Mariannhillers

Mariannhillers

Congregatio Missionariorum de Mariannhill
Abbreviation	CMM
Nickname	Mariannhillers
Formation	1909 (1909)
Founder	Franz Pfanner
Founded at	Mariannhill, South Africa
Type	Religious congregation
Locations	Austria, Canada, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States
Origins	Trappists
Membership	337 (2017)

The Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries (Template:Lang-la, abbreviated as CMM), also known as the Mariannhillers, are a religious congregation of the Catholic Church founded by Dom Franz Pfanner. They were originally a monastery of Trappist monks founded in 1882 by Pfanner, but were later branched off as a separate congregation by decree of the Holy See. The name of the congregation comes from Mariannhill, a suburb near Pinetown in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, where the congregation originated.

History

In 1882, Pfanner, then prior of Mariastern Abbey, founded a Trappist monastery in Mariannhill at the invitation of Bishop Jolivet, OMI. It grew rapidly, and by 1885 it was raised to the status of an abbey, with Pfanner elected as its first abbot. It engaged significantly in missionary work, establishing a number of mission stations where priests and brothers taught the natives to read and trained them in trades and skills such as farming. In 1892, Pfanner retired, and was succeeded by two abbots: Dom Amandus Schoelzig who died in 1900; then Abbot Gerard Wolpert who died in 1904.

In 1904, the abbot of Gethsemani Abbey, Edmond Obrecht, was appointed by the Holy See as administrator of Mariannhill. He studied the compatibility between monastic life and missionary work, submitting his report after three years of study. Following his report, the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda directed Bishop William Miller, OMI, the vicar-apostolic of Transvaal, to facilitate the independence of the Mariannhill monks. A general chapter of Mariannhill monks in 1908 under Bishop Miller recommended that the monks be formed into a missionary society loosely-associated with the Trappists.

However, in 1909, the Holy See decreed that the monks of Mariannhill would be completely separate from the Trappist Order, forming the Congregation of the Mariannhill Missionaries. Their new constitutions were approved in 1914, subsequently followed by the first general chapter in 1920, when Adalbero Fleischer was elected as first superior general. As their religious habit, they adopted a black cassock, paired with a red cincture for priests, black cincture for other clerics, and black belt for brothers.

After separation, the Mariannhill Missionaries continued to work in South Africa, but also established presences in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the United States, England, Canada and Spain.

The members of the congregation are exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary of the diocese and take perpetual vows.

From its foundation until 1 January 1910, nearly 20,000 persons, mostly adults, were baptized in the 55 churches and chapels scattered throughout the 26 missions and stations.

External links

• Official website
• Official web site South Africa
• Order of Mariannhill in French
• Official web site United States
• Christian History Institute