St. Paul (Chartres), Sisters of
ST. PAUL (CHARTRES), SISTERS OF
A congregation (Official Catholic Directory #3980) founded in 1696 by Louis Chauvet, parish priest of Levesville-la-Chenard, France, and dedicated to works of
charity. The Soeurs de Saint Paul de Chartres (SPDC) became a diocesan congregation when Paul Godet des Marais, Bishop of Chartres, established the sisters in his diocese in 1708. Early in their history the sisters took up the mission apostolate when they went to French Guyana in 1722. After the French Revolution the community was reorganized and obtained the approval of Pius IX in 1861. By the time that final papal approbation was granted (1949), the sisters were well established in Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Laos, the Philippines, and Africa, as well as in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, England, the West Indies, and Canada. In the United States, the sisters' ministries include education, health, social work, and pastoral ministries. The motherhouse is in Chartres, the residence of the superior general is in Rome, and the district superior for the United States resides in the diocese of Marquette, Michigan.
Bibliography: r. gobillot, The Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres (Manila 1956). j. vaudon, Histoire générale de la communauté des Filles de Saint-Paul de Chartres, 4 v. (Paris 1922–31).
[m. p. de los reyes/eds.]