The Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida are an international community founded on April 11, 1799 by Jeanne Antide Thouret.

At the age of 22 and after seeing a vision of hands reaching out to her through a cloister grille, Jeanne Antide decided to join a community that combined prayer, community living, and ministry to the poor. They were called the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.  During the French Revolution, all of the Sisters were disbanded and sent back to their hometowns. Jeanne Antide joined other groups of religious but none of them met her needs. She was invited back to Besancon to begin work among the people of her diocese. She agreed, and on April 11th opened a free school for the education of girls. She also visited the sick and opened a soup kitchen to feed the poor. This legacy continues to this day as we continue to respond to the cries of the poor.

In 1932 the Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida came to the United States where they ministered to the Italian immigrants in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the height of the depression. After celebrating our 200th Anniversary in 1999, we still continue to branch out across 26 countries following our mandate to go wherever we are needed.

The Sisters of Charity of St. Jeanne Antide have been privileged to have another sister proclaimed a saint by the church - St. Agostina.  For information on her and on two other Sisters who are in the process of becoming "official" saints within our church, click on the following link to our international web site: www.suoredellacarita.org.