What is the difference between the Daughters , the Ladies, and the Sisters of Charity?

The Daughters of Charity were founded by St. Vincent and St. Louise in 1633.

For a more detailed description of their origin visit the International site of the Daughters of Charity.

The Ladies of Charity is an organization of Catholic lay women volunteers that was founded by St. Vincent de Paul. St. Vincent de Paul was a parish priest at Chatillon-les-Dombes in 1617. For a more detailed description of their origin visit the site of the Ladies of Charity USA. Today the Ladies of Charity are know Internationally as the Asssociation of International Charities.

The Sisters of Charity includes many diverse yet similar groups. In the United States there is a Federation of Sisters of Charity in the Vincentian and Setonian Tradition. These groups continue the original charisms of Vincent de Paul (1581-1660, canonized 1737), Louise de Marillac (1591-1660, canonized 1934), and Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774-1821, canonized 1975). The founding congregations of the Sisters of Charity Federation trace their roots to the first sisterhood native to the United States, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's (S.C.), founded (1809) by Elizabeth Bayley Seton (Mother Seton) near Emmitsburg, Maryland. For membership, congregations must document the influence of the Common Rules of the Daughters of Charity (Paris, 1672), as the root of their spiritual heritage.

There are federations of Sisters of Charity in other countries such as those existing in Europe.

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