A Quick Look at the Founding History
Sisters of the Precious Blood
Dayton, OH
Doing God’s Work for more than 175 years
The Sisters of the Precious Blood were founded in 1834 at Switzerland’s Löwenberg Castle by Maria Anna Brunner. In 1844, at the request of her son, Fr. Francis de Sales Brunner, a Missionary of the Precious Blood, the community expanded its mission to Ohio, providing education and pastoral care to German Catholic immigrants and dedicated to prayer and service. The first Sisters settled in Peru, Ohio, before establishing their motherhouse in New Riegel. The first three Sisters who came to the U.S. were Mother Mary Ann Albrecht, Sister Rosalie Albrecht, and Sister Martina Disch. They arrived in Peru, Ohio, and, after several months, moved to New Riegel, Ohio, where they officially settled.
The sisters became essential to frontier Catholic life by opening parish schools and teaching religious and basic academic subjects. They played a major role in building the Catholic school system in the Midwest. They cared for orphans, the sick, and the elderly, and provided services in rural areas where little help existed.
Mother Maria Anna Brunner
The Sisters of the Precious Blood of Dayton, Ohio, owe their spiritual roots to Mother Maria Anna Brunner, a spiritual daughter of St. Gaspar del Bufalo, the founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Mother Brunner died two years after the congregation was established and before the mission in the U.S.
The First Motherhouse in Maria Stein, Ohio
The first permanent settlement in America was established at New Riegel, Ohio, where, on Christmas Eve, 1844, six Sisters of the Precious Blood began their nightly vigils adoring the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar in the wilderness of America.
In 1846, the sisters established their motherhouse in Maria Stein, Ohio. It became the spiritual and administrative center of the congregation, a training place for new sisters, and a base for expanding ministries. The name “Maria Stein” (“Mary’s Rock”) reflects strong Marian devotion. In 1923, the motherhouse was moved from Maria Stein to Dayton, Ohio. Today, the Maria Stein site continues as a pilgrimage and spiritual center of prayer and Eucharistic adoration and houses one of the largest collections of relics in the U.S., the Shrine of the Holy Relics.
The Congregation Grows
As the number of sisters increased, new ministries sprang up in response to the needs of the time, including religious instruction, domestic work in seminaries and Bishops’ residences, and ministry among Native Americans. From northern and west Central Ohio, the sisters responded to calls to minister in Arizona and to open a school at San Luis Rey Mission in California. In 1958, four sisters set sail for Chile in response to Pope Pius XII’s request for religious communities to send members to the church in Latin America. In the 1980s, sisters ventured to Guatemala to work with indigenous girls and young women.
Ten foundations of sisters, brothers, and priests were established in western Ohio and in nearby Jay County, Indiana, including a major center in Dayton. Over time, their work expanded into hospitals and social services. They eventually began serving in states throughout the U.S., including Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Colorado, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Ohio, and in Washington, D.C. Today, sisters live in California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Chile, and Guatemala.
The Sisters of the Precious Blood helped build Catholic infrastructure in the American Midwest, playing a key role in educating immigrant communities and establishing a lasting religious and cultural presence in Ohio. The congregation is known for combining contemplative prayer and active ministry, emphasizing unity, reconciliation, service, and the redeeming power of Christ’s Blood.