing will be uniform, modest and humble as is proper for poor religious. The habit will be black, with long sleeves that reach to the knuckles of the fingers and 46 centimetres wide; the cape will come down to the belt. Shoes will be of black leather, as befits the poor. They will never carry gloves but when they need to use them they will not be of silk, fine leather, or light colour. The professed will carry a crucifix around their neck, the novices a medal of Mary Help of Christians.

17. Linen will always be appropriate for use by the poor and kept in common after profession. Each Sister will take care of her own habit and other things she uses, keeping them very clean; she will see that the veil, apron, clothes etc are folded whenever these items are not being worn.

18. Cutlery and china will be of durable material as much as possible, but not luxurious.

19. Every Saturday the Sister in charge of the linen, which is kept in a common wardrobe, will bring to each one's bed everything needed for changing and each Sister will then take changed items to the assigned place.

20. Whatever is brought as a gift to the Sisters will be handed over to the superior who will dispose of it as she sees best, without her being obliged to explain her decisions. The Sisters will not give gifts to people outside nor amongst themselves without express permission: nor are they allowed to lend or change anything without the Superior's consent.

21. Each one will look after her health, so when a Sister does not feel well, without hiding or exaggerating her illness, she will advise the superior so her needs can be provided for. At a time of illness she will obey the infirmarian and doctor so they may look after her body as they believe best before God. The Sister will also try to show patience and be resigned to God's will, putting up with the privations that come with poverty, maintaining imperturbable tranquillity of spirit, putting herself in the Lord's hands, for he is a loving Father, whether it be in the matter of health, or whether she is afflicted with illness and pain. To keep up their spirits, the sick confined to bed will be given holy Communion at least once a week, when the kind of illness and the place permits it.

22. The Sisters will always endeavour to remain united by the sweet bond of charity, since it would be deplorable if those who took the imitation of Jesus Christ as their goal were to overlook the observance of the commandment he most recommended, to the point where it is called his commandment.¹⁴ So as well as mutual sympathy and impartial love, it is also laid down that should it happen that someone is lacking in charity to another Sister, she should say sorry as soon as she calmly recognises her fault or at least before going to sleep.

23. For greater perfection in charity each one will give preference to what her Sisters like rather than her own, each one will help and support each other with displays of kindness and holy friendship, nor will they ever let themselves give in to feelings of jealousy of one another.

24. They will desire and will try to do for their neighbour all the good possible, always with the intention of helping and serving Our Lord Jesus Christ in the person of his poor people, especially by assisting, serving, consoling Sisters who are ill and afflicted and by promoting the spiritual good of girls in the villages and towns where they live.

25. Keeping their heart open to the superior will help much in advancing in religious perfection, since, after the confessor she is the one who is destined by God to direct her in the way of virtue. Therefore once a month and even more often, if needed, they will manifest their external activity to her with all simplicity and sincerity, and receive advice and counsel from her in order to succeed well in the practice of mortification and the observance of the holy rules of the Institute. Internal matters are excluded from these manifestations as well as external matters when these are matter for confession, unless out of a spirit of humility one manifests them voluntarily to receive counsel and direction.

26. All the Sisters will be present at the conference that the superior will give each Sunday to instruct them in their duties, as also to correct defects that could diminish fervour and observance in the community.

27. Each will take the greatest care with the practices of piety, from the observance of which comes that inner fervour which moves us to unite ourselves in everything with Jesus Christ our divine exemplar and spouse of faithful souls.

28. The charity then which keeps the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians united during life, should not cease after their death. So when a Sister is called to eternal life, her death will be communicated to all the Houses, so that they may go to holy Communion and recite the Rosary in suffrage for her soul. In the house where she died a Mass will be celebrated in the presence of her body, and the office of the Dead or the complete Roasry will be said. The body will be dressed in her religious habit and accompanied with decorum to burial.

29. On the occasion of the death of the Major Superior and the General Superior, as well as the above suffrages, a Requiem will be celebrated in all Houses of the Institute.

30. May the abundant peace and mercy of God come down upon all who follow these rules.