On Monday 29th May 2007, the Daughters of Charity were among the community leaders recognised for their ‘inspirational’ service in this year’s Dublin Lord Mayor’s Awards Ceremony which took place in the Mansion House, Dublin. Sr. Catherine Prendergast, Provincial of the Daughters of Charity in Ireland, received the award on behalf of the community and expressed her appreciation for this great honour.
One hundred and fifty years on we remember, acknowledge and commend the pioneering work of the Daughters of Charity in Ireland. The Community was already established in Paris in 1633 by St. Louise de Marillac and St. Vincent de Paul. Ireland was recovering from the 1845 famine and a great poverty prevailed.
The sisters opened their first house in Drogheda, Ireland in 1855. Two years later, in 1857 they opened two foundations in Dublin. Nineteenth century Dublin was a city of sharp contrasts between rich and poor. The sisters began their mission in a spirit of faith and prayer by visiting people who were sick and poor in their homes. At this time, the wealthy residents, weavers and craftsmen were withdrawing from the narrow streets of the old walled city. They moved to suburbia and districts like North William Street, Henrietta St., Dominick St. and Mountjoy Square degenerated into slums. Many poor families lived in tenement rooms and damp cellars. It was to such families that the Daughters of Charity ministered in the spirit of St. Vincent and St. Louise. Being undernourished the people were vulnerable and prone to infection and illness. Gradually the Sisters became involved in psychiatry, childcare, education and general social services. In St. Vincent’s own words, ‘ love is infinitely inventive’. In spite of limited resources much of their work was made possible by generous benefactors of the time.
Today these works continue and develop in accordance with the signs of the times and in collaboration with our co-workers. Each ministry is inspired by the original charism of St. Vincent and St. Louise, who said, ‘ take great care of the service of the poor’. The founders dedicated the entire organisation to Mary Mother of God. Her appearance and gift of the Miraculous Medal to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830 continues to be a source of hope, strength and light to all. St. Vincent and St. Louise were committed to working for a fair and just society. As the Daughters of Charity continue to promote this vision of working justly they remember St. Vincent’s words, ‘Charity is not charity unless accompanied by Justice’.
Submitted by Sr. Claire Mc Kiernan D.C.
