|
The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul ((ラテン語:Societas Filiarum Caritatis a S. Vincentio de Paulo)), called in English the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul is a Society of Apostolic Life for women within the Catholic Church. Its members make annual vows throughout their life, which leaves them always free to leave, without need of ecclesiastical permission. They were founded in 1633 and are devoted to serving Jesus Christ in persons who are poor through corporal and spiritual works of mercy. They have been popularly known in France as "the Grey Sisters" from the colour of their traditional religious habit, which was originally grey, then bluish grey. The 1996 publication ''The Vincentian Family Tree'' presents an overview of related communities from a genealogical perspective.〔McNeil, Betty Ann (1996). ''The Vincentian Family Tree: A Genealogical Study''. Chicago: Vincentian Studies Institute.〕 They use the initials D.C. after their names. ==Foundation== The institute was founded by Saint Vincent de Paul, a French priest, and Saint Louise de Marillac, a widow. The need of organization in work for the poor suggested to de Paul the forming of a confraternity among the women of his parish in Châtillon-les-Dombes. It was so successful that it spread from the rural districts to Paris, where noble ladies often found it hard to give personal care to the needs of the poor. The majority sent their servants to minister to those in need, but the work was often slighted as unimportant. Vincent de Paul remedied this by referring young women who inquired about serving persons in need to go to Paris and devote themselves to this ministry under the direction of the Ladies of Charity. Marguerite Naseau, a 34-year-old woman from the countryside in Suresnes, met Vincent de Paul with other priests of the Congregation of the Mission during one of his Missions of Evangelization. In 1630 she met up with Vincent and Louise in Paris, where they suggested that she help the Ladies of Charity. These young women formed the nucleus of the Company of the Daughters of Charity now spread over the world. On 29 November 1633, the eve of St. Andrew, de Marillac began a more systematic training of the women, particularly for the care of the sick. The sisters lived in community in order to better develop the spiritual life and thus, more effectively, carry out their mission of service. The Daughters of Charity differed from other religious congregations of that time in that they were not cloistered. They maintained the necessary mobility and availability and lived among those whom they served.〔 From the beginning, the community motto was: "The charity of Christ impels us!" The newly formed Daughters of Charity set up soup kitchens, organized community hospitals, established schools and homes for orphaned children, offered job training, taught the young to read and write, and improved prison conditions. The hospital of St John the Evangelist in the province of Angers was the first hospital entrusted to the care of the Daughters of Charity. Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul both died in 1660, and by this time there were more than forty houses of the Daughters of Charity in France, and the sick poor were cared for in their own dwellings in twenty-six parishes in Paris. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|