When six young religious women arrived in Southern California on Jan. 6, 1856 to serve the poorest of the poor, they couldn't have known the extraordinary legacy they were establishing, but their determination, faith and energy were unquestionable.

The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul celebrated the 150th anniversary of their arrival in Southern California with a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Jan. 7. Cardinal Roger Mahony presided, and nearly 1,000 people gathered to honor the sisters.

The six original Daughters of Charity were remembered for quickly establishing a school and an orphanage and soon thereafter the first hospital in Los Angeles, which today is St. Vincent Medical Center, west of downtown. Over the decades the sisters have served in numerous Catholic schools, as well as St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood. The Daughters of Charity also provide various social service ministries, including the St. Vincent Meals on Wheels program in Los Angeles.

"We walk on the shoulders of very strong women driven by a motive of love," said Sister Marianne Olives who teaches at St. Vincent School in Los Angeles and also serves as a vocations minister for the order.

The Daughters of Charity were originally founded in Paris, France by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac in 1633. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton --- the first native-born North American to be canonized --- established the order in the early 1800s in Emmitsburg, Maryland to teach children, and care for orphans and the sick.

In 1855, Bishop Thaddeus Amat of Monterey (Los Angeles) appealed to the sisters in Emmitsburg to provide sisters for his diocese, and two were named. The bishop, who was a Vincentian father, also recruited three young religious sisters from Spain. Another came from San Francisco. The original six Daughters of Charity to establish their ministry in Los Angeles included Sisters Scholastica Logsden, Ann Gillen, Angelita Mombrado, Clara de Cisneros, Francesca Fernandez and Corsina McKay.

Cardinal Roger Mahony praised the sisters for being women of "great vision, determination and energy."

The tradition of wearing coronet white habits got its start in France when the sisters mirrored the sun bonnets worn by peasant French women in the 1600s. The Daughters of Charity continued the practice until the 1960s.

Sister Margaret Keaveney, who heads the Provincial Council, Province of the West, emphasized that collaboration with laity has been a cornerstone of their success. The sisters, said Sister Keaveney, have long been supported "by the wonderful laity with whom we work in many ministries."

David Attyah, whose father served as a doctor at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, said he saw the medical center blossom after the Daughters of Charity assumed sponsorship of the hospital. "The sisters brought an unbelievable fountain of optimistic energy that comes from their community," said Attyah.

Sister Lisa Laguna, 32, a fifth grade teacher at Our Mother of Sorrows School in Los Angeles said she was drawn to the Daughters of Charity because of their commitment to the poor.

"They are true daughters of the church and daughters of the poor," said Sister Laguna who grew up in West Covina.

Nayda Escalera said she appreciated being able to live at St. Vincent's Institution in Santa Barbara with her two children while she attends college to learn how to fix computers. The 30-year old who was previously homeless, said the sisters were helping her to become self-sufficient. She's appreciated a low-rent group home "that's a safe environment for kids. The kids are always happy there."

Sister Alice Marie Quinn, founder of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels which now delivers 3,000 meals a day to the homebound poor elderly, said the hallmark of the sisters has been "to do simple things well. We have a great responsibility to carry on what the sisters started."