- Sisters of Charity of St. Louis
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The Sisters of Charity of St. Louis (Soeurs de la Charité de Saint-Louis) is a Roman Catholic religious congregation. It was founded for the education of poor girls, at Vannes in Brittany, in 1803, by Madame Molé, née de Lamoignan, at the suggestion of Antoine-Xavier Maynaud de Pancemont, Bishop of Vannes.
History
In 1805 Pope Pius VII blessed the undertaking, but the final approbation of Rome was not obtained till 1840. The founder was elected superior for life as Mère St. Louis. There were at first no lay sisters, but finding this plan did not answer, Oblates of St. Louis were selected to act in this capacity; but they were not allowed to take vows until they have been ten years in the community.
Its work was the education of poor girls who lived in orphanages attached to their convents, and to support these orphanages the sisters ran fee-paying schools.
The sisters had twenty houses in France, most of which were in Brittany, but all their schools were closed by the French Government; the greater number of the sisters in consequence went to Canada[1]. In 1898 they went to England, and opened a house at Minehead, in Dorset.
In Ireland the congregation's harsh child management regime was listed in the 2009 Ryan Report, and in November 2009 it subsequently made apology and an offer of €1,000,000 "towards support for former residents who suffered institutional abuse".[2][3]
Notes
- ^ Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- ^ http://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/pub_religious_offers.pdf
- ^ http://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/Pub_Sisters_StLouis_2010.pdf
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). "Sisters of Charity of St. Louis". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. The entry cites-
- Steele, Convents of Great Britain (London, 1902)
Categories:- Roman Catholic female orders and societies
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