OUR HISTORY IS

On March 25, 1841, Bishop Friedrich Klemens of the Diocese of Paderborn in Germany founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.

At that time, Paderborn was transforming into an industrial city, leading to an increased demand for hospitals to care for ailing workers and the poor. At the same time, the Capuchin convent in Paderborn had closed due to a lack of candidates, and Suffragan Damers renovated the institute into Landes Hospital.
Bishop Damers envisioned creating a religious congregation among a group of dedicated nurses known as the ladies of Elisabeth, who followed strict rules of life while working in the hospital.

In 1840, Bishop Friedrich Klemens, inspired by the spirituality of St. Vincent de Paul, sent some members of the Elisabeth group to the Sisters of Charity in Strasbourg for their formation. In 1841, he formally established the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of Paderborn.

On January 8, 1965, in response to the request of Bishop Yun Kong Hee, the first bishop of Suwon Diocese, three missionary sisters were sent from the Paderborn community to Suwon, Korea. This marked the beginning of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of Suwon. Recognizing the pressing need for medical facilities in the aftermath of the Korean War, the first missionaries soon undertook task of initiating the construction of a hospital in Suwon. St. Vincent’s Hospital opened its doors on June 3, 1967, and has been dedicated to medical apostolate ever since.

Rooted in the spiritual heritage of our patrons, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac, we, the Sisters of Charity, strive to follow in the footsteps of Jesus by serving the poor and the afflicted in different forms of apostolate.