Based on an article by Father Fernando Quintano, CM. https://cmglobal.org/en/files/2019/03/Vows-of-the-Daughters-of-Charity.pdf

1. Vows of the
Daughters of Charity
Based on an article by Father Fernando Quintano, CM
Photo: facebook/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs

2. • When they founded the
Company of the Daughters
of Charity, St. Vincent and
St. Louise were aware of
both the innovation of this
new way of following
Christ in the Church, and
the fact that God was its
author.
St. Vincent gives Rules of Daughters of Charity
to St. Louise

3. Vows
• In the language of
consecrated life, “vows”
are a commitment through
which one lives out
chastity, poverty, and
obedience.
• Some congregations add a
more specific fourth vow;
for the Daughters of
Charity it is the vow of
Service to the Poor.
Daughters of Charity serving in Guatemala.
Photo: facebook/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs

4. What the vows mean
• St. Vincent wondered, “What
does a Daughter of Charity
say who makes vows of
poverty, chastity and
obedience? She says that she
renounces the world, scorns
all its fair promises, and gives
herself unreservedly to God…
That’s what you do by the
vows, and that’s what you
must do in order to observe
them faithfully.”
(CCD X:174)
U.S. Sisters join college students in week of service.
Photo: facebook/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs

5. • Vows were introduced nine
years after the foundation
of the Company of the
Daughters of Charity.
Before that, they were still
authentic Daughters of
Charity— as soon as they
entered the Company they
began living in poverty,
chastity and obedience.

6. A state of perfection
In a Conference on 5 July 1640
(during the time before vows
were established), St. Vincent
said to the Sisters:
"The happiness of Christians consists in remaining
always in the state that makes them most pleasing to
God so that there's nothing that can displease Him.
Two sorts of persons in the world may be in this state:
some are in their own homes and attend only to the
care of their families and the observance of the
Commandments; the others are those whom God
calls to the state of perfection, such as religious in
every Order and even those He places in
Communities, such as the Daughters of Charity who,
although they don't have vows to sustain them for the
present, are, nevertheless, in that state of perfection,
if they're true Daughters of Charity.” (CCD IX: 13)

7. Four vows
• During another conference
two weeks later, St. Vincent
conveyed with much feeling
how he was moved by the
vow formula of the Hospital
Religious of Italy who took the
vows of poverty, chastity,
obedience, and service to
their lords, the poor.
• The Sisters reacted by saying
that they would be interested
in doing the same. St. Vincent
allowed the possibility, but
made it very clear that if one
day they did make vows, it
must not be to become
religious (like the cloistered
orders of nuns of that time).

8. The beginning
• On 25 March 1642, St.
Louise and four Sisters
pronounced vows for the
first time, “for life.” Soon,
other Sisters did as well,
but there was much
freedom: some made
vows, some did not; for
some, they were
temporary, for others,
perpetual.

9. Concern about vows
• By 1648, the Sisters were
taking annual vows, and they
asked Saint Vincent for his
approval of this.
• But both Founders were greatly
concerned— even if the Sisters
pronounced vows, they must
continue to be secular. St.
Vincent and St. Louise wanted
to ensure the mobility of the
Sisters in their service of the
poor, so they could be where
the poor are found. By making
vows publicly, they could be
considered as Religious, which
would undoubtedly lead to the
risk of enclosure (the Church
would want to cloister them).

10. Vows of today
• The present Daughters of
Charity Constitutions
remain faithful to the
Founders’ plan for the
Company, as well as the
manner in which they
conceived the vows.
• Today, the Company is
recognized in the Church
as a Society of Apostolic
Life. The Constitutions of
the Daughters of Charity
state that the vows are
“non-religious, annual, and
always renewable.”
Photo: facebook/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs

11. “Non-religious” vows
• The expression “non-
religious vows” signifies,
first, that the vows of the
Daughters of Charity are
different from the vows of
Religious Orders.
• The difference can be
described this way: for
religious congregations,
the focus is on entering the
religious life through public
vows; for the Daughters of
Charity, the focus is on
giving your life as a gift to
God in service to the poor.
You are considered
admitted into the Company
when you enter the
Seminary (Novitiate).
A group of Sisters under 10 years vocation
Photo: facebook/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs

12. “Non-religious” vows
• St. Vincent was very clear
on this subject: “They shall
bear in mind that they are
not in a Religious Order, as
this state is unsuitable to
the duties of their
vocation... no other form of
profession [of vows] to
assure their vocation than
the continual confidence
they have in Divine
Providence and the
offering they make to God
of all that they are and of
their service in the person
of the poor.” (CCD X:530)

13. “Non-religious” vows
• The focus for the Daughters
is charity, expressed through
the corporal and spiritual
service of the poor.
• St. Vincent told the Sisters:
“...you are giving your entire
life to the practice of charity
and, therefore, you’re giving
it for God…” (CCD: IX:361)
• And in a letter to Sister Anne
Hardemont: “O Sister, how
consoled you will be at the
hour of death for having
consumed your life for the
same reason for which Jesus
Christ gave His— for charity,
for God, for the poor!” (CCD:
VII:397)

14. Argument that the Daughters’
vows demand even more than
those of Religious Orders
• Although “consecration” for the
Daughters of Charity is different
than it is for Religious Orders,
both carry evangelical radicality
and demands. St. Vincent
stated that Daughters of
Charity “by their constant trust
in Divine Providence and the
offering they make to God of all
that they are and of their
service in the person of the
poor, for all these
considerations they should
have as much or more virtue
than if they had made their
profession in a religious
Order…”
(CCD X:530)

15. • St. Vincent told the Sisters to oppose
anyone who tried to make them
Religious (since at that time, being
Religious meant being cloistered,
where it would be impossible for
them to serve the poor). Furthermore,
he explains to them: “When a nun
might want to do something wrong,
the grille is closed; she can't do it;
the occasion is removed from her.…
but no one goes among the people
like the Daughters of Charity do and
are so much at risk as you, Sisters.
That's why it's so important that you
be more virtuous than nuns… if
there's one degree of perfection for
members of religious Orders,
Daughters of Charity need two…”
(CCD X:527-528)
Argument that the Daughters’
vows demand even more than
those of Religious Orders

16. • Hidden behind St. Vincent’s
words was an opinion some
Sisters had that the cloistered
religious state was more
perfect than the “state of
charity” of the Daughters of
Charity. St. Vincent wants to
convince the Sisters that this is
not so, and that even though
he admires Religious greatly,
the Daughters of Charity are in
a “state of perfection, if they
are real Daughters of Charity”
(CCD IX: 13) and to reinforce this
conviction he says, “I’ve never
seen a Company that gives
greater honor to God than
yours does.” (CCD X: 92)
Argument that the Daughters’
vows demand even more than
those of Religious Orders

17. “Annual and always
renewable” vows
• At first the Founders were
undecided between annual
vows and permanent vows
in the Company. Finally,
they decided on vows that
would be renewable every
year on the Feast of the
Incarnation.
• St. Vincent cautioned:
“However, it would be
better not to make them at
all than to have the
intention of obtaining a
dispensation whenever
you wished.” (CCD IX:22)

18. “Annual and always
renewable” vows
• The annual Renovation
does not mean that the
vows are temporary, but
that they are dynamic;
each year brings a new
momentum and a
deepening of all that
consecration in the
Company implies… a
progressive deepening of
one’s vocation.
• The annual vows can
provide spiritual energy
and a confirmation of the
consecration made to God.
Sister Kara makes her vows.
Photo: facebook/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs

19. The first three vows must be
understood and lived in the
light of the fourth “special vow”
• The fourth vow or “special vow”
is the most directly linked to the
Company’s identity and its
purpose in the Church. The
other three vows must be
understood and lived in
reference to the fourth.
• The formula used to express the
vows shows this clearly: “In
response to the call of Christ
who invites me to follow him
and to be a witness to his
charity to the poor, I … renew
the promises of my Baptism
and vow to God for one year,
chastity, poverty and
obedience ... and to devote
myself to the corporal and
spiritual service of the poor.”
Sister Georgina makes her vows.
Photo: facebook/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs

20. The first three vows must be
understood and lived in the
light of the fourth “special vow”
• In other words, the
apostolic end of the
Daughters of Charity is the
corporal and spiritual
service of the poor; this is
the “special vow,” and to
better fulfill it, they take on
and practice the other
three vows.

21. Serving the poor as a
Daughter of Charity
St. Vincent said “dear Sisters, you
must know the difference between
your Company and many others that
profess to assist poor persons as
you do, but not in the way you
usually do.” (CCD IX:465) Importantly,
the service of the poor is done as
Daughters of Charity. This means
seeing poor persons with eyes of
faith, perceiving them as the image
of Christ; seeking to help, promote,
and evangelize them; and giving
service with the true attitude of a
servant, expressed in humility,
simplicity and charity. By living out
their service as an expression of
their consecration, the Sisters avoid
falling into [compassionless]
professionalism.

22. Focus of the annual
vows
• The point of emphasis for
the annual vow of service
to the poor is to regain, or
further develop, the
mysticism of service. This
has a lot to do with “for
whom,” “why,” and “how”
the poor are served.
Sister Mary Felice, D.C., has been a missionary in the Congo
for many years, providing healthcare to people in need
Photo: facebook/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs

23. Conclusion
• The annual, renewable
vows of the Daughters of
Charity are a progressive
confirmation of their
unique consecration; a
matter of fidelity to their
own identity. Moreover,
they help cultivate a
spiritual dynamism that
has beneficial effects —
revitalizing the Daughters
of Charity in living their
total gift to God.
Photo: facebook/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs

24. Daughters of Charity U.S. - encouraging women to discern their vocation
A few examples: Podcasting, Retreats,
Booth at National Catholic Youth Conference
Photos: facebook/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs

25. Source article:
Vows of the Daughters of Charity by Fernando Quintano, CM
Director General of the Daughters of Charity • July 6, 2001
Father Fernando Quintano, CM, passed away on September 23, 2019 at the age of 83.
Images: Depaul Image Archive, facebook.com/DaughtersOfCharityVocationsUs