Daughters of mercy , daughters of mercy St. Vincent de Paul , Vincentians , gray sisters ( Fr. Filles de la charité de Saint Vincent de Paul, FdC ) - Catholic women's congregation , founded by saints Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac in the XVII century . The daughters of mercy, together with the male congregation of Lazarists , are often called Vicentians.
| Daughters of mercy | |
|---|---|
| Full title | Daughters of mercy Vincent de Paul |
| Latin name | Societas Filiarum Caritatis a S. Vincentio de Paulo |
| Abbreviation | Fdc |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Founder | St. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac |
| Established | 1633 |
| The number of monks | 24 982 (1998) |
| Site | filles-de-la-charite.org |
Organization
The daughters of mercy are a society of apostolic life , that is, its members do not take monastic vows. In the 20th century, the daughters of mercy were one of the largest female congregations. In 1998 , they numbered 24,982 sisters and 2,757 monasteries across the globe.
Members of the community take vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and service to the poor. The main activities of the congregation are patient care, education of the poor, guardianship of orphans and the elderly.
History
The new congregation was founded by St. Vincent de Paul and the Duchess Louise de Marillac in 1633 Having founded a society of daughters of mercy, they managed to turn over all ideas about the female monastic vocation, which until now meant only life in a strict lock behind the walls of monasteries. St. Vincent de Paul described the new movement as follows: "their monastery will be the homes of the sick, their chapel will be the parish church, their cell will be the rented room, and their lattice will be the fear of God."
The daughters of mercy became the first of the numerous women's active movements subsequently, whose members, while making vows, nonetheless live and act in peace.
At first, the main task of the sisters was to help patients at home, but soon their field of activity expanded greatly. The gray sisters, as the people called them by the color of their vestments, began to raise foundling children. They took care of the convicts, then since 1656 the sisters have been helping the wounded on the battlefields. In 1652 , the monastery of the daughters of mercy was first founded outside of France - in Poland , after which the congregation quickly spread throughout Europe.
In the XIX century and XX centuries, daughters of mercy worked mainly in medical institutions, free schools, kindergartens, shelters.
Some daughters of mercy became martyrs during the French Revolution , the persecution of Christians in China in the 19th century, and the Spanish civil war in the 30s of the 20th century.
French Revolution
Anti-religious forces during the French Revolution were determined to close all the monasteries in the country. In 1789, France numbered 426 houses of the Daughters of Mercy; throughout Europe, there were about 6,000 members of the congregation. In 1792, the sisters were ordered to leave their native French land. Officially, the community was disbanded in 1793. [1] An oath of support for the revolution was imposed on all former members of religious orders who performed service paid by the state. The acceptance of this oath was seen as a break with the church, and those who refused to do so were considered counter-revolutionaries.
In Angers, the revolutionary authorities decided to teach a lesson to those who refuse to take an oath of support for the revolution. The sisters Marie-Anne Wailot and Odile Baumgarten were publicly executed in 1794. At a ceremony in Rome on February 19, 1984, Pope John Paul II canonized 99 people who died for their faith in Angers, including the sisters Vailo and Baumgarten. [2] Their memorial day is February 1.
Sister Margarita Rutan was the head of the Society of Sisters who created the Dax Hospital. The six sisters refused to take the revolutionary oath. Then the authorities decided to get rid of Rutan and looked for a motive to arrest her. They fabricated evidence that Sister Margarita was unpatriotic and fanatically campaigned for soldiers in the hospital to desert and join the Royal Army in Vendee . On April 9, 1794, Sister Margarita was sentenced to death on the guillotine in Pojan. [3] She was canonized on June 19, 2011 in Dax, France. Her Memorial Day is June 26th.
The sisters Marie-Madeleine Fontaine, Marie-Francoise Lanel, Theresa Fantoux and Jeanne Gerard of Arras were executed in Cambrai on June 26, 1794. In anticipation of the wagon, which was supposed to deliver the sisters to the guillotine, the guards took away their rosary and, not knowing what to do, laid them on the heads of the nuns, like crowns. The sisters were canonized on June 13, 1920. Memorial Day is June 26th. [3]
The order was restored in 1801, many former sisters returned. The order developed rapidly throughout the 19th century.
Notes
- ↑ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul . www.newadvent.org. Date of appeal October 23, 2018.
- ↑ Odile Baumgarten and Marie-Anne Vaillot - Vincentian Encyclopedia (English) . famvin.org. Date of appeal October 23, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 Origin of the Company | Filles de la Charité de Saint Vincent de Paul (English ) ? . filles-de-la-charite.org. Date of appeal October 23, 2018.
Links
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia . T.1. Ed. Franciscans, M, 2002.