"The Company of the Daughters of Charity is established to love God, to serve and honour our Lord, their Patron and the Blessed Virgin." - St. Vincent de Paul
Our Mission Statement:
To support the learning and development of each person in a happy, caring
and respectful environment
Our School ScheduleWe are a Roman Catholic School which aims at promoting the full and harmonious development of all aspects of the person of the pupil: intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual, including a living relationship with God and with other people. The school models and promotes a philosophy of life inspired by belief in God and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our Catholic school provides religious education for the pupils in accordance with the doctrines, practices and tradition of the Roman Catholic Church and promotes the formation of the pupils in the Catholic Faith. |
The History Behind the Ethos
In 1857, the Daughters of Charity came to North William Street, Dublin and Fairview. The work if the Daughters of Charity is about giving service to those who need it the most. They give service to those who have special needs, those who struggle to make ends meet in their daily lives and give service in education to help people to improve in their lives.
Margaret Aylward, the foundress of the Holy Faith Congregation was instrumental in bringing the Daughters of Charity to Ireland. She was familiar with the life, writings and charism of St. Vincent de Paul. She was very active in settling the poor people in Dublin at the time. She knew of the good work being done by the Daughters of Charity in France and thought it would be a good idea to invite the sisters to work among the poor of Dublin.
When the Daughters of Charity came to North William Street in 1857, the
archbishop of Dublin asked them to open an orphanage. This was one of the many charisms they did when they came to the area. In addition to this, they visited the sick and poor people in their homes, set up soup kitchens, brought food to poor people in their homes, nursed the sick, took care of the elderly, worked as nurses in hospitals, set up clubs for children and encouraged devotion to our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
The Daughters of Charity always had a special charism for parish work. St. Vincent and St. Louise de Marrillac did not want the sisters to live in convents or cloisters and spend their days in prayer, their cloister was to be ‘the streets of the city’. Even 50 years ago it would be very unusual to see nuns walking in or working in the streets of Dublin. Not for the Daughters of Charity though; their work has always been out among the community and continues that way today.
The spirit of St. Louise and St. Vincent made a difference to the lives of the first Sisters in North William Street and to those whom they served. The same spirit continues to connect people today with the Divine Source, Jesus Christ who “promises to be with us always till the end of time”. (Mt 28:20). The Daughters of Charity believe that ministry to persons is always a gift from God. They recognise the need to continue and mature as human beings and as Daughters of Charity. They are also committed to a community life which enhances mission and promotes collaboration with others. Jesus Christ is their role model and, to quote St. Vincent, they are his instruments of love, “poor instruments in the hands of a skilled craftsman.”
It is the spirit, charism and vocation of the Daughters of Charity, St. Vincent and St. Louise de Marrillac that provides our school with the foundation of inspiration for our school ethos. Here at St. Vincent’s GNS, we aim to continue the vision they had and support the learning and development of each person in our school, in a happy, caring and respectful environment.
Grow In Love
Our school is currently implementing the new Religious Education Series Grow In Love from Veritas.
The series supports completely, the ethos of our school. In seeking to develop the full potential of the child, it takes into account the child's affective, aesthetic, spiritual, moral and religious needs. Through a variety of stories, prayers, and various other methodologies, students, along with their families are afforded the opportunity to engage and enhance their spiritual and moral catholic values. To find out more about this fantastic new series, please click the link below. |