The First Years of the Confraternities of Charity: 1617–1633

In 1634, Geneviève Fayet, Madame Goussault, urged Vincent de Paul to organize a Charity for the overcrowded Hôtel-Dieu of Paris. Drawing women from across the city and collaborating with Louise de Marillac and the Daughters of Charity, the association carried the Châtillon vision beyond the parish and completed the first architecture of the Vincentian Family.

Marguerite Naseau, a self-taught peasant educator, offered the Charities what Paris urgently needed: a life wholly available for service. Her example attracted other country women and inspired Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul to gather a small community on November 29, 1633—the birth of the Daughters of Charity.

By 1629, the Charities had multiplied, but some were losing strength. Vincent de Paul entrusted Louise de Marillac with visiting and renewing them. Traveling difficult roads from village to village, she formed members, corrected problems, adapted rules, and carried the movement into Paris—becoming its first great animator and coordinator.

After Châtillon, Vincent de Paul began establishing Charities wherever missions were preached. From Joigny and Montmirail to Folleville and Mâcon, the original model was repeatedly adapted to local poverty. Women’s, men’s, and mixed groups were tested, while communities developed creative ways to finance an expanding network of organized service.

The first Confraternity of Charity did not survive on enthusiasm alone. Its 1617 Rule transformed compassion into disciplined personal service, joining food, medicine, prayer, governance, and accountability. From the white tablecloth beside a sick person’s bed to the women’s monthly assembly, every detail protected dignity and continuity.

In August 1617, an appeal for one suffering family stirred the people of Châtillon to extraordinary generosity. Vincent de Paul saw both the beauty and the limits of their response. Three days later, eight women joined in an organized service of the sick poor, planting the seed of the Confraternities of Charity and today’s AIC.