Congregation of the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception

Purpose of the association. — All Christians are, by adoption, children of Mary; but not all bear this title worthily, and not all will share in her ineffable privileges. The purpose of the association is to awaken the Christian sap in the souls of the youth of the female sex, and to give, through them, flowers of innocence to Christianity, flowers of charity to the world, and angels to heaven. Now, as the most perfect model of Christian virtues is the most holy and immaculate heart of Mary, it is to the imitation of this perfect model that anyone who aspires to the title of child of Mary in the ranks of her Immaculate Conception seriously commits themselves. The Congregation therefore rejects, by its very nature, anyone who does not feel the generous sentiment of working for their salvation and practicing, with edification, the whole of the Christian life. To aspire to the honor of being a congregant, one must therefore have more than the ordinary life of people in the world; one must have an exemplary life, the ardent and sustained desire to work toward one's perfection.

Favors granted to the members of the association. — The favors reserved for the children of Mary in the association are of two kinds: 1° The spiritual favors are a considerable number of indulgences, plenary for the most part, to be gained during life, and specifically fixed to the feasts of the most holy Virgin; a plenary indulgence at the hour of death; a multitude of partial indulgences each time an associate fulfills one of the practices of the Rule; personal participation in all the good works, communions, alms, acts of charity, and all possible merits on the part of the other associates; but, above all, the assurance that Mary, the best of mothers, watches, with a more tender affection, over those who call themselves her children;

2nd, the second-order favors, to which the title of Child of Mary gives the right, are: 1st The right to wear the white costume, the sky-blue cord, the ribbon, and the medal on the chest, on days of feasts, processions, or solemn convocations; 2nd the right to extract from the world, which sees a young girl pass before its eyes in virginal livery, the most flattering and enviable praise: 'Therefore she is pure, therefore she is wise!'; 3rd the right to be visited, in case of illness, by devoted companions, and to be assisted, in case of need, by the small resources of the Congregation; 4th the right to the attendance of the entire Congregation on the day of the funeral of one of its members, and to a very special pomp in her favor; 5th the right to the oblation of the holy sacrifice of the Mass in the name of the Congregation, on the very day of the death of a congregation member, or the first free day after her passing; 6th the right to have one's share in a solemn service which will be celebrated for all congregation members who died during the course of the year.

We have supplemented the account of Father Gtry with the work entitled: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Considered as a Dogma of Faith, by Bishop J.-B. M alou, Bishop of Br uges; and the Manual of the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception, by a parish priest of the Diocese of Valence.