St. Bernadette-Nevers, the official website

The experience of a man named Jean-Baptiste Delaveyne (1653-1719)

1676, Jean-Baptiste DELAVEYNE, a priest, committed for some years to the Benedictine monastic way of life, returned to his native town in the Nivernais. A student in Paris for seven years he had become dazzled by the artistic and literary splendours of France in the reign of Louis XIV. Entirely absorbed by a worldly way of life, he was drawn to choose the easy option. His interests and concerns were those of the wealthy and the powerful in the Morvan region.

1678 : a passing remark by a neighbouring Parish Priest was about to change his life completely. "St. Benedict wasn't as comfortable in Soubiaco…": he became aware again of the call of God first heard in his youth. He decided to go back to his roots. Following a period of retreat in Autun Abbey, he returned to his parish in St.Saulge. His parishioners saw him as a different person. Moved by the inhuman conditions of this rural population, he experienced deeply the suffering of the impoverished. He grew to love them and worked hard to ensure respect for their rights, especially those of women and children.
Drawn more and more by Christ, Jean-Baptiste DELAVEYNE discovered him as "the Supreme witness of God's love for all people". He invited some women of St.Saulge to join forces with him for the purpose of sharing together this same spiritual experience :

"Have no other concerns except Charity, Have no other interests except the destitute."

1680 : This was the origin of the Congregation - The Sisters of Charity of Nevers.