The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary are a Congregation of religious brothers and sisters dedicated to a two-fold Crusade: the propagation and defense of Catholic dogma — especially extra ecclesiam nulla salus — and the conversion of America to the one, true Church. Besides the religious members, the Congregation has a Third Order comprised of mostly lay people living in the world.
The religious members live in the priory and convent at Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire.
OUR Crusade was begun by Father Leonard Feeney, who strove to combat the liberalizing of Catholic dogma which he saw as a major impediment to the conversion of America. The choice of the word “Crusade” to describe our mission is no accident. “The life of man upon earth is a warfare” declared Holy Job (Job 7:1). St. Paul admonishes us to arm ourselves with spiritual weapons to fight the enemies of our souls (Eph. 6:11-17). While every Catholic is called upon to fight the world, the flesh, and the devil, our battle also engages them specifically in the forces of the Revolution [1. We use the word “Revolution” as it was employed by the Venerable Emmanuel d’Alzon: a personification of all those elements in this world which oppose the Church, as embodied in the French Revolution. Father d’Alzon’s “Revolution” is virtually synonymous with Father Fahey’s “Organized Naturalism.”] ,many of which have entered the very precincts of the Church.
Our methods are threefold: personal sanctification, education, and works of the apostolate.
For Religious members, personal sanctification comes by way of our prayer life, our Marian Total Consecration, and living the vows and virtues of the religious life. Our Third Order members also live the Marian Total Consecration, and are joined to the congregation by simple promises.
Our educational work takes place in several ways. One is the Saint Augustine Institute of Wisdom, a program of continuing Catholic education which has the goal of forming apostles to work for the conversion of America. Another is the running of primary and secondary schools (such as Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Richmond, New Hampshire). We believe very strongly that one must be a reservoir before he can be an aqueduct. For this reason, we promote continuing study of the Faith as one way to spread it.
As religious, the works of our apostolate include the publishing of books, pamphlets, this website and our Internet radio show, Reconquest. We reach out to the “man on the street” with our publications by distributing them door-to-door in an effort to spread the faith. Another very important aspect of our apostolate is the work of fostering Catholic community life. At Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, our religious brothers and sisters work with Third Order members and other faithful to build and maintain a thriving Catholic culture. The community provides both an atmosphere conducive to wholesome family life and a hub of missionary activity to convert this nation.
We are dedicated not only to the Deposit of Faith in its integrity and to sound Catholic morals, but also to the western liturgical patrimony of the Church as we have it in the traditional Roman Rite Mass (the “Extraordinary Form”) and the other sacramental rites associated with it.
We invite readers to learn more about our founder, our history, our Crusade, and its methods by reading the offerings in this section. The most common questions would be answered by reading these two postings:
On Monday, May 13, Brother Joseph Mary professed his perpetual vows. The following “letter” concerns this wonderful event in our community’s life. The previous day saw nine innocents make their First Holy Communion in our chapel. Please also see the … Continue reading
(This Ad Rem is not authored by me, Brother André Marie, but by Sister Maria Philomena, who has been assigned the gargantuan duty of coordinating the interior design of IHM Chapel. Besides planning with the design and construction professionals, she … Continue reading
Sister Maria Philomena was a contributor to a recently published and now best-selling book, Amazing Grades. Her contribution to the volume is entitled “From Loathing to Loving Literature: Questions to Ask So You Can Master Any Book.” Here is the … Continue reading
The IHM School site has a photo gallery from the March 25 profession of two of our sisters. Please join us in thanking God that Sister Maria Rosaria and Sister Marie Gabrielle took their final vows as Slaves of the … Continue reading
Sister Mary Bernadette Maluf, M.I.C.M. (January 8, 1920 – December 16, 2011), founding member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Prioress of Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire, and educator died on Friday, December 16, at … Continue reading
Although I am a Freemason, I will say one thing for you people, and that is you are not at all hypocritical about our primary goal which you state as being: “We Want To Make America a Catholic Nation.” This is very clear, as are Catholic beliefs and doctrines, which as you know I don’t agree with. However, like it or not, your mission is crystal clear, which is far more than I can ever say for our stupid, arrogant politicians (both Republicans and Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives, Catholics and Protestants etc.) who have no plan or mission, and still continue to bombard us on a daily basis with all of their utterly contradictory hogwash, claptrap, bum wad, and drivel.
The MICM Sisters, who run Immaculate Heart of Mary School have just begun to send out an email newsletter. It is to be a monthly. The first issue of it may be sampled online here. The school also has a … Continue reading
Sister Anne Mary, M.I.C.M., is one of Father Feeney’s original disciples, being the first member of the community to have attended Father’s lectures at the original Saint Benedict Center in Cambridge. She joined the community in 1949, and has been … Continue reading
March 27 and March 30 brought us news of the deaths of two early members of Saint Benedict Center, Abbot Gabriel, O.S.B., and Sister Maria Cordata, M.I.C.M. Coming just before and during Holy Week, when the events of our Lord’s … Continue reading
[Tower of David Ministry] Father Feeney was a priest of the Society of Jesus until, in 1949, he co-founded the religious order, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Mancipia Immaculati Cordis Mariae), whose acronym is MICM. This priest was … Continue reading
We will tell the history of the Center in a question-and-answer format. How did Saint Benedict Center begin? In 1940, a prominent Catholic laywoman, Catherine Goddard Clarke, sought permission of the then Archbishop of Boston, William Cardinal O’Connell, to establish … Continue reading
“Tell me, is Monsignor Hickey still alive?” “Yes, he’s alive,” the visiting priest answered his host as they sat out on the lawn, one summer day in 1970, overlooking the valley vista beyond them. “But he’s very, very sick.”
As we mourn the loss of a great man, our Superior, Brother Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M., we are pledged to promoting his life’s work for the Catholic Faith, sound reason, and holy beauty. This poet, philosopher and Catholic thinker’s work can … Continue reading
It is certainly my pleasure to be a part of this tribute to our wonderful teacher. I’m sure I speak for all in saying that we know the one, true Faith better because of him. And for that we are … Continue reading
The obsequies of our beloved Brother Francis were an appropriate finale to his long and fruitful life in this tearful vale. This Ad Rem is a series of more-or-less random reflections on Brother’s wake and funeral, followed by a photo … Continue reading
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