A few words

About Us

History

Our history began at the foot of the Altar of the Eucharist, setting us forth on a mission to help people know and love Christ.

The Missionary Servants of the Blessed Sacrament is an international religious congregation of pontifical right. It was founded on May 31, 1923, in Venice, Italy, by Mother Caterina Zecchini. The Congregation was born of her deep desire to address the needs of the Universal Mission by providing material, moral, and spiritual support to the mission and the missionaries. Strengthened by the Eucharist, she aimed to fulfill what she believed to be God’s plan by establishing a Congregation dedicated to supporting missions and fostering mission awareness and cooperation among the people of God.

With God’s providence, the Congregation expanded to other countries, starting with Colombia and later reaching the Philippines. The first community in the Philippines was established in 1992 with the arrival of two Italian MSBS missionaries, Sr. Rosa Viscovich and Sr. Rosanna Favero. Their dedication and hard work led to abundant apostolic fruits and an increase in vocations. Over time, young women from the Philippines and other Asian countries joined the Congregation. The pioneer groups from Myanmar came in 2004, from Indonesia in 2005, and from Vietnam in 2008.

On January 6, 2012, twenty years after the first MSBS missionaries arrived in the Philippines, the Asian Delegation was established under the patronage of St. Francis Xavier, who is also the patron of missions. The St. Francis Xavier Delegation now consists of five communities and two mission houses: four communities in the Philippines, one community in Myanmar, one mission house in Indonesia, and one mission house in Vietnam.

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the Foundress

“I would like to be a missionary and to go from one part of the world to the other to continuously preach, until there is a soul to be saved, a heart to fall in love with you.”

~ Mo. Caterina Zecchini (Journal, Sept. 16, 1909)

SPECIFIC IDENTITY

Our Institute is a religious Congregation of Pontifical Right, established to collaborate in Christ’s work of salvation. We live a fraternal life in common, following the poor, chaste, and obedient Christ.

Contemplative in action, our missionary outreach is enlivened by the Eucharist, the source and summit of evangelization, in the missionary attitude of Mary, servant of the Lord. The encounter with Jesus in the gift of the charism and spirituality, transmitted to us by Mo. Caterina makes us missionary disciples. We live our lives in the Spirit in different contexts and on three continents.

Living the “yes” of Mary, the Handmaid of the Lord

“… Desiring to respond in a wholly special way to the voice of Jesus and to see fulfilled the desire of the Church that she be made one fold under one shepherd, we gathered together to consecrate our lives as Servants of the Missions.” (Short Rule, 1923)

For us, being Servants means, first and foremost, a missionary service in the style of Fiat: a spirit of giving and adaptation, joy and simplicity, and humility. Mary is, in fact, a model of apostolic and missionary love for universal, borderless motherhood: conceiving and carrying Jesus within herself to give Him “with an apostolic ardor to souls” (Mo. Caterina).

Sharing the lives of Missionaries

We want to live our lives in an attitude of sharing with missionaries “ad gentes.” Courage, sacrifice, and apostolic dedication are the virtues we are called to live out in our service to the mission, offering joys, sufferings, detachments, and hardships in union with the missionaries.

Animated by the Eucharist

Our love for the mission springs forth and receives impetus from the Eucharist, the source and summit of all evangelization. The Eucharistic spirit animates and enlivens our entire spiritual and apostolic life.

From the contemplation of the Eucharistic mystery, in which, in addition to Christ, we experience communion with the Father in the Spirit, we draw strength to witness the Lord’s presence among people so that all may participate in the banquet of the Kingdom.