ORDER OF OUR LADY OF CHARITY OF THE REFUGE. — It was founded by St. John Eudes at Caen (Normandy) in 1641, with the primary purpose of the re-education of fallen women, to whom the religious bind themselves with a special fourth vow. The Order was approved by a Brief of Alexander VII on 2 Jan. 1666 and confirmed by a decree of Benedict XIV on 26 Sept. 1741.
The religious follow the Rule of St. Augustine and the Constitutions of the Visitation, adapted to the particular end of the Institute. The fundamental devotion is the cult of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and the sisters wear its emblem on their habit; the dress is white with a black veil. At present the Order has 35 monasteries with about a thousand religious in France, England, North America, Spain, and Italy. The monasteries are autonomous, but many of them have recently been federated in accordance with the apostolic constitution *Spousa Christi*; the centre of this federation is the monastery of Chevilly-Larue, near Paris. From the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge there arose in 1835 the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd (v. under the work of St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier).
Since the Rule forbids the inmates to become religious in the same Order, each monastery has a special section of penitents, called “Magdalens,” who lead a monastic life of penance there.