Our Lady of Charity
Pelletier was born on an island off the coast of France where her parents had been exiled by the French Revolutionaries. She was christened "Rose Virginie Pelletier" and at the age of eighteen joined the Order of Our Lady of Charity who cared for girls and women in difficulty. Some of the girls were abandoned by their families or orphaned, some had turned to prostitution in order to survive. The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity provided shelter, food, vocational training and an opportunity for these girls and women to turn their lives around. Pelletier formed the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd to expand this apostolate to wherever needed.