Our Lady of Charity School

Our Lady of Charity School

The religious order of the Daughters of Charity was founded by St. Louise of Marillac (1591-1660) and St. Vincent of Paúl (1581-1660), two French religious, primarily dedicated to help the poor and destitute and later on, to the education and formation of girls.

This order arrived in Güines on September 8, 1903, being the parish priest of the Villa, Father Don Jorge Curbelo Púa, founding a school named Our Lady of Charity being its first Mother Superior, Sister Faustina Pérez. The original school building was located on Reina Street (formerly Maceo Street) where in the Republican Era, the Campoamor cinema was located.

Some time later, Sister Faustina was replaced as Mother Superior by Sister Dolores E. Quesada who remained as such until approximately 1933. After her, came Sister Eulogia Fernández as the school’s Mother Superior who, due to her dynamism and enterprising character, was able to acquire for the religious community, a contiguous house and lot, on Havana, General Asbert (formerly Concha Street) and Trujillo Streets, being its correct address #702 General Asbert Street, where they built and transferred the school with an initial capacity for 25 boarding students and more than 200 regular students.

The Daughters of Charity performed an extraordinary educational job and Christian formation of girls, graduating from its classrooms many young girls from Güines and towns nearby, that went on to become successful wives, mothers and professionals, who were able to lay the foundation of solid Christian homes for the benefit of the society they were living in.

During the 40’s and 50’s, the school’s Mother Superiors were Sister Pilar Cañisá and Sister Gerarda Danta, respectively. Both gave great impulse and development to the school’s pedagogical and Christian system, especially during the mandate of the last one, who did extensive and modern remodeling to the school’s building, besides being able to acquire a school bus, placing the school at the forefront of the best private educational institutions in Cuba.

With the arrival of the Communist system in Cuba in 1959, it fell on Sister Gerarda Danta in 1961, the sad responsibility of ending all work performed during 58 years of arduous efforts and sacrifices in favor of the children, when the atheist hordes that misgovern Cuba, confiscated the school and she had to give up such dear institution, being expelled and going into hard exile, together with the rest of her religious community.

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