Educational Charism

Almighty and eternal God, trusting in your infinite goodness and moved with the desire to serve You, vow and promise… poverty, chastity, and obedience…

And under obedience, I promise to fulfill the mission of evangelization, as an educator, in the Order of the Company of Mary Our Lady….

(Excerpt of the Formula from Vows of the Sisters of the Company of Mary Our Lady)

Education can often be viewed as an exercise of imparting knowledge.  However, throughout these 400-plus years of educating, the Sisters of the Company of Mary interpret their mission as educators in fidelity to the vision of Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac.  From the first moment of establishing the first school for girls in France, she saw the child in the totality of their being, and thus education meant developing all facets of a student's life: spiritual, intellectual, and physical.  Saint Jeanne sought to inculcate a sense of responsibility and critical thinking so as to become agents in the transformation of society through the use of their gifts and acquired skills. 

SAINT JEANNE DE LESTONNAC –  EDUCATOR 

This image expresses the traits of Saint Jeanne’s educational philosophy.    

Two hands intertwined: free and joined together.  

Jeanne’s hand, resting gently on the child's shoulder, is comforting and flexible.  It leaves an open space for the child’s small hand to be entrusted to hers. This image expresses serenity, firmness, and tenderness; seeking and finding; a well-defined personality; and mutual support. 

Each one has her other hand placed over her heart.  Jeanne is firmly embracing the Constitutions of the Order—an educational success and passion, a legacy of the Company of Mary.

The child’s hand affirms her own personality in the mystery of the life offered to her.  

Jeanne and child, side by side; two women, adult and child, emerge from the same block of stone.  The figure of Jeanne is framed in the depth of the space that envelops her.  She is a support on which the child can depend; she is in the background, as is the proper place for an educator who gives enough support to help the child grow in freedom and face the risk of each personal step. 

The child takes a step, firmly, freely, towards the open space; she looks with simple eagerness at the world yet to be discovered.  Two figures intertwined and complementing one another on the journey of life: one journey already begun and one in its early stages, a world in which life experiences have been integrated, and a world yet to be discovered, a personality well-formed and defined, and one in the process of growth.