The PAULINIAN STORY begins here in the

wheatfields of the region of Beauce, France

BEAUCE…

Field of golden grain…

Verdant garden in crimson splendor

Field of LIFE but once, plain of DEATH

Where in battle great armies in met.

Hundred Years War (1337-1453) St. Joan of Arc’s Liberation of New Orleans (1429)

Wars of Religion (1562-1598) Wars of Fronde (1648-1653)

The series of wars brought great misery to the

country sides --

Poverty, sickness, ignorance

… apathy, religious indifference,

lowering of moral standards

Such was the situation in Levesville-la-Chenard,

a small village 25 miles southeast of Chartres

Fr. Louis Chauvet was assigned as

parish priest of Levesville.

He found the Church in ruins, the presbytery

uninhabitable, the people indifferent and apathetic.

but most especially, he

reached out to his

parishioners to respond

to their misery, engaging

everyone in this endeavor.

This young priest

– only 30 years old–

was filled with zeal

for his people.

Fr. Louis Chauvetbecame many things to

his parishioners.

Priest

Counselor

His great concern was for

their spiritual welfare.

Shepherd

He attended to

the abandoned,

looking to their

total well-being.

He gave special

attention to the

needy, the aged.

Scholar

Musician

He struggled against

ignorance and the false

teaching of Quietism and

Jansenism…

- exemplifying the quest

for the

finer things in life.

He shared his vision of uplifting the level of life

of the villagers

Teacher

… through

teaching the

children,

caring for

the sick, and

ministering

to the poor

Young girls of the village

became fired with his vision.

They became the first

“Daughters of the School of Levesville”

Marie Micheau (17)

Barbe Foucauld (19)

The first

Marie Anne de Tilly (31)

who assisted in their formation

became

co-Foundress.

Soon, they were joined by many others -

Anne Bonnet

Marie Denizet

Anne Lerat

Catherine Sirou

Marie Anne Deslandres

Claude Dauvilliers

Marie Foucault

Marie Fleury

Louise Meunier

Jeanne Rosseau

- to name a few.

Le Berceau (The Cradle) became their first home.

Le Berceau today

unchanged through the centuries…

-its cellar (La Cave) became the 1st classroom

-with Marie Micheau

as first teacher.

“They will strive to imitate our Lord and to live his teaching.” (Draft of a Rule)

Their RULE

CARITAS

CHRISTI

URGET NOS

His love urged them on…

“Having neither dowry nor income but earning their

living so as to be able to perform their apostolic work

as gratuitously as possible,they combined

austere mortification

with the hardest work.”

( cf. Draft of a Rule, Ch. 1)

A scholar himself, Fr. Chauvet considered scholarship a

function of faith.

Fr. Louis Chauvet wanted the children

to know how to read and write to enable them

to know more about Christian doctrine and

to practice their religion as they should.

With Religion and the

3Rs, the Sisters taught

practical arts and craftsto equip the young with

productive skills that would

enable them to improve their

living standards.

The first school opened in 1700; a second school opened in

Chateauneuf-en-Thymerais in 1707.

Marie Micheau, first recruit, first superior,

and first teacher, died at the age of 19 on 15

November 1702

Fr. Louis ChauvetFounder, 21 June 1710

Marie Anne de Tilly, co-Foundress

28 September 1703

Fr. Chauvet accorded her the right to be buried in the Church, a privilege that belonged only to the Lord-Founders of the Church, priests and persons consecrated

to God.

Unless a grain

of wheat

falls into the ground and dies,

it remains a single grain;

but if it dies, it shall yield a rich harvest.

In 1708, Fr. Louis Chauvet entrusted the Sisters of

Levesville under the protection of the Bishop of Chartres.

Bishop Paul

Godet des Marais

gave them the name

Sisters of St. Paul

and

St. Paul, the Apostleas their Patron.

(+26 September 1709)

Chartres became the Sisters’ new home! (their

first house at St. Maurice)

They were also referred

to as “Les Sabotieres”– wooden shoe wearers

Having at first settled

in the district of St. Maurice in Chartres, the

Sisters were once called

the Sisters of Charity of St.

Maurice.

The wooden shoes became symbolic of the simplicity and poverty of their

lifestyle.

was instrumental in preserving

the Rule and the Names of the

first Sisters by letting them write

their names in the community

registry, Le Monument.

Fr. Claude Marechaux, appointed first ecclesiastical

superior in Chartres wrote, in accord with Fr. Chauvet,

the Sisters’ Rule and the Instructions on the Rule“How to Perform our Actions Well”

Msgr. Charles de Truchiswho succeeded Fr. Marechaux

With the

Virgin Mary as

their Model

and

St. Paul, Apostle

as their Patron

the Sisters moved

beyond Levesville-la-

Chenard to the whole

of the diocese – and to

the whole of France

living the ideals of

Regularity

Simplicity

Work.

In no time, the

Sisters of

St. Paulspread all over

France …

- then to the French

colonies and on to

other parts of the

globe.

Cayenne, 18th Century

Dark Night: 1789-1802

The French revolution

The French revolution in

1792 ordered the suppression

of all religious congregations

and the confiscation of their

houses and property.

The house at St. Maurice

was confiscated and the

44 sisters living there

were dispersed.

DISPERSALMother Josseaume,

then Superior General, was

incarcerated with 3 sisters

and 212 others at Rambouillet.

They were eventually

released in 1794.

But the Sisters were gone,

their houses were gone… 44 in

Chartres, 111 in the other towns

and villages … the community

appeared for all purposes to be

DEAD!

RECONSTITUTION1802: The Minister of the Navy,

Denis Decres, requested for Sisters

to replenish those in Cayenne,

whose charity and compassion he

greatly appreciated. With Baron

de Laitre, Prefect of Eure-et-Loire,

a search was made for the

Sisters of St. Paul.

The government that disbanded them

now sought to gather them together.

Mother Josseaumme was found. A search was

made for the dispersed Sisters.

Napoleon Bonaparte,Premier Consul,

signs the Decree of Reconstitutionof the Sisters of St. Paul of

Chartres,

10 December 1802.

He would also sign, in 1811, the Decree granting legal recognition to the

Congregation.

The Sisters were given

the former Dominican

convent at Rue St.

Jacques

A New Dawn!

…which today serves as

the Maison Mère -Mother House - of the

Congregation.

At HOME, once more -

- the Sisters picked up their Life

and continued their work in the

shadow of the great Cathedral of

Chartres

Notre Dame de Chartres.

they could again pray

at the altar of

Paulinian mission flourished in new and different ways both in France

and in other parts of the world.

Hospice De Saint-Pierre

Martinique 1818

Hopital Militaire De Fort De France

Guadeloupe - 1820

By 1834, there were 400 sisters in 67 SPC houses in France, in schools, hospitals, dispensaries and

orphanages.

There were 45 sisters in the hospitals and schools of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Cayenne.

Monsignor Augustin Forcade,assigned as Apostolic Vicar of

Japan and Apostolic Prefect of

Hongkong requested for Sisters of

St. Paul to help him in Hongkong.

Four were sent:

Sr. Alphonsine, his own sister,

Sr. Gabrielle Joubin,

Sr. Auguste Galloin

and Sr. Louis Morse.

Hongkong - 1848

Today…

Vietnam - 1860

Today…

Japan- 1878

Today…

Korea - 1888

Today…

Thailand - 1898

Today…

Laos - 1904 Today, under Thailand…

However, the secularization laws of

France had far reaching consequences.

Our sisters had to leave 105 public schools

between 1879 and 1903.

Denied and refused in their own country

- later even in the French occupied

territories – the Sisters looked more and

more to the East! They became available

for the Asian missions,

especially to the Philippines.

The Provincial Superiors of Asia today

The loss of Europe was Asia’s gain!

More than 80%

of the total

number of

Sisters in the

Congregation

today are

Asians

Integral to the Life and Mission

of the Sisters of St. Paul was the constant

sharing in the Paschal Mystery of Christ

1 – the poverty and hard work of their

early beginnings

2 - the early deaths of the Founders

3 - the unjust harassment of

Marguerite David who claimed

part of the community property

after Marie Anne’s death

5 - the difficulties,

deprivations, and deaths in the first missions

6 - the French revolution, dispersal, and dissolution

7 – the secularization movement, expulsion from

schools & hospitals of France and in its

territories

4 – the lawsuits against them

by the merchants of

Chartres and who put

obstacles to their legal

recognition as a

Congregation

CHRIST IS LORD OF HISTORY!

Fr. Louis Chauvet’s Sundial

… undaunted, the

Sisters remained

steadfast and joyful -

anchored in the Lord.

ULTIMA LATET

Today, some 5000 Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres

serve in 32 countries in 6 continents of the world.

RussiaMongolia

Alaska

Turkey

Colombia

East Timor

ST. PAUL UNIVERSITY

DUMAGUETE SINCE :1904

St. Paul Alumni to Generation to

Generations

Generation to Generations

The Don Geronimo Villegas and Doña Escolastica Teves de Villegas

family of Tanjay (ca. 1900)

(Photo from the Villegas family archives)

The Don Jose Teves Muñoz and Doña Eustaquia Paula Calumpang de

Muñoz family of Tanjay (ca. 1900).

(Photo courtesy of Atty. Alex A. Villanueva)

The Pastranos of Tanjay with the matriarch Nieves Villacampa vda. de Pastrano (ca. 1920).

[Photo courtesy of Arlene Pastrano-Caballo.]

Perdices ClanProf. JULIA MICIANO de PERDICES

(Scan of photo from St. Paul University Dumaguete's

Bidlisiw '79)

Somoza ClanMaria 'Iyay' Somoza Arnaiz de Diaz and

Francisca 'Paquita' Somoza Arnaiz de Ponce

de Leon.

Elenita '' leni'' Somoza-

Mascardo

Lezana Clan

Remollo Clan

Pinili Clan

The biggest alumni members in this

University

Roxas Clan

Caritas Christi Urget Nos