Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity (1801-1815)
(II, rue du Vieux Colombier, Paris 6)
This motherhouse of the Daughters in the parish of Saint Sulpice had
since 1680 heen a parish orphanage for girls. The motherhouse of the
Daughters of Charity, previously located across the street from Saint
Lazare, was confiscated at the time of the Revolution, and soon became
inhabitable. From 1797 to 1801, "Citizeness" Deleau, the
mother general, found a small lodging where she gathered together
a few postulants and other sisters. In 1797, while living in that
narrow street, she was able to buy back the coffin and remains of
Louise de Marillac, which she then hid in the basement of a house
not far from the pre-úRevolutionary motherhouse. After the
official ecclesiastical recognition of the remains, she brought them
to those temporary quarters. (15, rue des Macons Sorbonne, now Rue
Chairipolliort. Paris 6) Later, in 1801, the state gave the Daughters
of Charity in recompense a new establishment on Rue du Vicux Colombier.
Some dates in its history:
1801: The statue of Our Lady of the Missions, hidden with a family
near the old
motherhouse, is brought here and erected in the garden.
1802: Body of Louise de Marillac is transferred here, 4 March. Rosalie
Rendu enters, 25
May.
1804: Pope Pius VII, exiled by Napoleon, visits the house, 23 December,
the same day he
visited the church of Saint Sulpice.
1805: The Sisters are permitted to begin wearing the habit again.
On this occasion, Cardinal
Fesch, the uncle of Napoleon, celebrates mass here, attended by Napoleon's
mother.
1806: Francois Brunet (1731-1806), vicar general of the Congregation
(there was no superior
general at the time), retires and dies. He entrusts the body of Vincent
de Paul to the sisters,
18 July.
1807: The French government assigns this house to the Congregation
of the Mission as its
motherhouse. (Napoleon suppressed the congregation for a second time,
however, 26
September 1809, and it was reestablished only 3 February 1816.)
1809: The remains of Louise de Marillac are brought to the house.
1813: The decree giving the sisters their present house on the Rue
du Bac is signed;
construction begins on a chapel and main building.
1815: On 25 March, Napoleon signs the act officially granting the
sisters the Hotel de
Chaltillon, their present motherhouse. The chapel is finished
and the sisters move in, bringing
with them the remains of Saints Vincent and Louise.
The building is now a firehouse. Inside is an old courtyard (visible
from a side street) with a curious staircase.
Not far away lived Dominique Hanon, at the time the vicar general
of the Congregation in France. He was arrested there suddenly on 29
October 1809 as a result of the decree of Napoleon suppressing the
Congregation for the second time. Hanon was then imprisoned, and regained
his liberty only in 1814. (25, rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris 6)
Mottlerhouse of the Daughters of Charity
(140, rue du Bac, Paris 7 )
The present motherhouse is located on the Rue du Bac. This street
was laid out in 1563 and took its name from the ferry (bac) which
brought stones quarried on the left bank to be moved across the river
to build the Tuileries Palace, now destroyed.
When the former motherhouse, on Rue de Vieux Colombier, grew too cramped
for the Daughters of Charity and had been given to the Congregation
of the Mission, the state chose the former Hotel de la Valliere (later
called Hotel de Chatillon) to replace it. The earliest buildings (now
thc refectory and offices above) had been built after 1681 by the
marquis de Lassay on property formerly belonging to the Hospital of
the Incurables. The duke of La Valli6re acquired the property in 1766,
and moved its main entrance from Rue de Sevres to Rue du Bac. His
daughter, the duchess of Chatillon, inherited it, but the state seized
it at the Revolution. Since 1815 it has become the nucleus of a large
institution. The chapel was blessed on 6 August 1816. The remains
of Louise de Marillac had been transferred on 29 June 1815, and were
placed in the floor of the new chapel in 1824. The novice sister,
Catherine Labour6 (1806-1876), had visionary experiences here (1830).
As a result, the chapel was enlarged (1849,1930), and has become world
famous as a pilgrimage center to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
Other buildings were added in the 19th century. Another novice sister,
Justine Bisqueyburu (18l7-l903), experienced visions during her novitiate
here. These led eventually to the devotion of the Green Scapular honoring
the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She had these visions in front of the
altar where the medieval statue, Our Lady of the Missions, was placed.
In the main chapel are kept the bodies of Louise de Marillac and Catherine
Laboure', as well as the heart of Saint Vincent enclosed in a reliquary
above the right side altar. The previous reliquary, made at the initiative
of the duchess of Aiguillon, one of his most important benefactors,
has been removed because of its fragile state. The body of Saint Vincent
was kept in this chapel from 1815 until its solemn transfer ("Translation"),
via the cathedral, to the Vincentian motherhouse, 25 April 1830. His
body, however, was secretly returned to the motherhouse and kept hidden
in a cellar during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. It was then secretly
placed under the protection of the American embassy, which declared
it the property of an American Daughter of Charity. She kept it from
April to July 1871, but then restored it again to its rightful place.
His body last traveled in 1960, visiting Notre Dame cathedral once
again, to mark the tercentenary of his death.
There are several special features of this chapel:
(1) The fresco over the main altar, recalling the first vision of
Catherine Laboure, 18-19 July 1830; below is the text: "Come
to the foot of this altar where graces will be showered on to all."
(2) The statue, Virgo Potens, coming from the visions of 27
September. The Blessed Virgin holds a globe surmounted by a small
cross. Inside the globe are kept the names of the provinces of the
Company. Below lies the body of Saint Catherine Laboure clothed in
the habit used by the Daughters of Charity until 1964. Her remains
were brought here in 1933. Her hands have been removed, replaced by
wax models. Her face, also in wax, depicts her as a young woman.
(3) The main altar, with another large statue of Mary based on the
Bouchardon statue predating the medal. It was used as the model for
the medal, on the orders of the archbishop of Paris. Above is the
text: "0 Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse
to you.
(4) The body of Saint Louise de Marillac lies exposed in a glass coffin
over a side altar. Above the altar is a mosaic demonstrating the saint's
devotion to the Holy Spirit and the Passion of Christ. The text in
gold letters is her spiritual testament to the Daughters of Charity:
"Take good care of the service of the poor. Above all, live together
in great union and cordiality, loving one another in imitation of
the union and life of Our Lord. Pray earnestly to the Blessed Virgin,
that she may be your only Mother." Her body is not incorrupt;
her face and hands are modeled in wax to give a life-like appearance.
A stone inscription in the center aisle marks where her body had been
interred until its last transfer.
(5) Nearby is a plaque commemorating the visit of Pope John Paul II,
31 May 1980, after the renovation of the chapel.
(6) On both sides of the sanctuary are circular stone medallions recalling
the martyrdom of Daughters of Charity at Cambrai and Angers during
the French Revolution.
Within the large property are other buildings which served at one
point in the 19th century as the seminary (novitiate, built 1843-1845)
for as many as 600 sisters at a time. The superioress general and
her council live here. Part of the property has been given to the
city of Paris for a park, entered from Rue de Babylone. It is named
in honor of Catherine Laboure'.
In 1879 it became known that the Daughters of Charity were not the
property owners, but had received the grounds from the State. In the
anti-religious spirit of the time, some wanted to expel them. The case
dragged on until the end of the century, when the Sisters were
left finally in peaceful possession of the property.
Back to Museum
Motherhouse of the Congregation of the Mission (New Saint Lazare)
(95, rue de S6vres, Paris 6)
Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity (1 801-1815) (II, rue du Vieux
Colombier, Paris 6)
Mottlerhouse of the Daughters of Charity (140, rue du Bac, Paris 7Church
of Saint Etienne du Mont (Place Sainte Genevieve, Paris 5)
Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris (Notre Dame de Paris), H6tel Dieu
Convent of the Visitation (17, rue Saint Antoine, Paris 4)
Church of saint Lawrence (68, boulevard Magenta, and 119, rue du Faubourg
Saint Martin, Paris 10)
Clichy-la-Garonne
