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Founded in Rouen, France in 1666, the Sisters of the Infant Jesus is a Catholic religious institute dedicated to the education of underprivileged children. Also known as the Congregation of the Holy Infant Jesus, the Infant Jesus Sisters, or the Dames of Saint-Maur, the Congregation was founded by Nicolas Barré, a Minim friar and Catholic priest. In current times, the Infant Jesus Sisters have a presence throughout the world, where they take part in social projects and operate schools. At the time that Barré began his work, France was experiencing the after-effeccts of the Franco-Spanish War and a devastating plague. While promoting a paish mission in the village of Sotteville-lès-Rouen, Barré noted the poverty and suffering of the local population. As a way of enabling parents to attend the mission, Barré asked two young women to help tend to their children. There were very few schools for boys, and hardly any for girls, and most primary school teachers were poorly educated, and had little religious education. In 1662, roughly half the children in Rouen died of famine, and many were homeless and surviving as beggars; some had turned to prostitution. They began offering daily classes to young girls, and soon other young women joined in the work. Two other schools were opened. Barré would visit the classes often, drawing upon his rigorous education under the Jesuits to guide the young women in how to teach and deal with the children and their parents. Within a few years, the women in charge of these school began to live in a community under a Superior. That was the beginning of the religious congregation that was originally known as the Charitable Teachers of the Infant Jesus, although its members were not bound by religious vows or confined to a cloister. Around 1677, Barré acquired a house on the Rue Saint Maur in Paris, which was to become the motherhouse of the institute. A Convent was established there, and the Sisters were known as the Dames of St. Maur.

 

 

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