Congregation of Sisters of Charity (CSC)
CSC, a religious congregation of the Syro-Malabar Church was founded in 1944 at Chowanoor. India, in the diocese of Trichur by Reverend Fr. Augustin John Ooken (1880-1956) for charitable services and social work among the poor, including education of youth, the care of orphans, and the sick. Fr. Ooken had been greatly influenced by the ideals of Saint Vincent, and he called his institute Sisters of Charity, in imitation of Vincent de Paul, its patron. The name was later changed to Sisters of Charity of Saint Francis of Assisi by the bishop, a Franciscan, who was their ecclesiastical superior. The institute collaborated with the Congregation of Mary Immaculate and the Sisters of the Destitute in Emakulam. In 1966, this diocesan institute united with the Capuchin Order. In 1994 this institute again changed its name to reflect its original purpose. In the year 1995, through the Decree, Quoniam Deus, CSC is elevated to the satus of Pontifical Right. (Generalate. Maria Bhavan, Kolazhy, Trichur 680010, Kerala, India.)