The Daughters of Marie Queen Immaculate Celebrate 50 years of Service!

The Foundress, Sr. Elder St. Louis, Mother Monique, lost both her parents by the age of 13.

Her brother tried desperately to take care of her but could not. She went to an orphanage where she received a good education and 5 years later entered the novitiate as a teenager. She went on to teach school for 20 years. Mother Monique was born in 1916 and died in October 1997. Her wish was that the sisters continue working with young girls.

On January 6, 1971, Sister Elda Saint Louis, along with young Sister Marie Gibbs and one student became the new order of The Daughters of Mary Queen Immaculate of Haiti. The local Bishop rented a large house for them and thus started the "SHELTER". They began taking in female orphans and "street-girls". For 2 years, the girls received Christian teachings along with training in cooking, sewing lessons and the skills they needed to become "housekeepers" to Haiti's wealthy upper class or public institutions such as hospitals. Early on, they acquired a good reputation and thus were in high demand and received the best wages for that type of work. *

At age 55 the dream of Mother Monique expanded and touched the hearts of others including Lorrie Charpentier. Lorrie and her husband, Norman, met Mother Monique in the early 1990’s in Leominster, MA. In 1998 after years of friendship, Mother Monique, Sister Marie Gibbs and Sister Verlaine Cadet asked Lorrie and Norman to make a trip to Haiti to see firsthand the work of the sisters. Lorrie’s heart was touched by what she saw. Lorrie promised Mother Monique that she and Norman would assist the sisters in their work. In 1998, Haitian Outreach was born from that promise.

The sisters educate approximately 3,510 students a year in their 9 schools!
(does not include the technical students)

The order has persevered through the devastation of the 2010 earthquake, which destroyed the original orphanage “Shelter” at St. Marie and killed 6 novices; Hurricane Irma in 2017, which devastated the schools in the southern region; and recently the political unrest in Port au Prince; as well as a 200% inflation of goods in the past year.

The order has grown to include 33 sisters, 4 postulates and 3 novices in training at the novitiate at St. Marie (Total of 40). The order is responsible for the management and maintenance of 9 Schools and 1 orphanage in different regions of Port au Prince: St. Marie, Coteaux, Croix de Bouquet, Damassin, Lalue, Lilavois, Mother Monique, Roche Bateau, Saut D’Eau, and an orphanage known as Noailles. The Noailles Orphanage under the direction of Sr. M. Fernange educates and cares for 62 children ranging from age 5 to 18.

The newest school is a post-high school Technical School which teaches “Life Skills” to young women, i.e., chef and baking skills, hospitality services, seamstress and fashion design. Along with the technical skills they provide how to live guidance and career counseling, such as how to apply for and maintain a job.

The Daughters of Mary Queen Immaculate continue to work with the less fortunate students in and around Port au Prince and the countryside; giving the students an education and the opportunity to change their lives. School is not free in Haiti. The sister’s schools provide a curriculum-based education that is comparable to most private schools in Haiti. The difference is they are dedicated to educating the poor of the poorest.

Haitian Outreach will continue its mission of educating children in Haiti alongside the sisters as long as God provides the means.