Our History

3-photos_our-historyLeft, Sisters Kostka, Simplicia, Sixta and Ursina in a classroom in Glandorf, Ohio, 1902; middle, Sister Susanna Laux sewing a vestment; right, Sister Mary John Brandewie visits children in southern Chile in the 1960s. Archive photos

Doing God’s Work for more than 175 years

Established in mid-19th century Switzerland by a small group of women who were inspirited by the devotion of Maria Anna Brunner, our congregation is now based in Dayton, Ohio. We currently have sisters serving in several states in the United States and in Chile, and Guatemala.

  • 1834 – community was established in Loewenberg Castle in Switzerland when several women joined Maria Anna Brunner for prayer and service
  • 1836 – Mother Brunner died
  • 1844 – Three Sisters of the Precious Blood came to the United States, along with Father Francis de Sales Brunner, the son of Maria Anna Brunner, to minister to the German immigrants in Ohio
  • Ten foundations of Sisters, Brothers and Priests were established in western Ohio and in nearby Jay County, Indiana
  • Besides providing food and clothing for themselves and the other missionaries, they opened schools, orphanages, and took care of the sick
  • 1846 – first motherhouse of the Sisters of the Precious Blood was established in Maria Stein, Ohio. Today this site continues as a center of prayer, Eucharistic adoration, and houses the Shrine of the Holy Relics
  • As membership increased new ministries sprung up from the needs of the time including religious instruction, domestic work in seminaries and Bishops’ residences, ministry among Native Americans, and care for the sick and elderly
    • From northern and west Central Ohio the Sisters responded to far-flung calls to serve:
      • 1903 – Sisters responded to a call to minister in Arizona
      • 1913 – Sisters responded to the invitation to open a school at San Luis Rey Mission in California
      • 1923 – the motherhouse was moved from Maria Stein to Dayton, Ohio
      • 1958 – five Sisters of the Precious Blood, in response to the invitation of Pope Pius XII who asked religious communities to send members to the church in Latin America, set sail for Chile.
      • 1980’s – Sisters ventured to Guatemala where they currently work with indigenous girls and young women
  • As the community grew and spread, the Sisters eventually served God’s people in states from east to west and north to south: Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Colorado, Arizona, California, Louisiana, and Ohio
  • Today our sisters live in California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Chile, and Guatemala

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