The Institute of Bethlemite Sisters, Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Pontifical Congregation founded in Guatemala, Central America in 1658 by Holy Brother Pedro de San Jose Betancur, a native of Tenerife, Canary Islands. In 1668 the female branch of the Institute was started and the Sisters dedicated themselves to the convalescent and the sick.In 1855 Blessed Maria Encarnacion Rosal undertook the strengthening of the Institute and gave emphassis to the field of education.
The Bethlemite Sisters are working in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The sisters dedicate themselves totally to carrying out the works of charity and mercy, serving the needy brothers and sisters in the fields of education, health, social and parochial work, through elementary and high schools, homes for the aged, orphanages, health care centres and residential homes for university students.
The Bethlemite Sisters established their mission in India on the 20th February 1980. At present the sisters are doing their apostolic mission in the Dioceses of Nellore, Kumbakonam, Chingleput, and the Archdioceses of Pondicherry, Madras-Mylapore, Hyderabad and Bangalore. |