Ladies of Charity have growing presence in diocese

IC photo courtesy of Karen Hanks

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In a tableau sharing of the Vincentian heritage in America, Pam Klump (left) plays Catherine Harkins, and Daughter of Charity Sister Lorretto Gettemeier plays St. Louise de Marillac, at St. Vincent de Paul Cathedral in St. Louis where it all began in 1857.

BOUNTIFUL — Of the many facts Jesus wanted us to know, one important fact is the poor will always be with us. St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac took this to heart and, in their wisdom, founded the Ladies of Charity in 1617, an organization of women dedicated to meeting the most basic and emergency needs of men, women, and children.

Two Utah chapters of the Ladies of Charity have been founded in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. The first, founded by Daughter of Charity Sister Charlotte Marie Clark at St. Olaf Parish, Bountiful in 2003, is led by Christine Young, staff writer for the Intermountain Catholic. The newest chapter, at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Salt Lake City is headed by Holy Cross Sister Catherine Kamphaus, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Salt Lake City. It, too, was founded by Sr. Clark, who previously served the diocese in the tuition assistance program. She currently serves at her order’s province house in Los Altos, Calif, assisting in forming more chapters of the Ladies of Charity. She has been succeeded here by Daughter of Charity Sister Germaine Sarrazin.

The Ladies of Charity are affiliated with the Daughters of Charity, a religious order of women with decades of service to the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Their national organization, the Ladies of Charity of the United States of America, began in St. Louis, Mo., 150 years ago.

Young, who also serves the national organization as its communications committee chairwoman, said Sr. Clark, "knew the needs of people. She is a hard worker and knows how to get things done. She is a prayerful woman who has done wonderful work and continues to do so."

Young spends much of her spare time in the old North Salt Lake Post Office building, now, "The Center of Hope" he headquarters of the Ladies of Charity. From there, the organization warehouses their food, clothing, and household furniture supplies, donated by individuals, businesses, and civic organizations like the Utah Food Bank.

"Our budget began with a grant from the Daughters of Charity," Young said in an interview with the Intermountain Catholic. "Now we have a summer fund raising barbecue every year.

"The St. Olaf Ladies of Charity provided Christmas gifts and meals for more than 80 families last year. On the whole, we served more than 450 people in total, 300 of them children."

Young said Sr. Clark’s founding of the Ladies of Charity in the diocese was a result of finding that students and families receiving tuition assistance to attend Catholic schools also needed assistance with the basic needs of food, clothing, rent, and household items.

"We serve people who fall through the cracks in society," Young said. "We serve in the tradition of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Mariallac, our founders. We are all about Matt: 25, ‘Whatsoever you do for the least of my people, you do for me.’"

Young said she became even more committed to the mission of the Ladies of Charity at their last convention, where at a meal, members were divided into groups according to the poverty statistics of the United States today, and received meals accordingly. Young, whose lunch that day was a ham sandwich in a paper bag she had to appeal for at a walk-up window, said, "the experience allowed me to feel what it is like to be poor – humiliating. It made me feel very self-conscious. Eventually, the members representing those in the first and second class of society began sharing the food they had, steak lunches and chicken with mashed potatoes. That is what we are all called to do – share what we have with others."

Young said the Ladies of Charity on both the national and the local levels are working for systematic change, getting to the grass roots of the poverty issues, and finding grass roots solutions.

"At the convention in St. Louis in September, James Kelly, chief executive officer of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, La., made a big impact. His presentation was entitled, ‘Tragedy and Grace,’ and was about the affects of Hurricane Katrina on the poor in New Orleans. He went there in the midst of the tragedy, and ended up at the airport, which was where many of the people evacuated from hospitals and nursing homes ended up. His responsibility was to set up rooms where people would be taken to die. He spent days and nights holding the hands of dying people."

Kelly said there is still much to be done to help the healing process in the states affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Young said. "The Ladies of Charity of the U.S.A. gave him $1,000 to assist that effort and $5,000 to New Orleans’ ‘Rebuild Center.’ That will pay for six modular units for St. Joseph Parish, one of the poorest sections in New Orleans. From those modular units, preparations will be made for food distribution, health care will be provided, and 2,000 people will be served with the assistance of the Ladies of Charity of New Orleans."

Young said one of the main messages of the Ladies of Charity is collaboration with other agencies serving their clients.

"That will be the emphasis of our next convention, which will be held in New Orleans. I’m really looking forward to that."