Our Story

In 1958, Fr. James Flanagan, inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, founded the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) within the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The greater SOLT family is composed of two societies of apostolic life: the SOLT Sisters and the SOLT Clerical Society, which includes the SOLT Lay Association.  Our headquarters are in Corpus Christi, Texas, and we have missions throughout North and Central America, Asia and Oceania. 

One of the guiding scriptures of Fr. Jim’s life and the community he founded is, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) 

From its inception, the emphasis of this small community has been to be disciples of Jesus through Mary, live a Marian-Trinitarian spirituality, serve on ecclesial family teams with members of the three branches of SOLT- priests and brothers, sisters and laity, in areas of deepest apostolic need.  From its very beginnings, SOLT was missionary in the “Ad Gentes” sense and has tried to respond to the needs of bishops from around the world. There was always a burning desire to go and make disciples and to serve in whatever capacity was most needed.  Very quickly, the community spread from New Mexico to Kansas City, to Belize and Guatemala, then to the Philippines and Thailand, and then to Mexico, Papua New Guinea and Australia with apostolates ranging from rural catechesis and evangelization to serving our migrant brothers and sisters, from teaching in Catholic schools to serving in remote island parishes, from serving inner city parishes to running drug rehabilitation centers.