With the exponential growth of the number of sisters, the congregation expanded and accepted offers from other Catholic schools starting from Angelicum School, Quezon City [1976-1992] to teach Religion classes from Nursery to Grade 6 pupils and some classes in High School.

In the Diocese of Legazpi, Albay when the Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing left or relinquished Saint Benedict’s Academy in 1977, Fr. Lucilo B. Quiambao then parish priest of Our Lady of Assumption Parish, Guinobatan [now, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Legazpi, Albay] was appointed the School Director by His Excellency, Most Rev. Teotimo C. Pacis, C.M., Bishop of Legazpi, D.D. Since parish work and school supervision were too heavy for him, he offered the DDIM sisters the administration of St. Benedict’s Academy.

On May 31, 1978, the feast day of Visitation of Mary, before the opening of the school year 1978-1979, four pioneering sisters were assigned to teach Religion classes while Fr. Quiambao remained as School Director. They took over the administration of the school at the onset of the school year 1979-1980. Since 1978 up to this time, DDIM has actively engaged in preaching through Education & Catechesis along with other advocacies.

In 1980, Mrs. Preciosa R. Pimentel, the School Principal of Maryknoll Child Study Center, Quezon City [now Miriam College], offered the direction and coordination of its Religion program. It lasted until 1989.

With the increasing number of teaching and studying sisters in Manila, there was a need to have a bigger dwelling place to accommodate them. With God’s providence, an empty house owned by a generous benefactor, became available. In 1981, the sisters transferred from Tandang Sora to Masikap Street, Diliman, Quezon City. The convent [house] was very accessible to Sisters’ spiritual and temporal needs especially for the apostolate of teaching at Angelicum School, Quezon City and the studying sisters at Pontifical & Royal University of Santo Thomas, Manila. It also became the temporary formation house for candidates in initial formation up to 1987.

In 1982, the sisters’ educational apostolate and presence in Manaoag, Pangasinan had an unexpected development. After a tough decision was made, they left at the end of the school year. Difficult it may seem to be, yet, it was accepted as part of God’s plan in the making and in preparation for them to embark onto the frontiers. This came into reality when Rev. Msgr. Charles Moss from Pennsylvania, USA visited the Legion of Mary in the Philippines. During that year, he was also diligently searching for religious sisters who can administer Immaculate Conception School [ICS] in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, USA of the Diocese of Allentown. Msgr. Moss was the Parish Priest of St. Roch’s Church, Bangor, Pennsylvania, one of the three parishes subsidizing ICS. 

Having encounter Rev. Fr. Ramon C. Salinas, O.P., then President of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines [CEAP], the DDIM was recommended to him. In 1983, after a year of feasibility study and discernment, the Congregation responded to this appeal in undertaking the challenge of missionary apostolate in a foreign country with special consideration because the school was named after Mary’s Immaculate Conception, which has been very dear to the sisters being their patroness and significantly founded in 1954 during the Marian Year.  

Six pioneering sisters were assigned to venture on the foreign missionary apostolate for the first time. Departing on June 30, 1983, they were warmly welcomed by the parishioners on July 1. The missionary teaching journey has not been easy, yet, with God’s grace, the sisters’ faith and trust in Him combined with endurance and dependence upon the powerful intercession of Mary, has helped them persevere to bear the sacrifices and difficulties in a place with different culture for the sake of doing God’s mission even to this day. 

In addition to ICS, other school offers from neighboring towns of the diocese were tried such as Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Bethlehem [1986-1988], Pius X High School [1989-1991] and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Roseto [1997-2000].

When God closes the door of the apostolate, He opens a window for another or a better one. At the creation of Cardinals at the consistory in 1991 by Pope St. John Paul II in the Eternal City of Rome which included, His Excellency, Most Rev. Jose Thomas Sanchez, D.D., a Filipino Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the DDIM sisters found their way to Rome and served in his household at the Vatican. While the sisters were busy in the morning, they had the opportunity to study spirituality courses in the evening at the Dominican Pontifical University of St. Thomas [Angelicum] 

In the Philippines within the same year of 1991, the DDIM had engaged in pastoral ministry at Santa Monica Parish, Sarrat, the northern part of the country. His Excellency, Most Rev. Edmundo Abaya, D.D. accepted the sisters in the Diocese of Laoag. Fr. Jacinto A. Jose, the Parish Priest of the said church [now, Bishop of Urdaneta] involved them in the supervision & catechesis of Catechists and the pupils in all the public schools and some High School students of the Parish which was strongly supported by the Supervisor of the Department of Education. The apostolate lasted until 2009.

In the year of 1993, His Excellency, Most Rev. Felix S. Zafra, Bishop of Tagbilaran Diocese of Bohol favored the Dominican presence at the Holy Cross Parish, Maribojoc where the famous diocesan shrine of St. Vincent Ferrer [Dominican saint] can be found. The congregation established Immaculate Mother School, the only Catholic Pre-school for Nursery, Kindergarten & Preparatory Pupils in the area that was approved by the Department of Education.

The service of the sisters with His Eminence, Jose Cardinal Sanchez in Rome paved the way for him to fully support the congregation in spiritual and temporal matters. He was instrumental to find a donor of the lot for the needed Novitiate Formation House that would be separated from the Motherhouse located amidst the populous and busy Quezon City. In 2002 Engr. Felipe & Mrs. Angelita Cruz & Family generously donated 6,000 sq.meter lot in Angat, Bulacan for the Novitiate House with Sacred Garden which enabled the DDIM sisters to be in Sta. Monica Parish, Angat under the pastoral care of Fr. Domingo Salonga. Angat town belongs to Malolos Diocese with the Most. Rev. Rolando Octavus, T. Tirona, OCD, D.D., as the bishop. 

Donations in cash and in kind poured in abundance for the completion of its construction and Cardinal Sanchez blessed the Immaculate Mother Novitiate House on October 23, 2004. It was a great joy for him and the supportive benefactors to be of help in fulfilling the Congregation’s urgent need to accommodate and form more candidates for the mission. For his retirement he went back to the Philippines in 2010 and stayed at the DDIM residence, Quezon City until his demise on March 9, 2012.

As the sisters’ service at the Vatican was ended, they ventured to find ways to have an apostolate in Italy. Through the help of the sisters from the Congregation of Bl. Imelda, Casa Dei Bambini Parrochia Sacra Famiglia, Diocese of Ferrara- Comacchio,Italy was offered in 2011. The sisters have been caring for the preschoolers and teaching basic English and have been rendering pastoral services in the parish.

The Boholano families in Maribojoc enjoyed and valued the school apostolate of the sisters. In 2010, Fr. Marcelino Biliran, former parish priest of Holy Cross Parish, Maribojoc, was inspired to offer them to be in the town of Bilar where he was the parish priest of St. Isidore the Worker. He knew the Jamisola Family, who was very supportive of the parish, could donate a lot for educational purpose. Thus, it gave birth to Immaculate Mother School of Bilar in 2011.

The passing away of Jose Cardinal Sanchez, D.D. in 2012 gave birth to the offer of Apostolic Nunciature of Budapest, Hungary for the sisters to continue the service connected with the Vatican. The congregation sent two sisters to take care of the household of the Nunciature with His Excellency, Most Rev. Alberto Bottari, D.D. [2012-2016] and His Excellency, Most Rev. Michael Blume, D.D. [2016-2021] as Nuncios. At the height of the pandemic COVID-19 and the difficulty of sending sisters due to the missionary needs in the Philippines, the service with the Nunciature was terminated. 

At the occurrence of a deadly earthquake on October 15, 2013 in Bohol, the Holy Cross Church, Maribojoc was one of the heavily damaged churches in the island making Immaculate Mother School, Maribojoc as the temporary venue to shelter the miraculous statue of St. Vincent Ferrer, for church functions & priests’ rectory. Eventually the congregation generously gave the pre-school in 2014 to give way to a more urgent need of the parish. The sisters moved to Bilar where the Immaculate Mother School of Bilar had started its operation for pre-school. Primary and Intermediate grades were added gradually and approved by the Department of Education. Junior and Senior High School levels followed shortly.

His Excellency, Most Rev. Jacinto A. Jose, D.D., Bishop of Urdaneta, urgently needed more Religious Sisters in his diocese to administer school or teach Christian Living Education [CLE]. He offered Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Umingan, Pangasinan to the DDIM. For the School Year 2014-2015, three sisters started teaching all the CLE classes from Kindergarten to High School. The sisters’ administration of the school took over the next two years only. Due to economic concerns of the school along with the priority need of the congregation’s own schools, two sisters have been retained since then.

Having reached the milestone of 50 years on December 8,2022, DDIM continues to be grateful to God with the abundant blessings received in myriad ways and forms, both spiritual and temporal, it had established its own two schools named after the Immaculate Mother namely: Immaculate Mother School QC, Inc. [1987] and Immaculate Mother School of Bilar, Inc. [2011]. God’s providential care enable the sisters to sustain its educational apostolate through the generous benefactors inspired by God’s grace as His instruments to donate the lots for the noble cause of evangelization. The Congregation waits for the establishment of another school in God’s own time in a donated lot in Brgy. Macabog of the Province of Sorsogon.

Responding to the challenge of the powerful words of Pope Francis “to go to the peripheries, … geographically and the existential peripheries…” [The Joy of the Gospel], the congregation has expanded its mission in the Diocese of Virac, Catanduanes in August 2023 for catechetical supervision and campus ministry in the town of Payo, the northern part of the diocese. The Decree of Establishment of St. Margaret of Hungary Convent was issued and signed on January 18, 2024, the Feast day of this Dominican saint within the solemn Mass ceremony presided by His Excellency, Most Rev. Manolo delos Santos, D.D. in the presence of some of the clergy, religious Sisters and parishioners.