The French Revolution closed all the schools of the institute and it was not until 1805 a new community of teachers was formed by seven surviving members. Less than twenty-five years after the opening of the motherhouse in Paris, eighty schools for free education and forty boarding schools had been established in France. With the granting of official approval from Rome, the Sisters extended their work to America, England, Spain, Malaysia, Japan and Thailand. The new growth of the Institute was such that, by the mid-19th century, schools were opened in Spain and Asia. '"Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus" (Dames of Saint Maur) were among the pioneer missionaries in British Malaya, Japan and Thailand. In 1887, after over 200 years of service without the taking of religious vows, this congregation of Sisters became a religious institute of pontifical right, able to operate independently worldwide.