The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis, of pontifical right, was founded in Vannes, (Brittany), France, on May 25, 1803, by the Countess Louise-Elizabeth Molé, in religion Sister Saint Louis. She founded a Congregation dedicated to the education of neglected youth and the conversion of sinners.  Retreat work also flourished under the sisters’ guidance.

Mother St. Louis Will be beatified May 27 in Vannes and become known as Blessed Louise Elisabeth.

Coming to North America
When the anticlerical wave swept through France in 1902, the life of the Congregation was at stake. In order to prevent the dissolution of the order, Mother Marie-Fidèle, General Superior, encouraged some sisters to immigrate to Canada.

By this providential course of events, the sisters landed and established themselves in the province of Quebec.
The history of the presence of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Louis in the North Country began a century ago in the area then known as Fox Hill in South Plattsburgh.

Father Desjardins, pastor of the newly formed parish of Our Lady of Victory, started his search for religious women who would take over the education of its children.

In Plattsburgh in 1910
Following his persistant requests, five sisters arrived from Canada on August 10, 1910 to open and take charge of a building which in its early years served as church, school and parish hall. This school was called Académie Notre Dame des Victoires / Our Lady of Victory Academy.

In 1915, when the church was completed, renovations were done in the convent to receive boarders in addition to day students.  Today this building has become “Victory Place”, an independent living facility.
Over the years, with the untiring work of the sisters, the school progressed and as the number of pupils increased. Eventually, it became necessary to add to the first building.

Our Lady of Victory Academy
In 1949, the new Our Lady of Victory Academy opened as a co-educational high school, a boarding school for girls, and a convalescent home for thirty ladies.

Sister Mary Genevieve, a well-known OLV parishioner, was appointed principal, a position which she held for 33 years. She was the initiator of many projects for the enhancement of the school.

In 1961, Notre Dame Elementary School was built on the church property to receive the large number of students, some of them from the Air Base nearby. It was staffed by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Louis, among them was Sister Veronica Perrotte, a former graduate and parishioner, and a few lay teachers all dedicated to catholic education. The school was renamed Our Lady of Victory Academy in 1993.  It is now used as a Parish Center.

In Keeseville, Redford
The sisters also staffed St. John the Baptist School, which later became Our Lady of Grace from 1914 to 1980, in Keeseville, New York.

Sallaz Academy in Redford, New York, was a high school from 1915 to 1964, and then an elementary school until 1970, when the students were transferred to the newly built Assumption of Mary School, where the sisters continued to teach until 1973.

The OLV convalescent home became inadequate to meet the needs of the area.  Msgr. Robert Lawler, director of Catholic Charities successfully applied for a federal grant to build a nursing home in Plattsburgh.

Sacred Heart Home
Funds for the complex were provided by three sources: Sisters of Charity of Saint Louis, Hill Burton Act, and the Diocese of Ogdensburg. The new facility, named Sacred Heart Home, with a 64 bed capacity, opened in May 1965, with Mother St. Henry as administrator. She was replaced by Sister Angela in August 1966. Sr. Angela soon realized that Sacred Heart Home lacked the necessary space for the services required by the State Department of Health.

In 1974, following many interventions, it was decided to expand the Home to an 89 bed capacity.  The sisters retired in 1986 and the Home was purchased by Hassett-Belfer Senior Housing in 1994 and renamed Evergreen Valley Nursing Home.

Sister Mary of Good Counsel taught music to the elementary students and later in her life was a Eucharistic Minister to the home bounds in Our Lady of Victory Parish and also to the residents of Clinton County Nursing Home until such time as her health would not allow.

OLV Secretarial School
The Loretta Business Institute, conducted by the Religious Sisters of Mercy, was transferred to the Sisters of Charity of Saint Louis in 1958 and became Our Lady of Victory Secretarial School. It was accredited both on the state and the national levels. The school attracted a unique cross-section of students, not only from New York State and Vermont but also from Canada and many other foreign countries. Sister Theresa Martel was the executive director until its closure in 1993. The building was sold and has been converted into apartments.

In Christian Formation
From 1984 to 1995, the sisters served as coordinators of the Christian Formation Program in Saint Patrick’s Parish, Rouses Point.  The sisters that served there were Sister Bernadette Ducharme for two years and then was followed by Sister Mary Edmund and Sister Angela.

Sister Bernadette Ducharme ministered at John XXIII Newman Center/Seton Catholic and at St. John’s Parish in Plattsburgh until such time as community service demanded more of her time.

The sisters today
Today, because of ill health Sister Agnes Racette and Sister Louella Pelletier reside in nursing homes.  Sister Claire Michel Fortier and Sister Joan Marie Lashway minister in Our Lady of Victory Parish Clothing Store, while Sister Bernadette Ducharme ministers in Seton Catholic Central and in the parish.

In other regions
Besides being in the Diocese of Ogdensburg,  the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis also ministered in Willimantic, Oakville, Brookfield Center, and Cheshire, Connecticut.  Clifton Park, New York also benefited from the presence of the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis.

Today, faithful to the charism received from the Spirit and passed on by Mother Saint Louis, some 600 Sisters work in ten countries: (France, England, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Haïti, Martinique, Senegal, Mali, and Madagascar) and continue their work of education and charity.

Participating in the educative mission of the Church, their apostolic mission is exercised by forms of education adapted to the different cultures, with a special attention given to the young, the women and the persons who live in difficult situations.

They work at varied levels of education from nursery school to the twelfth grade. After school help to do homework and help to raise the level of literacy is also provided. They operate homes for young adults who are working or studying and also a home for unwed mothers. The sisters also teach faith education to the young and adults and are involved in pastoral activities and giving spiritual sessions. Whatever their mission, each one has the care of working at the integral and harmonious development of the person.

In the spirit of their Foundress, the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis have remained a teaching order throughout these years, providing education which encompasses the human, social, and spiritual development of the young and adults in schools and parishes.

Mother St. Louis
On January 16, 1986, the Church, through Pope John Paul II, declared Mother Saint Louis Venerable.

On December 19, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI promulgated the decree of Beatification of Mother Saint Louis. The celebration of the beatification will be held on May 27, 2012 in Vannes France where Mother Saint Louis will be beatified as Blessed Louise Elizabeth. 

The ceremony will be presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, delegate of Pope Benedict XVI. The feast of Blessed Mother Saint Louis will be March 4 for the diocese of Vannes (memorial) and feast throughout the Congregation. It commemorates the day of her death or “birth in heaven” as it is sometimes said.

We, her spiritual daughters are proud and honored to say: Blessed Mother Saint Louis, pray for us. Blessed Louise Elisabeth, pray for us.

Bishop Terry R. LaValley joined the Sisters of St. Louis Aug. 16, 2010 to celebrate their 100 years in Plattsburgh. In front are Sisters Louella Pelletier and Bernadette Ducharme; back, Sisters Joan Marie Lashway and Claire Michel Fortier, Bishop LaValley and Sister Agnes Racette (formerly Sister Ursula.)