page_title: Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
section_title: Growth
hierarchical_section_title: Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul / Growth
caption_attribution_description: A nun with a most remarkable (and slightly dangerous-looking) veil/head dress waiting for a bus outside the Rotunda Hospital on Parnell Street, Dublin. Cannot work out whether a clump of her own hair (unlikely) has come loose, or whether she is masking a person in front of her... With help from people over on our NLI Facebook page, it turns out this nun was a member of the Daughters of Charity (of St. Vincent de Paul). The distinctive head dress is called a cornette, and led to this order being known as the Butterfly Nuns. The Daughters of Charity abandoned the cornette on 20 September 1964, so unless this nun was ultra-traditional and carried on wearing it regardless, then this photo must have been taken before 20 September. This shot also allows us to view the Parnell Monument at the end of O'Connell Street from yet another angle. Date: 1964 NLI Ref.: WIL 10[12]
context_page_description: The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, called in English the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul, is a Society of Apostolic Life for women within the Catholic Church. Its members make annual vows throughout their life, which leaves them always free to leave, without need of ecclesiastical permission. They were founded in 1633 and state that they are devoted to serving the poor through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
  They have been popularly known in France as "the Grey Sisters" from the color of their traditional religious habit, which was originally grey, then bluish grey. The 1996 publication The Vincentian Family Tree presents an overview of related communities from a genealogical perspective. They use the initials DC after their names.
  Since 20 April 2020, its Superior General is Françoise Petit.
context_section_description: From that time and through the 19th century, the community spread to Austria, Australia, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Portugal, Turkey, Britain and the Americas. During this period, the ministry of the Daughters developed to caring for others in need such as orphans and those with physical disabilities.
  The first house in Ireland was opened in Drogheda, in 1855. By 1907 there were 46 houses and 407 sisters in England; 13 houses and 134 sisters in Ireland; 8 houses and 62 sisters in Scotland. They operated 23 orphanages; 7 industrial schools; 24 public elementary schools; 1 normal school to train teachers; 3 homes for working girls or women ex-convicts; and 8 hospitals.
  The Convent of Saint Vincent de Paul was the first building established on Mamilla Street in Jerusalem, near Jaffa Gate, in 1886. Precipitating the future growth of that street as a commercial thoroughfare, the sisters put up a series of shops in front of the building and used the rent money for convent operations. The convent was integrated into the design of the Mamilla Mall pedestrian promenade, which opened in 2007.
  The motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity is located at 140 rue du Bac, in Paris, France.  The remains of de Marillac and those of St. Catherine Labouré lie preserved in the chapel of the motherhouse. Labouré was the Daughter of Charity to whom, in 1830, the Blessed Virgin Mary is said to have appeared, commissioning her to spread devotion to the Medal of Mary Immaculate, commonly called the Miraculous Medal.
  The traditional habit of the Daughters of Charity was one of the most conspicuous of Catholic Sisters, as it included a large starched cornette on the head. This was the dress of peasant women of the neighborhood of Paris at the date of the foundation, a grey habit with wide sleeves and a long grey apron. The head-dress was at first a small linen cap, but to this was added in the early days the white linen cornette, from which they became affectionately known as "God's Geese". At first it was used only in the country, being in fact the headdress of the Ile de France district, but in 1685 its use became general. The institute adopted a more simple modern dress and blue veil on 20 September 1964.
caption: A Daughter of Charity shown with the distinctive head gear, Ireland, 1964.
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