The Religious of Jesus and Mary is an international congregation of Catholic sisters who have shared the Church’s mission in the United States since 1877.

Committed to the apostolic call and style of St. Claudine Thévenet, who founded the Congregation in 1818, we serve in various educational, pastoral, social and spiritual ministries, through which we make known God’s goodness and forgiving love, as revealed in the hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Our Foundress

This courageous woman was born in Lyon, France, the second of seven children of a silk-merchant, whose family nickname was “Glady.”  In 1789, the French Revolution brought chaos into her life and her world. Lyon was placed under siege, and many of its citizens, including two of Claudine’s brothers, joined the anti-revolutionary resistance movement. They were captured and imprisoned, and sentenced to death by firing squad in January of 1794.   

Our History

We RJM in the United States now form one province, but once we were three provinces. We are a tapestry woven of many cultures, a province with origins in Europe, French Canada and Mexico.  The American experience of Religious of Jesus and Mary mirrors this nation’s evolution within a multi-cultural and heterogeneous population. 

Our Sisters

Since 1877, the RJM in the United States – and since 1997 in Haiti – have engaged in a wide variety of ministries in many locations seeking to make Jesus and Mary known by serving God’s people, especially youth and the poor and vulnerable. Today, our sisters and companions in mission continue the legacy started by St. Claudine Thévenet impelled by the experience of the merciful goodness of God to seek forgiveness and reconciliation while working for justice, peace, and the integrity of creation. The Religious of Jesus and Mary create spaces to experience Jesus and Mary, build healthy and just relationships, risk going to the peripheries, and go beyond our own boundaries.

Our Mission

The Experience of the Merciful Goodness of God impels us to live forgiveness and reconciliation and to work with passion for justice, peace, and integrity of creation. The Religious of Jesus and Mary have expressed this mission communally as a congregation and province and we seek to make Jesus and Mary known wherever we and our companions in mission live and serve through this commitment.