Congregation of Divine Providence

The Congregation of Divine Providence (or Sisters of Divine Providence) is the name of two Roman Catholic religious institutes of women which have developed from the work of the Blessed Jean-Martin Moye (1730-1793), a French Catholic priest. They are dedicated to the instruction and care of the neediest of the world.

Moye saw the lack of educational opportunities for females in the rural sectors of his large parish in the then Duchy of Lorraine, soon to be a part of France. It took its final form in 1852. The General Motherhouse of the larger congregation is in Saint-Jean-de-Bassel, Moselle, France. The Sisters of this congregation serve on four continents. They both use the postnominal initials of C.D.P.

On 14 January 1762, Moye sent out four literate women, under the leadership of Marguerite LeComte, whom he had recruited to teach in the remote hamlets of the region what was needed for the improvement of the peoples' lives, as well as the Catholic faith. These women were to live alone and without provisions, like the first Christians, sharing in the daily labor of the local populace and trusting in God's Divine Providence to provide for them.

Though pious, the women lacked any formal knowledge of teaching. Moye trained them in child psychology, in order to prepare them to teach effectively and in a Christian manner, instructing all those whom they met. They were instructed to provide special help to the less gifted and to the poor who had become distasteful to others from the situations of their lives. This innovative ministry by single women quickly came under criticism by some for this irregular behavior. In their first year of operation, the association was suppressed by the religious authorities. They did not, however, close the schools opened by the women, and they immediately began to expand.

The name of the congregation developed from that of the Poor Sisters of Providence, which came to be given to the women by the villagers themselves.

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