Our Lady of Charity, North American Union Sisters of
OUR LADY OF CHARITY, NORTH AMERICAN UNION SISTERS OF
The North American Union Sisters of Our Lady of Charity (NAU-OLC, Official Catholic Directory #3070) traces its origins to the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge, a congregation of religious women founded in Caen, France (1641), by St. John eudes. Preliminary papal approbation was granted Jan. 2, 1666, and complete approval in 1741. The seven Houses of Refuge in existence at the time of the French Revolution were dispersed, but the work was resumed again at Tours and spread through France as circumstances permitted. The original purpose of the congregation was to provide a shelter for women of dissolute behavior, but it was later modified to include the care and training of neglected, dependent teenage girls. In the 19th century a separate branch developed as the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the good shepherd.
The first American foundation was established in 1855 at Buffalo, N.Y., by Mother Mary of St. Jerome, from Rennes, France. Although each house of the order is autonomous, the U.S. communities established a federation in 1944 for the purpose of strengthening the contemplative and apostolic life of the sisters. Similar federations were organized in Europe. In 1979, Rome granted permission for the establishment of the North American Union of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, with its administrative offices in Wheeling, W.V. Within the union are the congregations of Our Lady of Charity of Green Bay, Wis.; Buffalo, N.Y.; El Paso, Texas; Erie, Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Rochester, N.Y.; San Antonio, Texas; Walden, N.Y.; and Wheeling, W.V. In the U.S., the sisters run residential homes for women, nursing homes, day care centers, pastoral ministries, outreach programs, and the care of immigrants.
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