Daughters of Charity (DC)North India

Brief History of the Province: Daughters of Charity (DC)North India

In the year 1922, Priests of the Congregation of the Mission from the Province of Madrid arrived in the country, having received their mission from the Holy See to take up the evangelization work of the State of Orissa. They arrived in Surada,Orissa and they began to grow in the midst of hard trials and difficulties they called their area of Evangelisation as “Cuttack Mission”.
The first four Spanish Sisters – Srs. Adelaida Biada, Angelina Beramundi, Paz Garcia and Milagros del Val – arrived in India on 7th Feb 1940, and in Berhampur on 11th February.
The little house in Gopalpur welcomed them on the 12th Feb 1940. Two more Spanish Sisters from the Philippines joined them in the same year. The people in Spain and the Fathers and Sisters are very familiar with ‘Cuttack Mission’, which gradually grew, thanks to the great support, funds and sacrifices of the Spain.
After the 2nd world war 10 more sisters came from Spain… that was the beginning, soon others would continue to come making the Company fully rooted in Indian soil

In 1947 the First Indian Vocations arrived in Madrid, Spain for their formation.

The first service our Sisters began was care of the orphaned and motherless babies. In 1957 Houses were opened in the different parts of Orissa. This small foundation grew into a Vice-Province in 1965. For vocations, the Sisters went down to Kerala and brought desirous young girls, also they accepted from Orissa itself.
The Province began to take its shape…. The Visitatrices; took up the responsibility of animating the sisters to be faithful to the Charism and Spirit of the Company….
Sr. Adalaida BIADA – First Vice Visitatrice
Sr. Catherine SEQUIER- 2nd Vice Visitatrice & 1st Visitatrice
Sr. Pilar ACERETE became the 1st Seminary Directress & 2nd Visitatrice
After Sr. Mary Louise PANIKULAM, Sr. Pauline INCHANAL, Sr. Grace MOOLAN and Sr. Christo Kumari Singh (present)consecutively Shouldered the responsibility of the Province.
Provincial Directors helped the sisters to live the Charism and Spirit of the Company from the very beginning. In the year 2000, as the Southern Province was erected, the North Province began to look beyond and to extend the life and service to other distant states of Northern India.

At the time of division the Northern Province owned:
23 Communities in 3 States (Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal)
154 Sisters of 3 Nationalities
Since then the Province has enlarged its tent and number of Sisters have grown considerably. Responding to the needs of the Poor and Call of the Church, 17 more communities and one Annex have been opened in 5 more States.
Today the Province has 41- Houses, including 1 Annex, 230 Sisters including 10 ( Novices) Seminary Sisters, 21 Postulants and 54 Candidates.

We collaborate with :
- Vincentians in assisting them in the Schools, hostels and in the Parish Apostolate.
- Indian Missionary Society: Care and Education of Differently abled children.
- National Conference of St. Vincent De Paul : Rehabilitation and Education of the Differently abled.
- Cheshire Home India: Rehabilitation of Differently abled.

We continue our services of…
Health care:-Curative: Through dispensaries, hospitals & Mobile Clinics
Preventive : - Nutrition , health education & hygiene
Environmental sanitation
Drinking water facilities
Mother & Child health programmes
Education:-
Schools (with emphasis on girl-child education)
-Vocational Training (tailoring & embroidery for girls)
Coaching of school drop-outs
Orphanages and Hostels etc.

Social Assistance :-
As and when needed along with empowerment initiatives

Evangelization and Pastoral care :-
Village catechesis for adults and children, Family visits Youth animation, through Marian Youth Association Mothers’ association and of Church Organizations Preparation for village feasts and retreats

Generally people comment that the people the Daughters care for are happy. On the other hand, these efforts in the distant areas of India have helped us and the to appreciate the cultures of other areas of the country. At the same time, we have our difficulties in rendering quality service in all these places.


The statutes of this institute were confirmed in the name of Pope Clement IX by his legate, Cardinal Louis de Bourbon, Duke de VendOme, on 8 July 1668. Vincent de Paul had modified these statutes at the insistence of Louise de Marillac so that the Daughters of Charity would be under the perpetual direction of Vincent and his successors as superior general of the Congregation ot the Mission At its motherhouse are enshrined the relics of Saint Louise de Marillac and Saint Catherine Laboure, D.C., (1806-1876, canonized 1947) in the chapel of the Miraculous Medal Approximately 23,000 Daughters of Charity serve in eighty-three countries. (Generalate: 140 rue du Bac; 75340 Pans, Cedex 07, France.) The society was intruduced in India in 1940.