Asilo de San Vicente de Paul is an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or a ...

located on UN Avenue in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

, Philippines. It is run by the

Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul ( la, Societas Filiarum Caritatis a Sancto Vincentio de Paulo), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul, is a Society of Apostoli ...

History

Asilo de San Vicente de Paul (ASVP), formerly known as Casa de San Vicente de Paul, was founded on 26 July 1885 by Sister Asunción Ventura, DC, a native of

Bacolor, Pampanga Bacolor, officially the Municipality of Bacolor ( pam, Balen ning Bakúlud; tgl, Bayan ng Bacolor), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,066 people. Bacolor ...

. She donated an inheritance from her family to the Daughters of Charity and purchased a lot of six hectares of land for a building where she established the asylum for girls, making her the first Filipina to build an orphanage in the country. Asilo de San Vicente de Paul 6

ASVP began with 33 wards, specifically homeless or orphaned girls. Later on, it expanded its services into providing education and trade training to young girls, particularly in

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

and needlework, which has become a distinction of the institution. The Spanish government provided a monthly supply of 20

cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

s of rice to the orphanage, which was later continued by the Americans until government aid to charitable institutions was ceased due to the prohibition under the Jones Law. Over time, ASVP has sold portions of land until today it retains two hectares for the institution. In the early days, affluent families visited ASVP to purchase the embroidered products of the girls. Others came to the institution to select wives for their sons among the older residents. The mother of former

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictator ...

, Remedios Trinidad, was a ward of the ASVP, also known then as ''Looban Convent''. The mother of Orestes Romuáldez, Imelda’s father, found Trinidad and introduced the couple. In 1935, the ASVP was given a marker by the Historical Research and Markers Committee. During World War II, Manila was bombed by the

Imperial Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitutio ...

, and in the conflagration the main buildings of the ASVP were burnt, causing some 200 fatalities. The structure was rebuilt in February 1945 following the city’s liberation. One of the benefactors of ASVP in its rebuilding was Don Teodoro V. Santos (1915-1983), a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. For a time, ASVP also operated as an educational institution but the school was gradually closed between 1982 and 1999 and the ASVP refocused on its role towards childcare services. It was also the temporary home of another institution, Tahanan Santa Luisa from 2000 to 2002.

References

External links

Official Website of Asilo de San Vicente de Paul Manila
{{Authority control Orphanages in the Philippines Health in Metro Manila Buildings and structures in Paco, Manila Spanish colonial infrastructure in the Philippines 1885 establishments in the Philippines

History

See also

References

External links