The Religieuses of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Helmet congregation was founded on 3 June 1856 by Rosalie, Henriette and Mélanie Van Biervliet (the day of their religious profession) in Helmet, Belgium, where the General House is now located. It has several communities in Europe (Belgium), Africa (Congo, Rwanda, Mozambique) and the Americas (Guatemala and Honduras).
Ten children were born into the Van Biervliet family, five of whom died young. The eldest, Louis, survived together with four sisters. Louis became a doctor, while the four sisters decided to open a school, Sainte Marie College, in 1829, to which they devoted themselves by combining their innate talents. Teaching at Sainte Marie was aimed above all at developing sound judgement. Hence their method: “observe-examine-conclude”. The Van Biervliet sisters’ objective was to educate girls in the spirit of family, raise their awareness and make them conscious of the society in which they lived.
Because of their deep faith in the value of consecrated life, and in response to a calling they had received, three of them consecrated themselves to God in religious life and founded the Congregation on 3 June 1856. The other, Virginie, continued to work in the ministry but without being consecrated to religious life.
Today the Congregation has approximately 130 religious sisters. There are several communities in Africa, specifically in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and Mozambique, and they are also present in Belgium, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
Charism
The charism is expressed in this phrase: “Faithfully retrace the hidden and inner life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Nazareth”. Having received the gift of the Spirit, the Van Biervliet sisters, eager to form, accompany and “do good”, devoted themselves to education and teaching, aware that this service would lead every person to fulfilment. Today this charism takes shape in various activities, including teaching, caring for the sick, serving the poorest, commitment within the Church (family pastoral care) and school catechesis. The Congregation lives the spirit of the Van Biervliet sisters as a family: faith, unity, trust, openness, personal and mutual respect, enthusiasm and commitment to work, administrative ability, simplicity and discretion.
The motto that guides the sisters is “non fallit te Deus”.
Contacts
General House – Religieuses de la Sainte Famille d’Helmet Avenue Zenobe Gramme 114 – 1030 Brussels
Tel. 02 216 63 36