The Congregation of Divine Providence was founded by Father Jean-Martin Moye, a French priest who saw the lack of educational opportunities for females in his parish in Lorraine, France.
On January 14, 1762, Father Moye sent out educated women to teach in those rural areas and to administer the word of God. These four women, including one Marguerite LeComte, lived, like the first members of the Church, without provisions, trusting instead in God's divine Providence, hence the resultant congregation's name. The name was actually thought up by the villagers themselves.
Father Moye later traveled to China to do missionary work, then returned to France to administer the new congregation. He succumbed to typhus during the French Revolution in 1793 and was beatified in 1954. His feast day is May 4.
The Congregation of Divine Providence was formally established at Saint-Jean-de-Bassel, in 1827. Its existence now stretches over four continents. Within the United States, the Congregation is located in Melbourne, Kentucky, and San Antonio, Texas.
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“This most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
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