Mother Marie Louise De Meester

Marie Louise De Meester or Mother Marie Louise De Meester (born April 8, 1857 in Roeselare, Belgium - died October 10, 1928 in Heverlee) founded the Religious - Missionary Sisters of the Immaculati Cordis Mariae or the Immaculate Heart of Mary (ICM), formerly known as the Missionary Canonesses of St. Augustine, in Mulagumudu, India in 1897.

As a teenager, de Meester studied to become a teacher and proved to be a competent and kind teacher who was admired and respected by her students. She then decided to leave the school where she taught to be able to serve the poor. On May 4, 1881, she joined the Canonesses-Regular of St. Augustine in Ypres (now known by its Flemish name of Ieper), Belgium in the medieval abbey of Notre Dame de la Nouvelle Plante to fulfill her missionary dreams.

After establishing missions in India, Philippines, China, the United States, Belgian Congo and other parts of the world, de Meester returned to Belgium in 1923 and in October 1928 died peacefully in Heverlee at the age of 71.

In 1963, her congregation associated itself with the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae (CICM) for mutual help in spiritual matters as well as in missionary activities.

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