How We Began

Our mission of assisting the most abandoned goes back to 1633 when a French peasant priest, Vincent de Paul and an aristocratic widow, Louise de Marillac, established the Daughters of Charity in response to the cries of the persons who were the poor in seventeenth-century France.

Over time, the community spread to every corner of the globe in response to the needs of those who are poor. The worldwide mission of the Daughters of Charity included the United States in 1850, after the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s at Emmitsburg was founded by Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and officially united with the French community.

Today, there are five provinces in the United States:

• Southeast ~ Emmitsburg, Maryland
• Northeast ~ Albany, New York
• East Central ~ Evansville, Indiana
• West Central ~ St. Louis, Missouri
• West ~ Los Altos Hills, California

For a broader look at our beginnings, review an interactive history of the Daughters of Charity on the East Central Province website.