“That they may have life; life in its fullness.”
(John: 10.10)

At the beginning of 1803 Peter Joseph Triest , the founder a Belgian priest, was appointed parish priest in Lovendegem. The poverty, the moral depravity, the crying need for education and care of the sick spurred P.J. Triest into action. Responding to the local needs, he gathered together a few devout single women into a religious association. They soon moved into a little house in the hamlet of Appensvoorde: this was to be the cradle of the Congregation.

On 4th November 1803, feast of St. Charles Borromeo, the congregation of the "Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary" was canonically established by Mgr. Fallot de Beaumont, their convent being dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels.

The first superior or leader under the name of Mother Placide. ,was a former Cistercian novice. On 2nd July 1804 the first Sisters of Charity pronounced their first vows and decided also to devote their lives to "the caring of the poor and destitute". In Lovendegem the sisters gave lessons, looked after orphans and went into the homes of the sick and old to care for them. Moved by the inspiration of the founder to see the face of Christ in the vulnerable.

He began his ministry in Malines and the surrounding district. In 1797 he was appointed parish priest of St. Peter’s, Renaix. It was then that Triest refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Republic and decided to go into hiding in order to help his parishioners in their spiritual needs. After the signing of the Concordat in 1802, Triest could openly take over the parish of St. Martin in Renaix but his stay there was short-lived. One year later he was transferred to Lovendegem, where he would start his life’s work. He was moved by the poverty and misery of the people around him, especially the plight of children. Hence, he gathered together a small group of young women to work for the care and education of the neediest.

Thus in 1803 he laid the foundation of his first Congregation, the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary. In 1806 he was appointed as a member of the Poor Relief Committee in Ghent. It was in that function that his pastoral inspiration started to really grow. He devoted practically all his time to the elderly, the poor, the mentally ill, and to foundlings or, in other words, to those in whom society did not seem to take any interest. In 1807 he founded the Congregation of the Brothers of Charity. The Brothers’ duties consisted primarily in nursing the impoverished elderly and mental patients. In 1825 he founded the Brothers of St John of God who had to nurse the poor in their homes (this Congregation is no more). One year before he died, in 1835, he founded the Sisters of the Childhood of Jesus who had to look after foundlings.

Contemplation or union with God is at the heart of our vowed consecration and is expressed by An open ear: a deep and dynamic listening to God, others and the contemporary world.
An open heart: the experience of being loved by God, the energizing force driving us to love others as God loves us.
Open hands: Solidarity which enables us to hear the cry of those who suffer, to empathize with them and to respond by freely giving and receiving.

The very first home and residential centre by the sisters of Charity was started in SUPEM UYANA (Garden of Love).

This was the very first home and residential centre by the sisters of Charity. This is a place for children with different abilities. Situated in Gonapinuwela off Hikkaduwa, on the Baddegama Rd. Tel. 0915625133

It was established in 1964 and is designed in cottage style, surrounding the main building. Presently there are 4 cottages housing 4 family units. Supem Uyana cares for boys and girls of ages varying from 3 to 20. Most of the children enter at a very early age and leave when they are sufficiently trained in independence. Supem Uyana marked 53 years this year. Many hundreds of children have passed through these portals over the years.