Several Sodalities of Our Lady have existed in the Church starting as early as the 12th century. One of the more well-known Sodalities of Our Lady was founded in the 16th century by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). It was instituted as a lay society for promoting fidelity to religion and virtues of life by fostering devotion to the Mother of God. During the 16th century Pope Gregory XIII issued a Papal Bull commending this Sodality, enriching it with indulgences. Subsequent Popes increased the privileges of the Sodality as well.

The growth of this Sodality was not confined to students of Jesuit Colleges. Other Sodalities formed from all vocations in life, including Sodalities of priests, of nobles, of merchants, of working-men, of clerks, of married men, of unmarried men, of soldiers, and so on, each confined to a particular class of people.

Many Saints have also been members of the Sodality of Our Lady such as St. Charles Borromeo, the zealous reformer of Church Discipline; St. Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church; St. Alphonsus Ligouri, the Bishop, Moral Theologian, Doctor of the Church, Founder of the Redemptorists; St. Camillus de Lellis, the patron of Catholic hospitals; St. Leonard of Port Maurice, the Franciscan preacher; St. John Baptist de Rossi, the Vincent de Paul of Rome; St. Peter Claver, the apostle of slaves; the humble Jesuit Brother, St. Alphonsus Rodriguiez; St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, foundress of the Religious of the Sacred Heart; St. Julie Billart, the foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame of Namur; St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes.

The Children of Mary

The Sodality of Our Lady also has had many well-known groups specifically for boys and girls. In the 12th century Blessed Peter de Honestis founded a fraternity of "Sons and Daughters of Mary", and in the early 17th century St. Peter Fourier founded a Sodality for girls called the "Children of Mary".

In addition, on May 1, 1835, St. Catherine Laboure told her Spiritual Director of a revelation she had received from the Blessed Virgin Mary during a series of apparitions she received in the Convent of the Rue du Bac, Paris, from 1830:

"It is the Blessed Virgin's wish that you should found a Confraternity of the Children of MARY. She will give them many graces. The month of May will be kept with great splendor and MARY will bestow abundant blessings upon them."

These Children of Mary Sodalities first embraced the pupils and orphans of the schools and institutions of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. In 1847, Blessed Pius IX affiliated them to the Jesuit Roman Sodality.

Goals of the Sodality

The Sodality of Our Lady is not a mere pious organization. The first of its rules states that the Sodality:

"is a religious body which aims at fostering in its members and ardent devotion, reverence, and filial love towards the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through this devotion, and with the protection of so good a Mother, it seeks to make the faithful gathered together under her name good Catholics, sincerely bent on sanctifying themselves, each in his state of life, and zealous, as for as their condition in life permits, to save and sanctify their neighbor and to defend the Church of Jesus Christ against the attacks of the wicked."

The Children of Mary at Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel

The Children of Mary at Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel have two separate groups; one for boys and the other for girls. Boys and girls are both encouraged to join! Each group meets separately on a regular basis and performs their own functions.

Please see any of our Dominican Sisters for details on joining.