If you start in the flat, wind-brushed fields of West Flanders and take the narrow lanes into Lendelede, you will find a modest complex on Heulsestraat—a nineteenth-century chapel with later additions from the 1960s and a modern community house. These buildings might not seem remarkable at first glance, but inside their brick walls a unique expression of the Vincentian spirit has been unfolding for more than two hundred years. From here, Sisters have taught in village schools, trained young women in lace-making, nursed the sick at home, visited the lonely, welcomed the elderly, taught catechism to children, and even journeyed to the volcanic highlands of northern Rwanda.

It all began in December 1811 with a parish priest who understood both the poverty surrounding him and the wisdom of Saint Vincent’s way.

The Beginning: 1811–1856

The founder, Father Jacobus Guilielmus Benedictus De Beir (1763–1854), was parish priest of Lendelede in the Diocese of Bruges. On December 5, 1811, he gathered three young women who had begun teaching poor children in the village. That first effort soon grew. In 1827, another small group formed to care for the sick and elderly. In 1838, yet another group began “nursing the sick at home.”

These three initiatives weren’t officially united at first, but they shared the same soil: the same parish, the same leadership, and the same Vincentian DNA—a love expressed in concrete service to the poorest. Finally, in 1856, they became one community: the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul of Lendelede.

You can still see traces of those early years in the town’s buildings. The school expanded in 1835. Two years later, Father De Beir personally financed a large chapel, consecrated that same year—a chapel that still stands today. Over time, more wings and houses were added. From this one address on Heulsestraat, the Sisters’ service spread to neighboring towns like Ledegem, Geluwe, Houthulst, and Kooigem.

Education was at the heart of their mission, along with care for the elderly. Their Vincentian spirituality always pointed them toward those most in need. They even weathered Belgium’s Schoolstrijd (School Wars) of 1879–1884, when municipal authorities expelled them from their convent and school. They eventually returned and bought back the very buildings Father De Beir had once given to the local bureau for the poor.

Jacobus Guilielmus Benedictus De Beir

Vincentian Spirit in West Flanders

The Lendelede Sisters are part of a wider family of Belgian congregations inspired by Saint Vincent de Paul. Each one is autonomous, with its own leadership, but all share the same priorities: schools for poor children, care for the sick and elderly, and a diocesan rather than a pontifical structure.

In a 2021 interview, their Superior described their charism simply: to be wholly given, as Vincentian Sisters, to the service of the poor in every form—to offer a “heart of love and compassion” to anyone who needs listening, welcome, evangelization, warmth, companionship, or shelter. Their mission is as concrete as the Gospel itself: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, visit the sick, care for the elderly.

New Horizons: From Flemish Classrooms to Rwandan Hills

The 20th century brought both challenges and opportunities. Many Belgian congregations were consolidating, facing demographic changes, and hearing calls—from bishops or even government agencies—to serve in the mission fields. The Lendelede Sisters answered that call and accepted a mission in Rwanda.

There, in the Diocese of Ruhengeri, their ministries have included schools (notably École Saint Vincent near Musanze), primary health care, and social outreach. One striking example is the St. Vincent de Paul Children’s Rehabilitation Center, where they care for children with mental illness or disabilities—many abandoned by their families because of these conditions.

Their work in Rwanda isn’t just about classrooms or clinics. With a small grant of €5,715 from a Belgian solidarity group, they purchased solar panels, batteries, a refrigerator, cups, and ingredients for a yogurt program, and built latrines—simple, practical projects that make everyday life better where infrastructure is fragile.

Passing the Torch without Losing the Soul

Over time, some of the Sisters’ works have been entrusted to lay partners. The Seniorenzorg Sint-Vincentius association, founded in 1997, runs the Aksent residential care center and the De Schakel residence, explicitly “continuing and developing the work of the Sisters.” It’s a classic Vincentian move: create something, stabilize it, and then place it in wider hands while remaining a spiritual presence.

Today: Small in Number, Steady in Spirit

Like many European women’s congregations, the Lendelede Sisters are fewer today, but their energy flows in two clear directions:

• Fidelity at home – staying present in Lendelede and nearby towns, working alongside lay partners, and continuing daily ministries of prayer, hospitality, and quiet accompaniment.
• Commitment abroad – investing people and resources in Rwanda, focusing on education, mental health, disability care, and community development.

A Vincentian Portrait

• Availability – Being fully present to anyone in need, preferring hidden gestures over public display, and respecting the dignity of every person served.
• Practical imagination – Whether expanding a school in the 1800s or installing a solar-powered fridge today, the Sisters act in ways that meet real needs in doable steps.
• Rooted mobility – Deeply tied to Lendelede, yet open to crossing continents, carrying their spirit wherever the poor call.

For more than two centuries, this small Flemish congregation has lived a simple truth: love becomes real only when it takes a concrete form—whether in a classroom, at a sickbed, in an elderly neighbor’s kitchen, or on a hillside in Rwanda.

Contact:

• Address: Heulsestraat 3, 8860 Lendelede, West Flanders, Belgium
• Telephone: +32 51 31 60 59
• Email: zusters.sint.vincentius@telenet.be