Description

In 1803, three women and an ambitious priest started an extraordinary project in Lovendegem. Today, the religious congregation they founded in this rural Belgi

an village numbers more than 1,200 sisters. Their worldwide activities include care, education and various forms of social apostolate across Europe, Africa and Asia. The Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary have a fascinating history. For 222 years, thousands of women contributed to this extraordinary story, driven by faith and devotion. They pioneered psychiatric care in early 19th-century Belgium, became the first female religious order in the colonial Congo, and witnessed the turbulent history of the Indian subcontinent.

For this book, the Sisters of Charity joined forces with their Heritage Centre in Ghent and Geheugen Collectief, an independent initiative for historical research. The story of the congregation is told in three different parts.

The first presents its history from a small collective founded in the fledgling nation of Belgium to an international institute engaged in charitable services in colonial and post-colonial times. The second part deals with spirituality: what inspired women to be a sister back then, what kept them going, and how they adapt themselves to changes within the Church and society. The third and final part focuses on the congregation’s apostolates, from caring for the sick to the education of children and youth, and everything in between