Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul West Central Province
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul West Central Province
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul West Central Province
It is the responsibility and mission of the Archives department to collect and protect the records and materials which pertain to the Daughters of Charity in this Province.
The collection spans foundation, history, administration, personnel, spiritual life and apostolates of the Daughters of Charity, particularly those of the West Central Province. The West Central Province covers eleven Midwestern states, with current ministries concentrated in Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Collections span from 1642 to the present day, with the bulk of the collections covering from 1828, when the Daughters of Charity arrived in St. Louis, to the present. Collections include manuscripts, publications (both Community literature and official publications of Daughter of Charity institutions), photographs, sound recordings, film, video, artifacts, and artwork. A heritage library covering history of the Daughters of Charity and the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentian's) is available for use.
Archives is open to the public for research. Materials do not circulate and some collections are restricted. Please contact us if you have questions or would like to schedule a visit.
Archives - Marillac Provincialate
4330 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63108
Phone (314) 533-4770 ext. 117
Fax (314) 533-3226
Contact us via email here
Original letter, copies of French documents, conferences, correspondence, instructions, biographies, pamphlets, articles, movie, tapes, slides, and photos. History of foundations of Charities (1619), Congregation of the Mission (1625) and Daughters of Charity (1633). Commentaries and studies of Vincentian spirituality can be found throughout the collections.
Foundress of the Daughters of Charity, Paris, 1633. Copies of correspondence, instructions, writings, biographies, pamphlets, articles, photographs, A-V presentations, commentaries on her life and spirit, accounts of her beatification and canonization.
Foundress of the Sisters of Charity in the U.S., 1809. Accounts of Seton family, early Community history, and of the union of Sisters of Charity with the Daughters of Charity (1850). Copies of original letters, biographies, pamphlets, articles, photos, slides, and materials relating to her canonization.
Biographies, materials relating to her canonization and to the Miraculous Medal and Red and Green Scapular devotions.
Records of the sisters' services at the only leprosarium in U.S., both as a Louisiana state institution (1896-1921) and as the USPHS National Hansen's Disease Center (1921-1999). Collection includes annals, original correspondence, records of the sisters' service, photos, tapes, slides, publications by patients (including The Star), talks by sisters, photos, museum items and ephemera. Does not include patient records.
Relates to the service of ten Daughters of Charity and over 100 nurses overseas during World War I near the Austro-Italian front in Italy. The collection includes original correspondence, diaries kept by the sisters (diaries have been transcribed), photos, a set of glass dry plate negatives, official documents, a thesis, clippings, souvenirs and postcards.
History of the four-year Sister Formation College sponsored by the Daughters of Charity Collection includes Articles of Incorporation, Board and faculty minutes, institutional studies, commendation from the Sacred Congregation of Religious in Rome, college catalogues and publications, photographs, tapes, slides, and AV presentations. The collection also includes books on the education of sisters by Sister Bertrande Meyers, co-foundress of the College, and publications of the Sister Formation Conference.
Records of the development of the Daughters of Charity National Health System, and DCNHS annual reports. Archives also contain collections of the health care institutions sponsored by the Daughters of Charity in Missouri, Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas
Records of the first hospital west of the Mississippi River, 1828-ca. 1995. Includes handwritten diaries of the Sisters who journeyed to St. Louis from Emmitsburg, Maryland, in 1828 to establish the hospital.