Her desire for an indigenous Religious Congregation was fulfilled when four of the young women she taught in St. Joseph’s Convent School, Calabar, Nigeria expressed the desire to become like her, a Sister. On January 15, 1937, these four women :
Lucy William - Sister St. John from Cameroon
Kathleen Bassey - Sister Mary Ignatia from Calabar
Agnes Ugoaru - Sister Mary Aloysia from Umuahia
Christian Waturuocha - Sister Mary Gertrude Nwaturuocha.
Were received as Postulants and she gave the name Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus to her new group.
The congregation was canonically erected on April 1937 by Bishop James Moynagh SPS, the Prefect of Calabar Prefecture while the society of the Holy Child Jesus guided the formation and growth of the young congregation. The first Religious Profession of Vows took place on April 21st, 1940.
The Congregation became autonomous on December 28th 1959 with Mother Mary Gertrude Waturuocha one of the foundation members, the first Superior General of the congregation. A 'Decretum Laudis' (Decree of praise) was give by His Holiness Pope Paul VI, elevating the congregation to a Pontifical Right on February 29th, 1971.
Its international and inter-tribal nature continues as members are drawn from all parts of Nigeria and Ghana, from Cameroon, Togo, Sierra Leone, Kenya and England, Presently the congregation has houses in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Togo, Sierra-Leone, Kenya, Italy, England, Germany, United State of America and Canada.
As a result of its growth in numerical strength and geographic spread, the 7th General Chapter of the Congregation 8 - 26 March 1996 mandated that the Congregation be divided into four Provinces for effective administration and apostolic ministry consequently four provinces were created as follows: three in Nigeria and one in Ghana and these are known as:
1. South Eastern Province
2. Ghana Province
3. Central Eastern Province
4. North Western Province
and in the just concluded 9th General Chapter in March 1 – 16, 2008 Kenya was raised to the status of a Region.
Faithful to Gospel values, the charism of our Foundress and attentive to the signs of the times, we the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus, commit ourselves to the transformation of lives through our prophetic witness of vowed life, community living, participatory leadership and apostolic ministry with a special option for the poor, women and children.
