Feast of St. Louise de Marillac, March 15

 

St. Louise was an associate of St. Vincent de Paul in France, circa 1630. He had organized a group called "Ladies of Charity" to minister to the poor, sick and neglected. St. Louise took over and soon the Sisters (or Daughters as St. Vincent prefered) was created. She is the Patroness of Social Workers and was cannonized by Pope John XXIII in 1960.

Sister Henrietta is shown here in full D. of C. regalia. The look has gone out of style now - if you go the Daughters of Charity website you'll see mostly women in secular dress. Too bad, really. I was taught by Daughters of Charity when I was at Seton Catholic High School - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton merged her Sisters of Charity with the Daughters of Charity in 1850.

The lid the good Sister is wearing is called a "cornette" which is a type of "whimple" ( a type of cloth worn during the Middle Ages by women, and covering their head, neck and chin).