Daughters of Charity History

November 29, 1633: A silent revolution begins in Paris

Several young women, in the home of Louise de Marillac and in the presence of Vincent de Paul, expressed their commitment to live in community and to serve Christ in the person of the poor.

Up to that point in history, religious communities of women had been restricted to cloistered convents, due primarily to their pronounced perpetual vows. Vincent and Louise had a radically new concept of how these young women should live their religious commitment.

These peasant women, called “Daughters of Charity” by the poor they served, were laywomen who would eventually profess annual rather than perpetual vows. Given the restrictions of the time, becoming nuns would have prevented their freedom to go about the city and villages serving those most abandoned by society. Vincent and Louise began a revolution in women’s religious life.

Seeing Christ in the faces of the poor, Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac began a legacy of charity that was permeated with endless love, compassion, respect, and devotion. The very motto of the Company of Daughters of Charity is: “The charity of Jesus crucified compels us.”