Established in 1850, these sisters were among the first to work with girls and women excluded from society for transgressing the accepted norms of the period. Inspired by the latest 19th- and 20th-century methods for social rehabilitation, they built a network of institutions that provided assistance particularly to unwed mothers and their children, while adopting advances in perinatal care and re-education for reintegration. Guided by Christian charity, they filled gaps in the public system, and overcame constant financial difficulties and social prejudice to care for an otherwise neglected group.