The Sisters of the Holy Cross in Opus Angelorum, an IRL affiliate community since 2004, was elevated this year from an Institute of Diocesan Right to an Institute of Pontifical Right. With the authorization of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Congregation for Religious promulgated the decree of pontifical recognition on the Feast of St. Mark, April 25, 2018, which was communicated to the Mother General on June 1, 2018. With this step, the governance of the Sisters no longer stands under the Bishop of Innsbruck, Austria but reports directly to Rome and the Congregation for Religious. It is a confirmation of their way of life and mission in the Church, and more firmly anchors them to the rock of Peter, to whom they pledge their fidelity.

History of the Sisters

The first Sisters were lay women who joined priests and other lay persons in a group gathered around Mother Gabriel already in the 1950’s in order to live a closer bond with the Holy Angels in their role in the economy of salvation, and to spiritually assist priests, both spiritually and materially, in their vocation. This was the beginning of the spiritual movement, Opus Angelorum. The first canonical institution of Opus Angelorum to be erected in the Church was the Confraternity of the Holy Guardian Angels in 1961 in the diocese of Innsbruck, Austria, which also has a branch in the US today. The Sisters received a house in the diocese of Salzburg, which they named the “House of Adoration”. There they held their first novitiate for a newly formed “pious union,” which was erected in 1964. Along with the Opus Angelorum and the brother community of priests, the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, the community of the Sisters quickly spread to other countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Brazil and the Netherlands. Today, they are present and active in 10 countries with 170 perpetually professed Sisters. They were erected in the Diocese of Innsbruck as a Diocesan Institute in 2002.

The Sisters first came to the US in 1998 and lived for over 10 years at an inner-city parish in Detroit. In 2015, they moved to a residential home in Ohio, as they wait for the completion (hopefully this fall!) of their first convent in the United States.

Spirituality of the Sisters

Beginning from their own total surrender to God, seeking the glorification of the Triune God through a life in imitation of Christ and of sharing in His salvific mission, the Sisters devote themselves by prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, sacrifice and service, to the sanctification of the priesthood and religious state. They are particularly devoted to the Passion of Christ, which they commemorate weekly. They live their life in communion with the Holy Angels, consecrating themselves to them and collaborating with them in the spiritual battle for souls. The Sisters are aggregated to the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, share the same spirituality and assist the priests in the apostolate, Opus Angelorum.