, 1805-1885 The
French Revolution had left people with a deeply disturbed faith, few religious leaders, and little, if any, education in faith. In the early decades of the nineteenth century, seminaries were being re-opened and mission bands roamed the countryside in an effort to rekindle the faith. Marie-Victoire-Thérèse Couderc, who lived in the small hamlet of
Le Mas in
Sablières, located in
Southern France. In 1825, her father brought her home from school to participate with the rest of the family in a mission given at Sablières. This mission was to be given by an energetic and zealous priest, Etienne Terme, who had recently founded a small group of teaching Sisters, called the Sisters of St. Regis. When Victoire revealed to him that she would like to enter religious life, he offered to take her to the
novitiate of the Sisters of St. Regis. Although her father was unhappy with this prospect, he eventually relented, and Victoire entered the Sisters of St. Regis and became Sister Thérèse. The shrine of Saint
John Francis Regis at
Lalouvesc attracted large crowds. In 1826, Father Terme was distressed when he saw the disorder that often accompanied the pilgrimages. Since there was no suitable place for the women pilgrims to stay, he took the initiative and opened a hostel to welcome women and girls, entrusting it to some of the Sisters of Saint Regis. In 1828, Thérèse Couderc was named Superior of the small congregation, and when Lalouvesc was made the mother house, she was named the Superior General. In England, the first house was opened at Manchester, in 1888. The year 1892 saw the first foundation in America, at New York. In 1892, four sisters left Le Havre for New York at the invitation of Archbishop
Michael Corrigan. Initially they stayed with the Dominican nuns of
Corpus Christi Monastery in
Hunts Point, Bronx before purchasing property at W 140th St. in
Manhattan, where they established the Convent of St. Regis. The Lake Ronkonkoma land was donated by stage actress
Maude Adams after her death. Her grave and Lake Ronkonkoma Home reside on the land to this day. The sisters opened a retreat house in the Brighton section of Boston in 1910; it closed in 1994. ==Present day==