Who are we?

We are Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres (SPC), an international, missionary Congregation. Chartres is the name of a French city not too far from Paris. It is famous for its Cathedral, which is full of stained glass windows, especially the one called Mystical Rose? Our Mother House is just five-minute walk from the cathedral.

Our Patrons

The great Apostle Paul is our Patron and we are encouraged to follow the teaching and mission of St Paul. The Blessed Mother is our Patroness and through her we grow closer to Jesus each day.

Charism

After the example of St. Paul, spurred on by the love of Christ, the Sisters are ready to go wherever they are needed and do whatever is necessary, always available to the call of the Spirit, making themselves "all things to all people" (1Cor. 9:22).

Founders

Fr. Louis Chauvet, the parish priest of Levesville-lachenard, a small village not far from Chartres, and Marie Anne de Tilly, an educated lady of the noble family of the area.

History

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres is an international, missionary Congregation founded by Fr.Louis, parish priest of Levesville-la-Chenard, a small village in France. Education at that time was very limited and girls in villages had no chance to learn anything at all. So he gathered 4 young girls and instructed them and formed them into a community. With the help of Marie Anne de Tilly, Fr Chauvet was able to set up a community and instructed them to go to teach children about God and to visit the sick in their homes. At that time, all religious were of all enclosed orders and our group was one of the first to go out to work. Now we call this type of religious the “active?or “apostolic?religious.

Shortly after the Bishop of Chartres knew about the Sisters, he invited them to go to his diocese and gave them the name Sisters of St Paul de Chartres? Before that time, they were known simply as teachers? From Chartres, they went to many towns and villages teaching children, visiting the sick and helping in the parishes. These were their main work and today these are still the major types of work. At the same time, we are also to do what there is a great need to do.

In 1727, the Sisters were asked to go to Guiana, a French colony in South America to take care of the prisoners. It was very hard work. This was our first mission outside France. In 1848, they were asked to go to Hong Kong to take care of orphans. Once again, the Sisters?trust in God was so great that they dared to venture into the unknown places to bring the Good News and to care for others. From Hong Kong, the Sisters went to Vietnam, Mainland China, and later, to Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, East Timor and Israel.

From France, the Sisters went to England, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, United States, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia. We also have Sisters in Africa.