(Image of Marillac Provincial House used with permission of the Daughters of Charity Provincial Archives)
March is Women’s History Month; March 15 is the feast day of St. Louise de Marillac, co-founder of the Daughters of Charity and namesake of the Province of St. Louise. During the month of March we will feature ministries named for Louise and items from our collection connected with her.

Seen here is an artist’s rendering of Marillac Provincial House in St. Louis by Barnett, Haynes, and Barnett, the original architects. The building was completed in 1916 and served as the headquarters for the former St. Louis Province until 1999 when it was sold to the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Though many additions were made to the building over the years, the beautiful facade seen in this image still exists, virtually unchanged. Father James J. Sullivan, first provincial director for the former St. Louis Province, placed the Provincial House under the patronage of Louise de Marillac in 1914, at the building’s groundbreaking. St. Louis’ was the first Daughter of Charity provincial house to be named for Louise de Marillac.

The building, still known as Marillac Provincial House, now serves as classrooms, office space, and residence hall space for the Pierre Laclede Honors College at UM-St. Louis; the Provincial House chapel is used for concerts, lectures, and Sunday Mass for the university’s Newman Center.