Who we Are

We, The Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries, are usually referred to as the Medical Mission Sisters (MMS). Founded in Washington DC in 1925 by Anna Dengel, the Society headquarters were located in Washington DC until the late 1930s, when the sisters were invited to move to Philadelphia. This remains MMS North American headquarters today. Our international headquarters are based in London, UK, where the Society Leadership Team comprises members from different countries. As a Society today, we are a religious congregation of dedicated women and associates in the Catholic Church, who share life and our own unique expertise with women, children and men in five continents of the world. We are committed to promoting health, wellbeing and healing in all aspects of life.

Brief History of the Medical Mission Sisters

Medical Mission Sisters were founded on September 30th 1925 in Washington DC by a young Austrian doctor named Anna Dengel. Working in what was then North India in the early 1920s, Anna witnessed first-hand the complications and deaths of countless Muslim women and babies during childbirth due to customs which prohibited them from receiving certain aspects of medical care from men.

'Making the cause known'

Anna had a vision that a group of women health professionals who dedicated their lives to God could make a difference in helping women access the healthcare they deserved. She saw this not only as a work of charity but also one of justice. She went to the USA in 1924 to begin raising funds and awareness. A year later Dr Joanna Lyons and two nurses, Evelyn Flieger and Marie Ulbrich, joined Anna in Washington DC and the Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries, also known as the Medical Mission Sisters, began.

'A Pious Society'

Initially, Medical Mission Sisters maintained the status of a 'pious society' because Sisters with public vows were not permitted to practise medicine in the early 1900s. However, in response to repeated requests from Dr Dengel and others, Church law was changed. In 1936, Anna and her Sisters were affirmed in their pioneer efforts and were allowed to make public vows for life in the Roman Catholic Church. Sisters were trained and worked as physicians, surgeons and obstetricians. When buildings were needed to offer or expand care or in which to teach nurses, midwives and technologists, they were built, often brick by handmade brick. Where training programmes did not exist, they were created.