The presence of the RM in the United States arrived thanks to the interest of a sister, member of the Secular Order of the Servants of the fraternity of "Salve Regina" in the Parish of St. Philip Benizi in Fullerton, California.
This sister sought for a long time information on consecration in the world, but with a Marian spirituality. Due to this, during an Assembly of the Servite Family in the USA, which took place from April 24 to 26, 2009 in the House of Spirituality of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois, she was able to meet a member of Regnum Mariae who had been invited as keynote speaker during this Assembly. The theme was "Celebrating our past - Creating Our Future." It was a lecture on the origins and spirituality of the Order of Servants of Mary, but also on each of the branches of the Servite Family present all over the world. |
After the meeting, this sister has had the opportunity to ask all the information about the Secular Institute Regnum Mariae. Since then began a steady epistolary communication with two sisters in Italy, and in the words of the same sister "destiny helped me, because that year, for personal reasons, one of them had to pay a visit in June to her niece who was studying and working at the University of Irvine, California. So, I learned that there was another RM sister from the Philippines who was living in Seattle since a couple of years".
The following year was organized a meeting of information-formation with the two sisters coming from Italy, with the RM Filipino sister resident in the US and with the new candidate. Together they lived a spiritual retreat in Orange, California. Since then, each year there is a meeting with the sisters in the United States for formation and vocational promotion of the RM presence in other US states. This, also under request of the friars, the Sisters Servants of Mary of the three congregations in the US, and of the OSSM fraternities. |
In September 2010, an OSM Local Assistant was appointed for Regnum Mariae to accompany these sisters, but two years later this friar was transferred to a community in Colombia. In this way, another servant of Mary, then OSM Secretary General for the Lay Groups, was appointed as Local Assistant.
In 2012, there was the introduction of another young woman who lives in the State of Connecticut to begin the process of discernment of her call. The promotion made especially by the Servite Family in the US has led to the arrival of another young girl living in Florida, who joined us in June 2013. In June 2013, all sisters gathered for the first time in Portland, Oregon, in the Servite Shrine 'The Grotto' to celebrate the first vows of our sister who has promoted the presence of RM in the USA. Today the RM journey in this country has changed. Some have chosen other paths, some have returned to the Father's House, others have already pronounced Perpetual vows, but we continue the journey with hope and always welcoming all those who would like to know more about Regnum Mariae and Secular Institutes placing everything in the hands of the Lord. |