HOLY SPIRIT, DAUGHTERS OF THE

(D.H.S., Official Catholic Directory #0820), a pontifical institute founded on Dec. 8, 1706, when Marie Balavenne and Renée Burel made their religious profession in the chapel of Plérin, Brittany, France, and dedicated themselves to the care of the sick and the education of youth. The founder and director of the young community was a priest of Plérin, Jean Leuduger. The congregation continued to grow in the 18th century until the French Revolution, when it suffered the suppression and confiscation that was the common fate of all the religious orders. Some of the sisters carried on their work secretly until the congregation was reconstituted in 1800. After its reorganization, and official recognition by imperial decree on Dec. 10, 1810, a new era of development followed. When the mother-house at Plérin was no longer large enough, the sisters chose a new site in Saint-Brieuc, western France, in 1834.

The 20th century brought new problems. The series of laws directed in 1902 and 1903 against teaching congregations in France suppressed Catholic schools. Seven hundred Daughters of the Holy Ghost were expelled from their convents. Seeking a place to carry on their work, a group of six sisters arrived in the United States on Dec. 8, 1902. Others went to Belgium, Holland, and England. In these areas the 20th century has been one of steady advance for the congregation. In 1936 the community found a new field of endeavor in Manchuria. Although expulsion from Chinese territory brought the missionary labors of the sisters there to an abrupt close in 1951, new missions were begun in Africa and South America. In addition to teaching at all levels, the sisters also work in healthcare services, pastoral ministries, catechetics, nursing and care facilities for the aged. The provincial center in the United States is in Putnam, Connecticut.

[c. p. comtois/eds.]