Bon Secours Sisters
| Bon Secours Sisters | |
| Abbreviation | C.B.S. |
|---|---|
| Formation | c. AD 1831 |
| Founder | Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen |
| Type | Catholic religious order |
| Headquarters | France |
| Website | bonsecours |
The Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for nursing (gardes malades), whose stated object is to care for patients from all socio-economic groups. Reflecting their name ("bon secours" means "good help" in French), the congregation's motto is "Good Help to Those in Need."
In 2014, the news media ran a series of articles about the order, relating to a mid-20th century maternity home for unmarried mothers which it ran in Tuam, Ireland. The home had a high death rate from childhood diseases and malnutrition (including marasmus-related malnutrition), and it was claimed that many of the dead children might have been buried in a mass grave on the site. Excavations in 2017 found an "underground structure divided into 20 chambers", containing the remains of children up to three years old. This area is labeled as a septic tank when overlaid with maps from the workhouse era, and had been decommissioned in the 1930s. Examination of the bodies found that they dated from the 1920s through to the 1950s. The judicial Commission of Investigation that ordered the excavations stated: "The Commission has not yet determined what the purpose of this structure was but it appears to be related to the treatment/containment of sewage and/or waste water. The Commission has also not yet determined if it was ever used for this purpose." Carbon dating confirmed that the remains date from the timeframe relevant to the operation of the Mother and Baby Home by the Bon Secours order. The Commission stated that it was shocked by the discovery and that it is continuing its investigation into who was responsible for the disposal of human remains in this way.
The congregation was begun by Archbishop de Quélen of Paris in 1822, and was formally approved by Pope Pius IX in 1875. Although its patients were expected to pay as much as they could afford, the congregation provided nursing free of charge to the poor. According to their founding constitution, "After the personal sanctification of its members, the principal aim of this pious society is the care of the sick in their own homes". Its nuns traditionally wear a black habit and a white cap with a frilled border and black veil.
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