Divine Charity, Daughters of
DIVINE CHARITY, DAUGHTERS OF
(FDC, Official Catholic Directory #0790), a congregation with papal approbation founded in Vienna, Austria, in 1868 by Mother Franziska Lechner (1833 to 1894) for the purpose of engaging in educational and welfare work. Growing rapidly, the community soon spread into many countries in Europe and the Americas. In 1913 a small band of sisters went to the United States and established St. Mary's, a residence for business and professional women in New York City's mid-Manhattan area. In 1919 Arrochar Park, Staten Island, New York, became the site of the first American provincial house, academy, and novitiate. The sisters are engaged in education, nursing, catechetical centers, ministry to the homeless, and residences for women. The generalate is in Rome; the United States provincialate is in Staten Island, New York.
Bibliography: k. burton, One Thing Needful: The Biography of Mother Franziska Lechner (New York 1960).
[c. poch/eds.]