Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ
Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ
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Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ

The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ (P.H.J.C.) (German: Arme Dienstmägde Jesu Christi) (A.D.J.C.) is a female congregation of the Catholic Church. It originated in Dernbach (Westerwald), Germany, where their international headquarters (generalate) is still located. Their organization for associates (like Fiat Spiritus) is also open to men. Their American Province has its motherhouse in Donaldson, Indiana.

The founder of the Poor Handmaids was Maria Katharina Kasper (also known in English as Catherine Kasper) of Dernbach, Germany. She was beatified by Pope Paul VI on 16 April 1978. Pope Francis confirmed her canonization, which was celebrated on 14 October 2018 in Saint Peter's Square.

The official foundation date of the congregation is 15 August 1851. On this date Katharina Kasper took the vows of celibacy, obedience and poverty before the bishop of Limburg, Peter Joseph Blum. She was accompanied by four other women: Katharina Schoenberger, who took the religious name Theresia; Elisabeth Haas, who took the name Agnes; Anna Maria Mueller, who took the name Elisabeth; and Elisabeth Meuser, who took the name Klara. Since Dernbach did not yet have a church, the ceremony took place in the nearby village of Wirges. (The exact location, if church or vicarage, is a matter of debate between historians.)

The congregation grew rapidly, opening houses throughout Germany, the Netherlands, and England.

The sisters founded eight stations in various towns in the Czech part of the Austro-Hungarian empire:

None of these stations survived.

The sisters established three main stations in England. They were intended as a refuge, in case the Kulturkampf made such steps necessary. All were located in the diocese of Westminster:

The London and Walthamstow stations were destroyed in World War II.

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