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In this research article we approach the presence of the Daughters of Charity in Andalusia and, above all, the Hospital de las Cinco Llagas in Seville, directed by them from 1840 to 1972. We offer a brief biography of the founders (San Vicente de Paul and Saint Louise de Marillac), the beginnings of the Company of the Daughters of Charity, its expansion, spirituality and Constitutions. We also analyze its arrival and expansion in Spain from 1790 to 1844. The central part of the work is dedicated to the Hospital de las Cinco Llagas in Seville: founders, building, arrival of the Daughters of Charity, hospitalized, spiritual care for the sick, trades performed by the sisters, daily and religious life of the community, the Hospital from 1931, internal institutions (Clínica de la Esperanza and School of Nurses), departure of the sisters and closure of the Hospital. And finally, the testimony of a doctor about the work carried out with the sick by the Daughters of Charity in the Hospital., En este artículo de investigación nos acercamos a la presencia de las Hijas de la Caridad en Andalucía y, sobre todo al Hospital de las Cinco Llagas de Sevilla, dirigido por ellas desde 1840 a 1972. Ofrecemos una breve biografía de los fundadores (San Vicente de Paúl y Santa Luisa de Marillac), los comienzos de la Compañía de las Hijas de la Caridad, su expansión, espiritualidad y Constituciones. También analizamos su llegada y expansión por España desde 1790 a 1844. La parte central del trabajo está dedicada al Hospital de las Cinco Llagas de Sevilla: fundadores, edificio, llegada de las Hijas de la Caridad, hospitalizados, atención espiritual a los enfermos, oficios desempeñados por las hermanas, vida cotidiana y religiosa de la comunidad, el Hospital a partir de 1931, instituciones internas (Clínica de la Esperanza y Escuela de Enfermeras), salida de las hermanas y cierre del Hospital. Y por último, el testimonio de un médico sobre la labor desarrollada con los enfermos por las Hijas de la Caridad en el Hospital.

The Hôpital de Nom de Jésus was an important establishment associated with Louise de Marillac, Vincent de Paul, and their communities. The Daughters of Charity were responsible for staffing this hospital beginning in1653, and it survived until the mid-eighteenth century. However, scholars have not had any records of it to study until now. Here, Alison Forrestal presents the Rule of Nom de Jésus, with an English translation, “offering a commentary on its historical context and its composition.” The Rule gives scholars insight into how the hospital developed and shows concern for the corporal and spiritual well-being of those it served. During this time in France, “hospital” was a broad term that referred to “any institution that provided either shelter or medical care, or both, to pilgrims, the indigent, the ill, or the elderly on a short- or long-term basis.” Sometimes such institutions forcibly confined the poor, but this was not the case with Nom de Jésus. Instead, it was a “residential home and workshop for Catholics who could not live independently because of age, infirmity, or extreme poverty.” Along with the Rule, Forrestal explores the foundation and early operation of this hospital and describes the demographics of its residents.

This essay highlights the critical contributions of the Sisters of Charity throughout the French construction of the Panama Canal between 1880 and 1904 and American-trained nurses during the US canal-building until 1914. The Sisters of Charity mended hundreds of thousands of injured and ill immigrant laborers in the Zone. Still, when American-trained nurses arrived in 1904, the nurses found themselves in conflict with the Daughters of Charity, who refused to vacate the hospital they helped found. I argue, self-aggrandizing stories of male accomplishments in the Panama Canal Zone subordinated female participation in one of the largest engineering feats undertaken in modern history. On the front-lines, female caretakers in the Zone understood the risks they faced with a population of transient engineers, scientists, tourists, and entrepreneurs. Even with a limited amount of power, the Sisters of Charity and US nurses made demands of their superiors based on dangers associated with living and working in a “tropical” region. Aware of their power –albeit limited– US nurses developed strategies for survival in the isthmus to protect themselves with limited access to medical supplies and funds.No matter how small the power nuns and nurses exercised in the Zone, many of their male superiors worried. They worried; what if nurses wanted more pay? What if they refused to work or left? US nurses also fell victim to prevailing stereotypes centered on what “type” of a woman left her home and family to live in the “wilds” of Central America? In US print media, popularized perceptions about nurses abroad came steeped in eugenic-inspired views of gender roles and “fitness.” Did nurses in the Canal Zone push gender norms in ways not possible in the US? Furthermore, how did US Canal Zone employees and administrators view nurses? With respect? Ridicule? Have only contemporaries recognized nuns and nurses women for their hard work? Were US Zone nurses valued as heroines throughout the c, Este ensaio destaca as contribuições críticas das Filhas da Caridade em toda a construção francesa do Canal do Panamá entre 1880 e 1904 e também de enfermeiras treinadas nos EUA durante a parte norte-americana da construção do canal até 1914. As Filhas de la Caridad curou centenas de milhares de trabalhadores imigrantes feridos e doentes na área. Ainda assim, quando as enfermeiras treinadas nos Estados Unidos da América chegaram em 1904, encontraram-se em conflito com as Filhas da Caridade, que se recusaram a deixar o hospital que ajudaram a fundar. Afirmo que as histórias de auto-glorificação da conquista masculina na Zona do Canal do Panamá subordinavam a participação feminina em um dos maiores feitos de engenharia realizados na história moderna. Na primeira linha de fogo, os profissionais de saúde da Zona entenderam os riscos que enfrentavam com uma população temporária de engenheiros, cientistas, turistas e empresários. Mesmo com uma quantidade limitada de poder, as Filhas da Caridade e as enfermeiras dos Estados Unidos da América fizeram exigências aos seus superiores com base nos perigos associados à vida e ao trabalho em uma região "tropical". Cientes de seu poder, embora limitado, as enfermeiras americanas desenvolveram estratégias de sobrevivência no istmo para se protegerem, tendo acesso limitado a suprimentos e fundos médicos.Não importava quão pouco poder as freiras e enfermeiras tivessem na Área, muitos de seus homens superiores estavam preocupados. E se as enfermeiras quisessem mais remuneração? O que aconteceria se eles se recusassem a trabalhar ou fossem embora? As enfermeiras americanas também foram vítimas de estereótipos predominantes, focados em que "classe" de mulheres deixa casa e família para viver nas "selvas" da América Central. Na mídia impressa dos Estados Unidos, as percepções popularizadas de enfermeiras no exterior estavam imersas em visões eugenicamente inspiradas de papéis de gênero e "aptidão". As enfermeiras da Zona do Canal alterar, Este ensayo resalta las contribuciones críticas de las Hijas de la Caridad a lo largo de la construcción francesa del Canal de Panamá entre 1880 y 1904 y también las de las enfermeras entrenadas en EEUU durante la parte norteamericana de la construcción del canal hasta 1914. Las Hijas de la Caridad curaron cientos de miles de heridos y trabajadores inmigrantes enfermos en la Zona. Aún así, cuando las enfermeras entrenadas en Estados Unidos de América llegaron en 1904, ellas se hallaron en conflicto con las Hijas de la Caridad, quienes se negaron a abandonar el hospital al cual ayudaron a fundar. Sostengo que las historias de autoenaltecimiento de los logros masculinos en la Zona del Canal de Panamá subordinaron la participación femenina en una de las mayores hazañas de ingeniería realizadas en la historia moderna. En la primera línea de fuego, las trabadoras de la salud en la Zona entendieron los riesgos que enfrentaban con una población temporaria de ingenieros, científicos, turistas y empresarios. Incluso con una cantidad limitada de poder, las Hijas de la Caridad y las enfermeras de los Estados Unidos de América hicieron demandas a sus superiores basadas en los peligros asociados con vivir y trabajar en una región "tropical". Conscientes de su poder, aunque limitado, las enfermeras estadounidenses desarrollaron estrategias de supervivencia en el istmo para protegerse al tener acceso limitado a suministros y fondos médicos. No importa cuán poco poder tenían las monjas y enfermeras en la Zona, muchos de sus superiores hombres se sintieron preocupados. ¿Y si las enfermeras quisieran más paga? ¿Qué pasaría si se negaran a trabajar o se marcharan? Las enfermeras estadounidenses también fueron víctimas de los estereotipos predominantes centrados en qué "clase" de mujer deja su hogar y su familia para vivir en las "selvas" de América Central. En los medios impresos de los EEUU, Las percepciones popularizadas sobre las enfermeras en el extranjero se empaparon de puntos d

Vincent de Paul frequently referred to Judas in conferences given to the Congregation and the Daughters of Charity. These references, quoted in this article, give insight into Vincent’s theology and were meant to elicit proper behavior by negative example. According to Vincent, Judas received great graces but failed in his spiritual life; he was an illustration of how only the end results of one’s behavior matter and how one should never be complacent about spiritual progress. Vincent said that Jesus’s gentleness toward Judas and other sinners should be the model for treatment of the poor. Vincent’s listeners were cautioned against Judas’s three great sins: unworthy reception of Communion, avarice, and envy. These sins were linked to finding fault with community life and superiors, and mishandling money intended for the poor. Judas’s failure was also used to encourage perseverance in vocation, observance of community Rules, and the taking of responsibility for faults in the community. Other behaviors Vincent sought to encourage or discourage by referring to Judas are discussed.

For decades, Vincent de Paul was the Royal Chaplain of the Galleys and sought to improve the living and working conditions of criminals condemned to galley service. He provided better housing for those awaiting their service, and both the Daughters of Charity and the Vincentians ministered to rowers’ physical and spiritual needs. Vincentians also managed a large hospital for convicts. The galleys’ function, the brutal journey to them, and the convicts’ life at sea and ashore are described. The possibility of Vincent having once substituted for a convict is discussed, as is Vincent’s view of the galley service system.

Accounts of the Chicago Fire are presented here from two Daughters of Charity who witnessed it, Sister Angeline Carrigan and Sister Walburga Gehring. At the time of the fire, the Daughters had three schools, a mission for social services, an existing hospital, and another hospital under construction in the city. They lost a school and the social services mission (of which Sister Carrigan was sister servant) in the disaster. After the fire, they cared for poor persons of the burned districts in their hospital and in the hospital established by the city’s Relief Committee. Sister Gehring was in charge of the latter and of the Daughters’ hospital that was underway, St. Joseph’s. She gives an extensive history of St. Joseph’s origins and construction.

The local Christian community had long held the Turkish site known today as Mary’s House (Meryem Ana Evi) to be the historical Mary’s last residence and final resting place. However, it was not until the Vincentians conducted an archeological study of the first century ruins in 1891 that it became known to the Church. Amelia Gallagher recounts the circumstances surrounding the “discovery” of Mary’s House. She traces the location’s trajectory from a Catholic shrine to one that is sacred to Catholics, other Christians, and Muslims, particularly for pilgrims seeking healing from the springs there. She explains differences in Christian and Muslim perspectives of and practices at Mary’s House. The site is unique in Turkey because it is largely free of regulations created by the Ministry of Religious Affairs to govern other Islamic religious places. Gallagher also explores the meaning that Mary’s House has as a tourist destination.

Hospitality is part of the service that defines the Daughters of Charity because it is a reflection of Jesus’s love. Evelyn Franc identifies the traits necessary to exhibit true hospitality and explains how to see Jesus in those whom the Daughters serve. To provide effective, hospitable service to poor persons, she cites advice from Louise de Marillac and Rosalie Rendu’s example of humility.

This article chronicles the lives of American Daughters of Charity in the Jiangxi Province of China. Some worked in a country mission in Taiwo and some worked in the city of Ganzhou. Sometimes using the sisters’ own words, the article describes their journey to their mission in Taiwo, their medical and spiritual ministry to the sick poor, and their flights from the communists in March and August 1930. During one of two sieges of Ganzhou, the sisters there continued to nurse the sick. The Daughters worked in Shanghai and elsewhere after leaving Taiwo and Ganzhou, but they ultimately had to leave China. Five eventually returned, serving until their second and final exile in the 1950s.

Membership in the Vincentian Family is declining, which raises the question of how the Vincentian charism will continue in the United States. Scott Kelley and Jessica Werner identify characteristics of new “institutional forms” necessary to carry the mission forward. They see great potential in the people they call unaffiliated lay Vincentians (ULVs). Although these young adults have no formal relationship with the Vincentian Family, ULVs are Vincentian because they “have been formed in and continue to self-identify with the Vincentian mission in profound ways.” ULVs were surveyed and interviewed to understand their spirituality and religiosity, how the Vincentian mission affects them, and what kind of connection they desire to have with the Vincentian Family. The study’s methodology and conclusions are explained. Cultural and generational differences between the ULVs’ and Vincentian Family’s approaches to religion are explored. ULVs’ demographics and religious and spiritual identities are discussed. The biggest challenges ULVs face in carrying out the Vincentian mission are a lack of community and a lack of access to the Vincentian Family. Suggestions are included for rectifying this. Many charts and graphs accompany the article.

Meghan Clark discusses the relationship between charity and justice as set forth in two of Benedict XVI’s encyclicals, Deus Caritas Est and Caritas in Veritate, and then considers what Vincentian tradition contributes toward the understanding of that relationship. Clark writes, “What emerges is a model of cultivating solidarity through justice and charity as integral to the life of Christian discipleship.” Deus Caritas Est calls for direct service to those in need because it is only through charity and loving others that we are fully aware of God’s love for us. As Clark summarizes Caritas in Veritate, “Justice in relations is a precondition for living charity. . . . Both charity and justice are required for healthy relationships with God and neighbor.” Justice and charity require work toward the common good, and charity expands justice to include the marginalized. Clark defines the institutional nature of charity in the Church and explains how Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, and their communities exemplify it. Vincent and Louise recognized that effective charity required organized personal and institutional responses to systemic injustice. Vincentian tradition seeks to foster solidarity through commitment to each person’s dignity and to nurture justice within all levels of society.

The nineteenth-century superior general Jean-Baptiste Etienne has often been given the title of “Second Founder” of the Congregation and the Daughters of Charity. Edward Udovic argues that this title is deserved, not because of any similarity to Vincent de Paul, but because of Etienne’s faithfulness to the communities’ primitive spirit. Etienne made that the guiding principle of the communities’ re-establishment. Etienne’s background, experience, agenda for restoration and reform, and worldview are all examined. According to Udovic, Etienne and his leadership are best described as “Vincentian-centric, Romantic, Gallican, and authoritarian.” A French nationalist and imperialist, he was particularly concerned with remaining true to what he saw as the French character of the Vincentian communities. This contributed to his insistence on absolute conformity to the original Rules and customs of the Daughters and complete uniformity in each sister’s life, without any regard for individuality. Just as the papacy had the authority of Christ over the Church, Etienne believed he as superior general had Vincent’s authority over the Daughters. Some of his counsel to them is included.

A project began in 2002 to develop a database tracking all the admissions to the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph’s (1809–1849) and the Daughters of Charity (1850–1909) in the United States. This article explains how the project was conducted, what sources were used, and what the study’s major findings were. The database encompassed many different demographics: family backgrounds, birthplaces, and age of entrants, their marital and/or convert status, their years of entrance, and whether they had relatives in the community. Military service, withdrawals, transfers, separations, and burial places were also tracked.

With the Revolution, religious congregations were suppressed in France. The Daughters of Charity were restored in 1800 to staff hospitals. In 1807, they submitted their statutes to the Minister of Cults; a long conflict began about who had authority over them. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac had placed the Daughters under the Congregation’s superior general; placing them under the bishops would have cloistered the Company, ending their direct service to the poor. Napoleon wanted women’s congregations under the jurisdiction of bishops he controlled. The superior general insisted that maintaining the original relationship between the Congregation and the Daughters was the only way to preserve the Company. The vows became a point of contention because they included obedience to the superior general. Due to this conflict, the Congregation was again suppressed in 1809. Napoleon then placed the Daughters under the archbishop of Paris and local bishops. A new superioress general accepted the new statutes to avoid suppression. Many sisters left in protest; those who tried to remain without submitting were sent back to their birthplaces under police surveillance. They returned after Napoleon lost power, but healing the community’s deep divisions was a complicated process involving papal intervention.

The Daughters of Charity were “the key provider of social service in [Los Angeles] before 1880,” opening southern California’s first hospital in 1858. They served anyone, regardless of religion and brought different religious and cultural groups together to help people who were sick. During the smallpox epidemics from the 1860s through the 1880s, the Daughters partnered with officials of Los Angeles to treat the poor. Kristine Gunnell explains how the desire to cut costs, theories of containing disease, and racial and class biases led to the city’s initially inhumane treatment of poor patients. Acting as advocates for the poor, the Daughters of Charity used political leverage to improve conditions and to give patients quality, compassionate care.

Following its mission to be an agent of social transformation, the Universidad de Santa Isabel in the Phillipines has many initiatives for poverty reduction. The USI Saint Louise de Marillac Alternative College has a Social Entrepreneurship degree that teaches business and entrepreneurial skills along with social responsibility and Vincentian values. Tuition is based on a sliding scale, and the program also helps graduates establish their businesses. USI has a savings program for personnel and students. It also pays interest and makes loans, including loans for housing that have helped many people out of homelessness after natural disasters. Scholarships are also offered through the university. Among many others, there are projects that provide education in citizenship and social advocacy, help communities start their own businesses, and encourage different university departments and sectors to unite in community extension activities.

Alison Forrestal explains how the government of the Congregation developed and functioned, and how it operated in relation to the Ladies of Charity and the Daughters of Charity. Vincent de Paul devoted a great deal of attention to governance for all three groups. For them “to share a sense common of identity and familial fraternity,” he emphasized that they were united through their common purpose. He expected everyone involved in government to be guided by trust in providence and the imitation of Christ. He also paid special attention to the formation of leaders for all three groups and treated those leaders as collaborators. The way he managed and trained personnel is described. He made sure the Congregation’s government was flexible enough to respond to needs of the individuals within it and to use their gifts effectively. Flexibility was also essential to cope with new situations. Forrestal cites specific applications of Vincent’s governing principles.

Betty Ann McNeil uses the words and experiences of five Daughters of Charity to illustrate the service of the 270 sisters who nursed wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War in Union and Confederate territory. According to McNeil, the sisters “crossed boundaries of locale, politics, and religion . . . for the sake of the Vincentian mission.” This included crossing army lines. They faced great personal danger and hardship and adapted their organization to meet ever changing wartime conditions in a variety of settings, including major battlefields. They also had to acclimate themselves to regional cultures. Despite the upheaval of the times—their motherhouse at Emmitsburg, Maryland was even subject to martial law—the sisters persevered in their service and opened many new missions.

Poland was the first country to receive Vincentian missionaries and Daughters of Charity. Vincent de Paul oversaw the mission’s planning. He was greatly concerned with its success and provided spiritual and material help to Poland during the Swedish invasion, which began in 1655. The Congregation’s and the Daughters’ excellent relationship with Queen Louise-Marie of Poland is described at length. Those who served are profiled. The Vincentians preached parish missions to the peasants, founded a house, and established a seminary because Vincent and the queen saw the reform of Polish clergy as an urgent need. The Vincentians and the Daughters nursed the sick during plague epidemics. The Daughters also tended wounded Polish soldiers during the invasion.

From 1961 to 1988, Genevieve O’Farrell, a Daughter of Charity, was the principal of Saint Louise’s Comprehensive College in Belfast. Her many achievements as a leader of the school and within Belfast are described, along with her own formation, the events and characteristics that made her a leader, and the lessons that may be drawn from her life and career. She consistently raised the school’s academic standards and promoted service to the community even while it was surrounded by the violence of the “Troubles.”

Betty Ann McNeil “considers examples of the primary strategies and resources that Vincentian leaders have used to empower others to commit themselves to mission and to communicate the founding charism across boundaries of time and cultures.” Her focus is on the contributions that women have made to the Vincentian culturescape. Daughters of Charity and Sisters of Charity who have had major roles in passing the charism down through their communities are profiled. McNeil writes that one way the charism is successfully handed on is through stories of individuals who lived it. In particular, Elizabeth Seton’s introduction of the charism to the United States is recounted. Core values of the Daughters of Charity are described. Values of the Vincentian mission—compassion, secularity, and collaboration—are discussed. Attention is paid to Vincent de Paul as leader and formator and to his relationships with women.

The economic structures of seventeenth-century France, Vincent de Paul’s financial management, and his theory behind it are explained. His financial responsibilities and the sources of income for the Confraternities of Charity, the Congregation, and the Daughters of Charity are enumerated. In general, Vincent viewed money as a resource to be husbanded for the benefit of persons who were poor.

Eight images accompany this history of Saint Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. The article spans the time from the hospital’s beginning in 1881 until 2001.

Eight images accompany this history of Saint Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. The article spans the time from the hospital’s beginning in 1881 until 2001.

Eight images accompany this history of Saint Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. The article spans the time from the hospital’s beginning in 1881 until 2001.

The similarities in the lives, spirituality, and mission of Elizabeth Seton and Louise de Marillac are examined. Both lost their mothers early in life, and both were wives, mothers, and widows. They had nursed terminally ill husbands and were single parents before they founded their communities. These life experiences had a significant impact on their service. Similar experiences led to their personal conversion. Elizabeth’s knowledge of Louise and the influence of the Rules and vows of the Daughters of Charity on the Sisters of Charity are described. The mission of both communities and the virtues that the foundresses instilled in their followers are discussed.