almost 300 women in 1835 (the year before Lamourous’s death). The growth required more space, and Lamourous was able to obtain the former convent of the Annunciation. The Miséricorde would stay at this location until the Bordeaux house was closed in the 1980s. The Sisters of the Miséricorde Lamourous was not alone in her efforts to help the filles restore their lives, she had a staff of directresses that lived among the filles and provided spiritual, as well as physical support. Many of the directresses expressed a desire to become a religious institute but Lamourous was hesitant. At that time all religious institutes were subject to regulation by the French government, and she did not want the government to be able to dictate how the community was organized and who was admitted (the Miséricorde was entirely voluntary, filles could enter and stay, or leave at any time they wished – government help would mean the house could have to accept women who were forced there after having been arrested for prostitution). In 1818, after consulting with Chaminade, the archbishop, and other advisors, Lamourous consented to have the directresses form a religious institute. While recognized by the government as a “refuge” (a place where arrested prostitutes were sent), the Miséricorde was able to maintain its “come freely, stay freely” policy. The first sisters took vows in 1818, but not much changed in the everyday life of the house; the sisters still shared their whole lives in common with the filles. In 1972 the Sisters of the Misericorde merged with the Sisters of Marie-Josephe (becoming the Sisters of Marie-Josephe and of the Miséricorde) and switched the focus of their ministry to prisons, which the Marie-Josephe Sisters were already doing. Chaminade and the Family of Mary Sometime during the French Revolution (probably 1795) Lamourous met a priest named William Joseph Chaminade, who was also working in the underground Catholic Church in Bordeaux. The two struck up a friendship and when she lost her previous Spiritual Director to the guillotine, she asked Chaminade to take on the role. They continued to stay in touch (mostly in writing) throughout the rest of the Revolution, even during Chaminade’s exile in Spain from 1797 to 1800. While in Spain Chaminade had received the inspiration to re-Christianize France by forming small faith communities (called Sodalities) under the patronage of the Mother of Christ; Lamourous became a major collaborator