The Order of Our Lady of Charity (also known as Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

monastic order Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important ro ...

, founded in 1641 by

John Eudes John Eudes, CIM (french: link=no, Jean Eudes; 14 November 1601 – 19 August 1680) was a French Roman Catholic priest and the founder of both the Order of Our Lady of Charity in 1641 and Congregation of Jesus and Mary, also known as The Eudi ...

, at

History

Moved by pity for prostitutes, the priest

at first attempted to house them under the care of good and pious women. One of these women, Madeleine Lamy persuaded Eudes that more was needed. Three Visitation

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s came to his aid temporarily, and, in 1641, a house was opened at Caen under the title of Refuge of Our Lady of Charity.Ory, Joseph Mary. ''The Origin of the Order of Our Lady of Charity'', Le Couteulx Leader Press, Buffalo, New York, 1918
/ref> Other ladies joined them, and, in 1651, the

Bishop of Bayeux The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baiocensis et Lexoviensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Calvados and i ...

gave the institute his approbation. In 1664 a Bull of approbation was obtained from

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

. That same year a house was opened at

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...

, and the institute began to spread. When the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

broke out there were seven communities of the order in France.Steele, Francesca. "Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 12 Jun. 2013
/ref> Notredamedecharite

All the houses of this order are independent of each other, and each has its own novitiate, but the mother-house is still at

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s wear a white habit and a large silver cross on the breast. To the three ordinary religious vows they add a fourth, viz., to devote themselves to the reformation of the fallen. The novitiate lasts two years. On 8 July 1855, Mother Mary of St. Jerome Tourneux of Rennes, France, established the first Foundation in North America in Buffalo, New York, and thus began the spread of the Mission of Our Lady of Charity in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In France they had seventeen houses: one each at Caen, Saint-Brieuc, Rennes,

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, Valence,

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, ...

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

Valognes Valognes () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. Geography Valognes is situated in the Cotentin Peninsula, southeast of Cherbourg. Valognes station has rail connections to Caen, Paris and Cherbourg. Histo ...

, and two at

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

; in Italy, one at Loreto; and in Spain, one at

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

; and in Austria. The sisters came to England in 1863, building a large purpose built convent at

Bartestree Bartestree is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, east of Hereford on the A438 road. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 330. History The name is thought to be derived from the Old English Beorhtwald's ...

near

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...

and by 1910 also had houses at

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a market town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town has a population of about 64,350 and is surrounded by Purbrook, Blendwort ...

near

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, and

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connect ...

. By 1960 about 1,500 sisters served in forty-four communities of Our Lady of Charity in ten countries.

Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd

John Eudes had established his houses as separate and autonomous. Mary of Saint Euphrasia was the superior of the house in Tours. The city of Angers asked that Mary Euphrasia establish a Convent of Refuge there. She established a house in an old factory and called it "Bon Pasteur" (Good Shepherd). In 1831 she was appointed as Mother Superior of the House in Angers. However, neither the house in Tours, nor the one in Nantes was interested in expanding to Angers. Believing that the work would proceed more efficiently under a central administration, in April 1835, she obtained approval from

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He ...

for the Mother-House at Angers as the home of a separate institute known as Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd.

Apostolate

Their primary apostolate is to work with "women in need." Ministries include: counseling, serving in parishes, counseling troubled teenage girls, day care for children and adults, rehabilitation and nursing care for the ill and elderly, people with AIDS, teaching in schools and religious education programs.

Fusion with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd

Feeling the need for a restructuring of the congregation, in 1944 an American Federation of sisters was founded, followed by a French Federation in 1945, an Irish Federation in 1948, and an English Federation in 1957. The member monasteries remained autonomous with the Federation President tasked with maintaining communication among member communities. A movement toward a more centralized organization continued to develop. The Latin Union, under a Superior General was formed in 1967. On 21 March 1979, the North American Union Sisters of Our Lady of Charity received its approval from the Holy See. In North America, they are located in: Hamburg & Newburgh, NY; Erie & Pittsburgh, PA; Wheeling, WV; & El Paso, TX; Carrollton, OH; Green Bay, WI; San Diego, CA; and Mexico & Canada. An English Union was formed in 1982, and an Irish Union in 1989."Development of Our Lady of Charity"
/ref> The International Union of Sisters of Our Lady of Charity received approval in 1995. Only the Mexican Federation remains outside the International Union. On 27 June 2014, after a 179-year split, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, founded by John Eudes, merged with the Good Shepherd Sisters, founded by Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, to form the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd (''Soeurs du Bon Pastore'' / Good Shepherd Sisters).

Ireland

In Ireland they had two houses at

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. The Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Refuge was one of four congregations involved in managing the controversial Magdalene laundries. Dr. Martin McAleese found the environment in the laundries to be harsh and involved physically demanding work, which produced a traumatic and lasting impact on the girls. However, according to the vast majority of women, the ill treatment and physical punishment present in industrial schools was not reported in the laundries. A spokesperson for the congregation said, "The laundries which were attached to refuges were hard and demanding places to work. Many women used our refuges as a place of last resort...Regardless of why a woman was in a refuge or how she came to be there, we endeavoured to provide care. It is with sorrow and sadness that we recognise that, for many of those who spoke to the inquiry, their time in a refuge is associated with anxiety, distress, loneliness, isolation, pain and confusion and much more."

Monastery of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge

The Monastery of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge, Hot Springs, Arkansas began in 1908, when five French-speaking Canadian nuns arrived in Hot Springs from Ottawa in September 1908. In 1913 the sisters began St. Michael's School for the girls who had come into their care. Because few children could pay for their education, the sisters supplemented their income with a laundry service, which they operated for over fifty years. In the 1950s, the sisters organized a childcare program serving infants and pre-school children.Lancaster, Guy, "Monastery of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge", ''The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture''
/ref> On 26 September 2007, Monsignor J. Gaston Hebert, diocesan administrator, announced that six of the ten sisters at the Monastery of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge had been formally excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church for their association with a Canadian group called the

Army of Mary The Community of the Lady of All Nations, also known as the Community of the Lady of All Peoples or the Army of Mary, is a Blessed Virgin Mary, Marian sect that has been condemned as heresy#Catholicism, heretical by the Catholic Church. It was fo ...

, which the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had defined as a heretical group. The community is an autonomous religious group and not connected with any other monastery.Hargett, Malia. "Six Arkansas nuns excommunicated for supporting heresy", ''Arkansas Catholic'', 6 October 2007
/ref>

References

External links

Order of Our Lady of Charity - International Website

North American Union Sisters of Our Lady of Charity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge Catholic female orders and societies 1641 establishments in France Religious organizations established in the 1640s Catholic organizations established in the 17th century Christian religious orders established in the 17th century