About the Convent of Divine Love in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
The convent here in Philadelphia is under the auspices of The Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters (SSpSAp i.e. Congregatio Servarum Spiritus Sancti de Adoratione perpetua), which was founded by Saint Arnold Janssen
About Saint Arnold Janssen:.
Saint Arnold (Born in Germany on November 5, 1837, Died: January 15, 1909) was, at first, only felt called to work as a missionary in his own country. In the course of his work, he saw more and more the great need for Germany to have a society for missionaries. With great faith, he responded to this need by founding such a society himself, the Society of the Divine Word, also known as The Divine Word Missionaries.
Saint Arnold founded the Mission Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit. He further saw the need for a third missionary Congregation to support, through prayer and sacrifice, the work of his first two foundations. For this, he envisioned a strictly cloistered contemplative community with perpetual adoration and founded the Sister-Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration, more commonly known as the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters. He chose the first members of this foundation from among the members of the active missionary Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit who had volunteered for this branch.
Arnolc Janssen died on January 15, 1909 and was buried at Missionshaus St. Michael, Steyl, Netherlands.
He was Canonized on October 5, 2003, by Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.
We celebrate the Feast of Saint Arnold Janssen on January 15.
The major shrine for Saint Arnold Janssen Shrine is located in Cainta, Rizal, Philippines
With God’s blessing, the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters took root and began to flourish. It started modestly in 1896 in a separate wing of the missionary Sister’s Sacred Heart Convent, then in 1904 also in a separate wing in their newly built Motherhouse. By 1914, through the efforts of Mother Mary Michael, the cloistered Sisters could have a separate Motherhouse of their own, Holy Spirit Convent, which still exists today in its original structure.
By 1915, Mother Mary Michael was able to found their first convent after the Motherhouse, the Convent of Divine Love in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This foundation came about through an invitation from Archbishop Edmund Francis Prendergast, who desired to have an adoration convent in his archdiocese. A wealthy Catholic layman, Cornelius A. Lane, had bequeathed a generous sum to the archdiocese for the establishment of an adoration convent. Thus the archbishop was in a position to make a generous offer. He would purchase a suitable piece of property, build and furnish a chapel and convent for the Sisters, and could promise to contribute to their support. It was a very favorable offer, which the Congregation could gratefully accept.
In 1915, nine Sisters were sent from Steyl for the first community. Some American women soon applied and were admitted. This necessitated the establishment of a novitiate in the new convent. Several years ago, the novitiate was moved to our convent in St. Louis (Mount Grace Convent), where candidates from all parts of the United States are admitted and trained. Since its earliest years, the Sisters have kept adoration day and night before the Blessed Sacrament, and the people of Philadelphia have very frequently made visits to the chapel, joining the Sisters in prayerful vigil.
In the course of time, more and more adoration convents would be founded by Mother Mary Michael, and after her death by her successors. At present our international religious congregation has 22 Houses in 12 countries and about 420 members in all.
Traveling to the Convent of Divine Love in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
Address:
2212 Green St.
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Phone: 215-567-0123
Click here for the official website of the Convent of Divine Love in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.