From the beginning, among the Missionary Sisters there were women drawn to active missionary service and others who desired to support the mission through a cloistered, contemplative life. Both expressions initially existed side by side, allowing each to perceive the indispensable value of the other: the need for active apostolic work and the even greater need for sustained prayer. St. Arnold selected those he believed suited for the contemplative branch, two professed Sisters (one being Mother Mary Michael), four novices nearing profession, and one new novice.

On December 8, 1896, the first cloistered Sisters were solemnly invested. Their initial home was a section of the Mission Sisters’ Sacred Heart Convent, where they prayed the Office of the Holy Spirit and kept adoration before the closed tabernacle. Through the dedicated efforts of Mother Mary Michael, they received their own Motherhouse, Holy Spirit Convent—by 1914, along with permission for Perpetual Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Mary Michael also played a key role in introducing the canonical Divine Office (the Liturgy of the Hours) into the community in 1922.

A loyal and wise collaborator of St. Arnold, Mother Mary Michael acted with personal integrity while always seeking what she lovingly called “the blessing of holy obedience.” One of the founding Sisters later reflected: “There was something particularly beautiful about the spirit given to us by the venerable Founder and Mother Mary Michael. Everything was simple, marked by fidelity, conscientiousness, humility, and sacrifice.”

By the time of St. Arnold’s death in 1909, the cloistered community had grown to 36 Sisters. In 1915, Mother Mary Michael established the first daughterhouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over the course of her life, she founded eight more convents, including one in Tsingtao, China, which later had to close due to political upheaval after the Communist takeover.