Back Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours German Hermanas del Buen Socorro Spanish Sœurs du Bon Secours French Suore del Buon Soccorso di Nostra Signora Ausiliatrice Italian Zusters van Bon Secours Dutch
| Bon Secours Sisters | |
| Abbreviation | C.B.S. |
|---|---|
| Formation | c. 1824[1] |
| Founder | Josephine Potel[1] |
| Type | Catholic religious order |
| Headquarters | France |
| Website | bonsecours |
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."[2]
While the Congregation's historic motherhouse remains in Paris, its international headquarters is in Marriotsville, Maryland, United States.[3]
In 2014, it was reported that the bodies of up to 796 children under the care of the Congregation had been buried in a structure built within a decommissioned sewage tank at the Tuam "Children's Home",[4]: 57 which the Sisters of Bon Secours ran in Tuam, Ireland. Excavations in 2017 found an "underground structure divided into 20 chambers", containing the remains of children up to three years old. Examination of the remains found that they dated from the late 1930s through to the 1950s. Data from the National Archives of Ireland from 1947 showed that the death rate of children in Bon Secours during the preceding twelve months was almost twice that of some other mother and baby homes.[5]
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
bonusawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Gooch, Kelly. "Bon Secours completes merger with Ireland's largest private health system", Becker's Hospital Review, July 8th, 2019". Archived from the original on 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- ^ ""Sisters of Bon Secours elect new leadership", Bon Secours, USA, October 9, 2019". Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ ""Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters", Fifth Interim Report, p. 9, March 15, 2019". Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
- ^ Finn, Christina (14 July 2014). "Death rate of babies at Tuam mother and baby home was double the rate of other homes". Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
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