Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian Tradition

The Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian Tradition represents approximately 4,000 vowed members and 700 lay associates/affiliates from women religious congregations throughout North America. The purpose of the Federation is to facilitate collaboration in projects related to ministry and other areas of common concern. The federation of Sisters of Charity includes: • Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (France; two provinces in U.S.: the Province of St. Louise, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Province of the West, headquartered in Los Altos, California.) • Sisters of Charity of New York (New York City) • Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth (Convent Station, New Jersey) • Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception (Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada) • Les Religieuses de Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur, (Dieppe, New Brunswick) • Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (Halifax) – Halifax (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), also known as the Sisters of Charity of Halifax • Sisters of Saint Martha (Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada) • Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati • Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill (Pennsylvania) • Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (Kentucky) • Vincentian Sisters of Charity (VSC) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) – one of the original Federation members, in November 2008, the congregation merged with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN). • Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (Kansas) • Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy (South Carolina) • Sisters of Saint Martha of Prince Edward Island ==History==

Origins France The Company of the Daughters of Charity, founded in France on November 29, 1633, developed from the parish-based Confraternities of Charity, and became the first successful institute of non-cloistered religious women to serve in the active apostolate in France. The sisters in Cincinnati separated to form a diocesan community (1852). The Sisters of Charity continued to develop into independent new congregations in Convent Station (1859) and Greensburg (1870). In 1997, the Federation gained recognition as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) at the United Nations, where it serves as an advocate for the sisters' concern for the poor at the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. At the 2004, annual meeting in New York, the Federation voted to continue to make water a focus for advocacy, while integrating it into their efforts to address structures that keep people poor around the world. Access to water, particularly in developing countries, was seen as an important key to reducing poverty. ==See also==