Foundation The congregation was founded by
Théophile Verbist, who was a
diocesan priest in the
Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels in the mid-19th century. He served as chaplain to the military academy in Brussels and at the same time as a national director of the
Pontifical Association of the Holy Childhood. He would lead a group of other Belgian diocesan priests, who became deeply concerned with the abandoned children in China and with the millions in China which, at the time, suffered from widespread poverty. The congregation is named after a religious Marian devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary and has sought to expand its missionary work in various countries abroad.
World War II During
World War II, Father
Jozef Raskin, who was a missionary to
Inner Mongolia from 1920 to 1934, was made a
chaplain in the Belgian army and was a personal advisor to
King Leopold III. While he was operating under the code name Leopold Vindictive 200 for the
Dutch resistance in 1942, he was captured by the
Gestapo and sentenced to death by
beheading on 18 October 1943.
Later years , Brussels The congregation would grow in the following years, eventually growing to have a worldwide presence. Originally a Belgian Foundation, CICM has grown into an international religious missionary congregation of men from different races, colors and nationalities. In connection with their missions, the Fathers opened a number of institutions, such the hospital at St-Trudon, Upper Kassai, for those afflicted with sleeping sickness. Today, 780 CICM priests and
lay brothers are present in Asian countries (e.g. Mongolia, Indonesia, and Japan), Africa, the Americas, and in Europe. == Historical table ==