In June, the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate received the joyous news that their foundress, Mother Mary Teresa Tallon, had been declared Venerable by Pope Leo XIV. Mother Mary Teresa, born to Irish immigrants in 1867, founded the Parish Visitors in 1920, an order focused on a door-to-door ministry to reclaim “lapsed and uninstructed Catholics for the heart of the Good Shepherd.” Their members live a contemplative prayer life combined with a ministry that brings the message and love of the Good Shepherd to all, especially those Catholics who are most spiritually deprived and distant from the Church.
It was during a retreat in 1900, and through a further inspiration in 1908, that Mother felt that God was asking her to found a new religious institute. Here, women would be trained to greater spiritual perfection while being engaged in a missionary apostolate in the parish setting, visiting homes to reach out to Catholics who had forgotten God’s love for them and the beauty of the faith.
Commenting on Mother Mary Teresa’s legacy for today, Mother Maria Catherine noted two of the foundress’ sayings: “Make every soul count” and “Make much of God.” Mother Maria Catherine added: “Both Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV have reminded us of the dignity of every human person. We hear in their reminders the echo of Venerable Mary Teresa’s voice! Today, people are in such need of knowing their dignity as children of God; of their importance in His eyes; and of their call to know, love, and serve Him here so as to be happy with Him in Heaven.”
Mother died on March 10, 1954, after extreme suffering borne with patience and love for the Congregation, just as the Sisters had finished praying the Rosary around her bedside. The Parish Visitors Motherhouse is in Monroe, NY, with mission convents in the Bronx, Pennsylvania and Ohio. They also serve in dioceses in Nigeria and the Philippines.
You can read their magazine online, here: https://parishvisitorsisters.org/pv-magazine//
To read about the cause for canonization: visit here for Guild news. https://parishvisitorsisters.org/guild-news/
Prayer to Obtain favors through the intercession of Venerable Mother Mary Teresa Tallon
