Followers of St. Vincent de Paul

The Daughters of Charity devote their lives to serving the most abandoned individuals in our society. Today, there are about 16,000 of them living and working in more than 90 countries throughout the world. The ministry I was fortunate enough to work with was committed specifically to caring for and improving the health of those they encountered.

The Daughters also believe that God created each of us exactly as we were meant to be – a concept that was entirely new to me – and that they could not serve a community unless they truly understood the community. Because of that, they were also firmly committed to being an equal opportunity employer. 

As a gay man, I had perceived the Catholic Church as being a bit more judgmental when it came to matters such as sexual orientation.

Daughters of Charity painting by Karol Tichy (1871-1939)

I should add that the Daughters came into my life after surviving four tumultuous years of living in New York City, preceded by a relatively cocooned existence in the Great Lake states. If someone had told me 20 years ago that I would end up living deep in the heart of Texas, I never would have believed them. But landing in the welcoming arms of such selfless and non-judgmental women of the cloth – who choose to focus on the good in people, rather than their weaknesses – was an equally unexpected life event.                                                

Matthew Dowd is very familiar with the Daughters of Charity and how they served Greater Austin.