History

The Congregation of the School Sisters of St. Francis of Christ the King, founded in Maribor (Slovenia) September 13, 1869, draws its origins from the Congregation of the School Sisters of St. Francis and its Motherhouse in Graz, Austria (founded by Sr. M. Francesca Lampel) who had this daughter convent at Maribor.

Through the will and responsibility of Sr. Margarita Pucher, this house in Maribor separated from the Motherhouse in Graz and became the Motherhouse of the new Congregation. Sr. Margarita, foundress of the new institute, was named the first Superior General. The objective of the new Institute was the instruction and education of the youth in the Maribor diocese with Christian values as its foundation.

From Slovenia the Congregation quickly spread to other places in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and at the beginning of the 20th century to the United States and Egypt. In 1930 it crossed into the borders of Latin America.

In 1922 the Congregation came under pontifical rights and was divided into provinces. At the beginning of the Second World War, the Motherhouse in Maribor was occupied and the sisters dispersed. At that time the center for the Congregation was transferred to Rome, where it remains today.