The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of New York, most often known as the Sisters of Charity of New York, is a religious congregation of sisters in the Catholic Church whose primary missions are education and nursing and who are dedicated in particular to the service of the poor. The motherhouse is located at Mt. St. Vincent in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. History Saint Elizabeth Seton founded the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in 1809, modeling her foundation on the Daughters of Charity founded in France by Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise de Marillac in the 17th century. The Sisters followed the Vincentian practice of taking temporary religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, renewing these annually (in contrast to most orders of religious women, who at some point take permanent or "perpetual" vows). This practice lasted until 1938, when the congregation adopted the more standard practice of professing lifetime vows. In 1814, Mother Seton sent three sisters to care for orphans after receiving a request from clergy in Philadelphia. In 1817, three Sisters were sent to New York City (which was Seton's hometown) to establish an orphanage, at the corner of Prince and Mott Streets. The Sisters quickly took on the job of establishing Catholic orphanages in a city overrun with abandoned, orphaned or neglected children. Mother Seton had established one of the first Catholic elementary schools in Emmitsburg. With this background, the Sisters also began to establish or staff existing parish schools, particularly in poor and immigrant neighborhoods, and to set up hospitals. Some of the earliest, sustained social service institutions and health care facilities in New York City were started by the sisters. The motherhouse at Emmitsburg negotiated for affiliation with the Daughters of Charity in France. In consequence there developed a tendency to dispense with certain customs observed at Emmitsburg because these changes were required by the French superiors; for example, the sisters in charge of boys' asylums were everywhere to be withdrawn. The measure threatened at that period the very existence of the New York orphanage. The allegiance of the sisters to local Catholics in New York came in conflict with their obedience to their superiors in Emmitsburg, eventually leading to the establishment of a separate order recognized as the Sisters of Charity of New York (SCNY). In 1846, the Sisters in New York incorporated as a