The Poor Servants of the Mother of God are a religious congregation founded in 1808 by Mother Mary Magdalen (Frances Margaret Taylor

Frances Margaret Taylor

Frances Margaret Taylor, whose religious name was Mother Magdalen of the Sacred Heart was an English nurse, editor and writer, nun, and Superior General and founder of the Roman Catholic religious congregation the Poor Servants of the Mother of God.-Early life:Frances Taylor was born in Stoke...

) in conjunction with Lady Georgiana Fullerton.

Mother M. Magdalen was the daughter of a Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 clergyman. As one of Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...

's band of nurses in the Crimea

Crimea

Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

 she became acquainted with the Catholic Faith as manifested by many of the soldiers, and on her return to England entered the Church.

Her subsequent intimacy with Lady Georgiana Fullerton led to the foundation of a congregation for work among the poor of London, then inadequately served by a single convent. At first an affiliation with the Little Sisters of Mary was considered, but this was found to be impracticable, and the new order was placed under the direction of its own superior general (Mother M. Magdalen).

From the first it was approved and encouraged by Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, its spiritual training being committed to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

, near whose church in Farm St., London, its existence began. Its Constitutions are based on the Rule of St. Augustine

Rule of St. Augustine

The Rule of St. Augustine is a religious rule employed by a large number of orders, including the Dominicans, Servites, Mercederians, and Augustinians.-Overview:...

, and the congregation was approved by Leo XIII in 1885.

The members devote themselves to visiting the poor, teaching in parochial schools, nursing, and conducting institutions of refuge and rescue for women.

To the mother-house in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 are attached two schools and the public church of St. George and the English Martyrs. In this church on Good Friday, 1887, the Three Hours was preached for the first time in English by Father Lucas, S.J. Other houses are in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

.

A black habit is worn, with a blue scapular

Scapular

The term scapular as used today refers to two specific, yet related, Christian Sacramentals, namely the monastic and devotional scapulars, although both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular"....

 and a black veil

Veil

A veil is an article of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, that is intended to cover some part of the head or face.One view is that as a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an object or space...

.

Source

• Kelly, B.M. (1911). Poor Servants of the Mother of God. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.