Letter from the Cardinal Protector announcing the oral approval in an audience (1879). Source : MM, 1N 1.

In 1878, three women–acting separately– requested to be united with the Congregation through “a special bond.” An association was then created for women wishing to share in the spiritual charism: these were the “Ladies associated with” the Cenacle. The association was approved on September 25, 1878, by Cardinal Guibert, Archbishop of Paris and ecclesiastical superior of the Congregation. He requested, however, that approval be sought from the Church.

The request was presented to Pope Leo XIII during an audience in which the Superior General Mother Marie Aimée Lautier also outlined the Congregation’s plan to establish a house in Rome.

Following this audience, Leo XIII’s response was summarized in a letter from Flavio Chigi, the Institute’s cardinal protector—that is, the prelate charged with representing the Congregation before the Church. He approved and encouraged the aggregation but awaited receipt of the association’s Rules before granting the indulgences that had been requested.

This approval marked a true turning point. A few months later, the General Council noted that the association had gained more members since the papal approval “encouraged us to speak of it” (minutes of November 2, 1879).