Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NSP 101:
Civic Welfare Training Services 1
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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Aware of the conditions of their time, Fr. Chauvet felt the need to offer instructions to the poor
children of Levesville. He “wanted them to study, to learn more about Christian doctrine, to participate
more fully and intimately in religious ceremonies, and to practice religion truly and perfectly.” Father
Chauvet’s vision of charity was shared by his first followers: Marie Micheau (17), Barbe Foucauld (19),
and Marie Anne de Tilly (31). Fr. Chauvet entrusted their training to Marie Anne de Tilly, a lady of
nobility and an active member of the parish who left a life of comfort “to serve God and neighbor”. Marie
Anne de Tilly who assisted in their formation became co-Foundress.
Marie Anne de Tilly’s life was a life lived in charity. She suffered much even until her death, but
it was precisely her edifying life of humility and simplicity which guided the community spirit. There was
never any class distinction among the Sisters. The “Daughters of the School of Levesville” worked
selflessly at the “Cradle”, their first school opened by Fr. Chauvet in 1700. Mother Maries Micheau was
designated as their first superior
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Their rule: Christ is my life. His love urged them on: Caritas Christi Urget Nos.
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 crafts to equip the young with productive skills that would enalble
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 November
15, 1702. Marie Anne de Tilly, co-Foundress died on September 28, 1703. On June 21, 1710, Fr.
Chauvet died. The vision lived on. His mission was carried out by the Congregation he founded. By
1712, the first foreign mission opened in Cayenne, French Guiana.
By 1704, many girls wanted to join the community of the Daughters of the School. The
community of Levesville was called to Chartres in 1708. The Bishop of Chartres, Monsignor Paul de
Marais, designated St. Paul as the patron of the congregation and gave them the name Sisters of St.
Paul. He added the care for the sick to the original apostolic activity of instruction. He gave the sisters
a house in Chartres and an ecclesiastical superior, Fr. Claude Marechaux. Chartres became the Sister’s
new home. Having at first settled in the district of St. Maurice in Chartres, the Sisters were once called
the Sisters of Charity of St. Maurice. They were also referred to as Les Sabotieres—wooden shoe
wearers. The wooden shoes became symbolic of the simplicity and poverty of their lifestyle
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 Truchis who succeeded Fr. Marechaux 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.
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, and Work.
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Dispersal: Mother 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.
Reconstitution: In 1802, 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 Josseaume
was found. A search was made for the dispersed Sisters.
When they began to spread abroad, it is with the purpose of going to those places where they
are wanted to form little communities of two or three, putting up the village school or the hospice, at the
service of the people; their primary activity was to educated young girls, to visit and care for the poor
and the sick.
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 Matiniques, Guadaloupe, and
Cayenne.
To ASIA:
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.
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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 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
4. The lawsuits against them by the merchants of Chartres and who put obstacles to their legal
recognition as a Congregation
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
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1906: Culion
To care for the lepers (and their children) – exiled to this land. Mo. Damien Lelievre worked here for 48
years
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1911: Iloilo
First Hospital, then a School of Nursing in 1946, now St. Paul University Iloilo.
1911: Manila
First St. Paul Novitiate, then St. Paul’s Institutions in 1912, later St Paul College of Manila, now St.
Paul University Manila.
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Our schools, through the decades, have produces Paulinians embodying the best of Filipino
Paulinian traditions. Paulinians:
✓ seeking knowledge,
✓ pursuing science, art and culture,
✓ promoting and enhancing life,
✓ celebrating community,
✓ becoming competent, responsible citizens at the service of society and of the church
It has been 300 years of the life and mission for the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres who have
grown beyond Levesville and Chartres in France, actualizing the vision of Fr. Louis Chauvet. They now
serve the people of all nations caring for the youth in schools, the sick in the hospitals – throughout the
five continents of the globe. The love of Christ impels them “to leave the world, to give oneself to God
for the good of the Church and the service of neighbor”.
Coming to VIGAN
Paul, whose Jewish name was Saul, was born between 5 and 10 A.D. at Tarsus, Selicia.
Educated in Jewish and non-Jewish studies, he spoke Hebrew and Greek and became an ardent
Pharisee, to the point of persecuting the Christians. His phenomenal conversion and total offering of his
life to Christianity made him the greatest missionary of the Christian Church, he is the patron of Paulinian
schools.
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VISION
MISSION
CORE VALUES
Christ-Centered
✓ Christ is the CENTER of a Paulinian’s life; he/she follows and imitates Christ, doing everything
in reference to Him.
✓ Specific Values: deep personal relationship with God, love of Christ, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit,
reverence, awe, inner peace.
✓ Behavioral Indicators: practice of personal prayer, active liturgical and sacramental life in school
and in the parish, observance of Catholic practices such as regular attendance at Sunday mass,
confession.
Community
✓ The Paulinian is a RESPONSIBLE FAMILY MEMBER and CITIZEN, concerned with building
communities, promotion of peoples, justice and peace, and the protection of the environment.
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Charism
✓ The Paulinian develops his/her GIFTS/TALENTS to for the service of the community, he/she
strives to grow and improve daily, always seeking the better and finer things, and the Final Good.
✓ Specific Values: aspiring for perfection, academic excellence, valuing and pursuing lifelong
learning, pursuing professionalization, healthy ambition, thirst for knowledge, critical thinking
research.
✓ Behavioral Indicators: love for study, reading, class participation, attendance in seminar,
curiosity, proper study habits, wise use of the web and electronic media, membership on clubs
and organizations, participation in programs that promote/support learning.
Charity
✓ Urged on by the LOVE OF CHRIST, the Paulinian is warm, loving, hospitable and “all to all”,
especially to the underprivileged.
✓ Specific Values: openness, acceptance, hospitality, gentleness, kindness, loyalty,
compassionate caring, tact, fidelity, kind language, concern for the underprivileged, forgiveness.
✓ Behavioral Indicators: friendliness, warmth, joy, lightness of spirit, being all to all, generously
contributing to the alumni foundations, to charitable and worthy projects and almsgiving.
Our school motto is Caritas Christi Urget Nos, “The charity of Christ impels us”. This thought has
fired the zeal of countless Paulinian Sisters to cross the vast waters and to establish St. Paul educational
institutions all over the world.
Our school colors are green and gold: green, for the hope that springs eternal, for the harvest
fields that await the action of the laborer, the missionary, which we all are by the reception of Baptism;
gold, for the honor and the glory of God, the well-spring of the charity of Christ, which should be the
stimulus and the goal of all we think and say and do. Together, they remind us of our Lord’s summary
of the law: love of God and love of neighbor as ourselves.
SCHOOL SEAL
Our school seal bears a shield with a tricolor background—red, white and blue. These are the
colors of the flag of France, birthplace of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, and of
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Within the shield, the lamp of good example with its flame burning high bids us shine in the world
by our endeavors to be a witness to the faith and the following of Christ. The books signify the pursuit
of the knowledge we need to proclaim the Good News to all, wherever God calls us to be, in the manner
that He wants it done. The shield rests on a crossed palm and a sword, signifying the pal of martyrdom
that St. Paul, our patron, won when he was beheaded outside Rome. This is to remind us that, like our
patron, we are called to martyrdom – perhaps not the wet martyrdom that special times and occasions
may call for, but certainly the dry martyrdom of living each day the acceptance and endurance of the
suffering that is our share of Christ’s cross, while we await the time of His coming to bring us eternal
life.
THE PAULINIAN
“Christ-centered, Academically-equipped, and socially Responsible Student”
• A Paulinian is Charitable
✓ Kind ✓ Benevolent
✓ Loving ✓ Giving
✓ Full of praises ✓ Generous
✓ Caring ✓ Open-handed
• A Paulinian is Community-Caring
✓ Helping ✓ Shares blessings to others
✓ Giving to social causes ✓ Picks up litters around
✓ Offers goods for the needy
whenever asked
• A Paulinian is Simple and Humble
✓ Volunteers whenever asked ✓ Self-effacing
✓ Unassuming and modest ✓ Does the right thing at the right
✓ Unpretentious time and at the right place
✓ Meek
• A Paulinian is Faithful
✓ True and authentic
✓ Consistent in words and actions
✓ Realistic
✓ Loyal to gospel truths and principles
• A Paulinian is Studious
✓ Has a regular study schedule
✓ Submits paper works and other requirements on time
✓ Devotes more time to more difficult lessons
✓ Participates actively in class
• A Paulinian is Zealous and Daring
✓ Passionate ✓ Brave
✓ Enthusiastic ✓ Courageous
✓ Eager ✓ Giving one’s best all the time
✓ Fervent
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SPC HYMN
Repeat Chorus
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REFERENCES
Monte Christo (2014). The Paulinian Story & Histroy. Retreived from
https://www.slideshare.net/PennVillanueva/the-paulinian-story-history?qid=3c6070a1-d91f-
48c5-892f-e706ac22966a&v=&b=&from_search=1
Cynthia, E. (2016). The Paulinian Story 2. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/roseamalore/the-
paulinian-story-2?qid=3c6070a1-d91f-48c5-892f-e706ac22966a&v=&b=&from_search=2
Gie, D. (2013). The Character of a Paulinian. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/sirgie1/the-
character-of-a-paulinian?qid=3c6070a1-d91f-48c5-892f-
e706ac22966a&v=&b=&from_search=3
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