The Daughters of Providence of Paris were members of a Catholic religious

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

for women in 17th-century France. The Daughters had their origins in the "Seminary of Providence" founded in 1643, with the authorization of King Louis XIII, by a pious widow, Marie Polaillon (née de Lumague). It was intended to provide a shelter to girls who were in situations of peril to their faith. This could be through either poverty or personal circumstances. The name of the house was selected as they looked to

Divine Providence In theology, Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is God's intervention in the Universe. The term ''Divine Providence'' (usually capitalized) is also used as a title of God. A distinction is usually made between "general providence", which ...

to supply their needs.McGahan, Florence. "Daughters of Providence." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 26 January 2016 Among the girls who were given shelter in the seminary, those who were capable of providing instruction to the other charges were organized to do that. Among this number were seven whom the foundress felt showed signs of having a

religious calling A calling, in the religious sense of the word, is a religious vocation (which comes from the Latin for "call") that may be professional or voluntary and, idiosyncratic to different religions, may come from another person, from a divine messenger, ...

. The Archbishop of Paris,

Jean François Paul de Gondi Jean François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz (20 September 1613 – 24 August 1679) was a French churchman, writer of memoirs, and agitator in the Fronde. The Florentine banking and noble Gondi family had been introduced into France by Cather ...

, authorized them to form a religious community, under a Rule of Life drawn up by

Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...

. Their formation was to be a

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

lasting two years, after which the Daughters would profess annual

vow A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedd ...

s of obedience, chastity, service and stability. In 1651 the

Queen Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unti ...

, gave the community their first home, a former rest home in the Fauborg Saint-Michel (now Odéon). After this, Archbishop Gondi established several similar communities around the city. Foundations were also made in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

and Sedan. They remained under the authority of the Archbishop, who would appoint the

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

of the congregation, while the local Superiors were elected triennially. In 1681 several houses of the congregation merged with the Sisters of the newly founded

Congregation of the Holy Infant Jesus The Sisters of the Infant Jesus, also known as the Dames of Saint Maur, are a religious institute of the Catholic Church originating from Paris, France and dedicated to teaching. History Origins In 1659 Barré, who was a respected scholar wit ...

, founded by Father Nicholas Barré, O.M., dedicated to the education of the poor. The remaining houses soon merged with the Canonesses Regular of the Congregation of Notre Dame, founded by

Peter Fourier Peter Fourier (french: link=no, Pierre Fourier, ; 30 November 15659 December 1640) was a French canon regular who is honored as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Foregoing offers of high office, he served for many years as an exemplary past ...

, dedicated to a similar goal. At that point this congregation ceased to exist.

References

{{RC-society-stub Catholic teaching orders Catholic female orders and societies Catholic religious institutes established in the 17th century 1681 disestablishments in France 1643 establishments in France