The Sisters of Providence are a

religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

founded in 1843 by

Émilie Gamelin Émilie Tavernier Gamelin (19 February 1800 – 23 September 1851) was a Canadian social worker and Roman Catholic religious sister. She is best known as the founder of the Sisters of Providence of Montreal. In 2001 she was beatified b ...

. They are headquartered in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

with five provinces: Mother Joseph Province, Holy Angels Province, Philippines Vice-Province, Émilie-Gamelin Province and Bernard Morin Province.

History

The community of Sisters of Providence or more accurately, "Daughters of Charity, Servants of the Poor", was founded in Montreal, Canada, by Bishop

Ignace Bourget Ignace Bourget (; October 30, 1799 – June 8, 1885) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest who held the title of Bishop of Montreal from 1840 to 1876. Born in Lévis, Quebec, in 1799, Bourget entered the clergy at an early age, undertook several ...

and Madame Jean Baptiste Gamelin (Marie Emélie Eugénie Tavernier), 25 March 1843. After the deaths of her husband and three children, Madame Gamelin developed a particular devotion to

Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows (), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are Titles of Mary, names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referr ...

, whose commemoration remains the congregation's principal feast. With the approbation of the religious and civil authorities Madame Gamelin, a childless widow, had for some time been sheltering in her own house a number of infirm and poor old women. In 1836, Émilie and her 24 charges moved to a larger home, the “Yellow House.” This new home came to be called "Providence House". After a voyage to Europe, Bishop Bourget wished to bring to Montreal some French Sisters of Charity, but the plan came to nothing, and he decided to appeal to the young women of his own diocese. On 25 March 1843, in the chapel of the first asylum in Montreal seven sisters received the religious habit at his hands. Gamelin became the first Superior of the Congregation. The new institution developed rapidly. Its object is to provide for the poor and sick spiritual and temporal relief, to shelter children and the aged, to visit the homes of the poor and the ill, to shelter the infirm and the homeless, to maintain dispensaries for the needy, and to instruct the young. They opened a shelter for Irish orphans of typhus and took charge of a school for girls. In 1854, at the invitation of Louis de Goesbriand, Bishop of Burlington, the sisters opened St. Joseph Orphanage. In 1856

Augustin-Magloire Blanchet Augustin Magloire Alexandre Blanchet (22 August 1797 – 25 February 1887) was a French Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the now-defunct Diocese of Walla Walla and of the Diocese of Nesqually in pr ...

, the bishop of the new Diocese of Nesqually, approached the Sisters of Providence in Montreal, seeking their assistance for his diocese in the Pacific Northwest Territories of the United States.

Joseph Pariseau Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart, S.P. (born Esther Pariseau; 16 April 1823 – 19 January 1902) was a Canadian Catholic religious sister who led a group of members from her congregation to the Pacific Northwest of the United States. There ...

was chosen to lead four companions as missionaries to that region. Accompanied by the bishop, they spent over a month traveling by train and ship from Montreal, arriving on the 8 December of that year. They settled in Vancouver, Washington and established a convent-school and shortly thereafter St. Joseph Hospital, which would develop into

PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center is a 450-bed community hospital located in Vancouver, Washington. The hospital was founded in 1858. In 2010, the hospital had about 114,000 emergency department (ED) visits, 27,000 in-patient visits, and 3,00 ...

. She went on to design and build more than 30 hospitals, schools, orphanages and libraries across British Columbia, Washington, Montana, Idaho and Oregon. For her contributions to the development of that region, she was honored by the State of Washington as one of the two people allowed to represent it in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C. The Sisters of Providence of Montreal were instrumental in helping to establish: * The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul in Kingston, Ontario (Canada) (1861) * The Sisters of Our Lady of Seven Dolors (1887) The rule of the Institute of Providence was definitively approved by Leo XIII 12 September 1900.

Present day

"We believe that the loving presence of God watches over the entire universe and remains attentive to the needs of all, active in us and through us. This is what we call Providence." The congregation is a member of the

Women of Providence in Collaboration Women of Providence in Collaboration or WPC is an association of congregations of North American Roman Catholic religious sisters with "Providence" in their name. It initially grew out of an idea by Sister Michelle Holland, SP (Spokane, Washington ...

Providence Health & Services Providence Health & Services is a not-for-profit Catholic Church, Catholic healthcare system headquartered in Renton, Washington. The health system includes 51 hospitals, more than 800 non-acute facilities, and numerous assisted living faciliti ...

was established by the Sisters. The Museum of the Sisters of Providence was open in 1996. Located in the Providence International Centre, it presents the history of Emilie Gamelin and of the Sisters of Providence.Museum of the Sisters of Providence, ''Bonjour Quebec'', Ministère de Tourisme
/ref>

References

External links

Sisters of Providence of Western Canada

Sisters of Providence International

Providence Health International

Providence Health & Services
{{Authority control Religious organizations established in 1843 Organizations based in Montreal Catholic female orders and societies Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century 1843 establishments in Canada Women in Montreal

History

Present day

See also

References

External links