Father Chaminade's extensive development of the doctrine of Mary's Spiritual Maternity resulted in the foundation of two religious families to assist Mary in her Apostolic Mission in modern times, which means bringing divine life to all her children, a particular aspect of her Spiritual Maternity. It was the conviction of her Apostolic Mission that inspired these foundations.

Father Emil Neubert explains further:
Father Chaminade did not begin with thinking about a new apostolic society that he would place under the auspices of Mary. Rather, the very idea of Mary's Apostolic Mission gave birth in him to the idea of a new religious family totally dedicated to her as her ministers for the accomplishment of this mission. At the feet of Our Lady of the Pillar he meditated long hours on Mary's Mission. There he understood that her mission is a predominantly apostolic one. God had given him the conviction that this mission was to be especially manifest in modern times.

Father Chaminade made the Marianist profession of vows a total consecration to Mary; that is, a total commitment to God according to her example to reinforce the grace of Baptism. The originality of his concept is that the consecration to Mary is not added to the religious profession, but the profession itself is a consecration to her. The two are identical.

For him, "The religious state is only a more perfect manner of fulfilling the scope of one's consecration to Mary."

To make this perfectly clear he joined to the three regular vows of religion a vow of stabilty, which has the special Marian sense of "perseverance in her service." "This vow is in reality a consecration to the Blessed Virgin."