Bon Secours Sisters

The Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours is an international Roman Catholic women's religious congregation for nursing (gardes malades), whose declared mission is to care for those who are sick and dying. It was founded by Josephine Potel in 1824, in Paris, France. While the Congregation's stated object is to care for patients from all socio-economic groups, in some territories they only operate for-profit private hospitals. Reflecting their name ("bon secours" means "good help" in French), the Congregation's motto is "Good Help to Those in Need." Initially active in France, the sisters tended the wounded during the Revolution of 1848 and the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, and the sick during the 1893 cholera epidemic in Boulogne-Sur-Mer. In 1832, at the request of the Archbishop of Boulogne, they took charge of an orphanage. Their work expanded to both other countries and other areas of service. The Congregation expanded to Ireland (1861), England (1870), the United States (1881), Scotland (1948), Chad (1957), Peru (1966), and Tanzania (2006). A separate system was formed in 1993 to coordinate the health care facilities managed by the sisters in Ireland. In 2019, Bon Secours Health System of Dublin merged with Bon Secours Mercy Health of Cincinnati, Ohio. "Together, the health systems have 60,000 employees serving more than 10.5 million people through nearly 50 hospitals, more than 50 home health agencies and senior health and housing facilities." While the Congregation's historic motherhouse remains in Paris, its international headquarters is in Marriotsville, Maryland, United States.