We trace our roots back to 1908 in Hungary
Rerum Novarum, the groundbreaking social letter of Pope Leo XIII, was the inspiration for our ministry to the working poor.
Sister Margaret Slachta was a pioneer in the field of social work. She also trained women for political action. In 1920 she was elected the first woman member of the Hungarian Parliament, where she actively promoted workers’ rights, stressing the well-being of women, children and families.
Sister Margaret founded the Sisters of Social Service (SSS) in 1923. The members of the Society made the social mission of the Church the motivating thrust of their lives. They embraced Benedictine spirituality and had a special devotion to the Holy Spirit. The Sisters dedicated themselves to God by vows.
Early years
During the 1920s, the SSS spread from Hungary to neighboring Rumania and Slovakia, as well as to Canada and the United States. The Sisters from the beginning provided charitable services to the poor. They founded and maintained a school to train social workers; organized and led Christian women’s movements; worked on Christian formation; and served on city councils.
During World War II, under the leadership of Sister Margaret, the Sisters made heroic efforts to resist Nazism and to save the lives of about 1,000 persecuted Jews. Sister Sara Salkahazi was martyred for sheltering Jewish people.
After the war, Sister Margaret was again elected to Parliament, and along with Cardinal Mindszenty, was part of the resistance against Communism.
Some Sisters lived and worked in Buffalo, NY, in the 1920’s. In 1926 Sister Frederica Horvath came from Buffalo to Los Angeles and began a ministry that developed into another branch of the Sisters of Social Service—incorporated as the Sisters of Social Service of Los Angeles. See recent history
Religious orders were suppressed in the Communist countries of Eastern Europe in 1950, and the Eastern European Sisters were forced either to live out their call underground or to leave their countries. During four decades of Communism in Eastern Europe, several Sisters spent time in prison because of religious persecution. In spite of the difficulties during the forty years of illegality, God continued to call young women to join the sisters in Eastern Europe. They entered secretly, often without the knowledge of their own families. Because of the oppression, Sisters could not live out their vocation openly, yet they spread the spirit of prayer, spirituality, and love around them by their quiet witness. Whatever secular jobs they had, they worked to alleviate suffering and to build God’s reign.
The courage and faithfulness of the Sisters kept alive the flame of the SSS charism in Eastern Europe and from there it reached to the continental U.S., Puerto Rico, and Cuba.
