In November 1873, four Sisters of Charity from the House of Providence in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, came to Holyoke in Western Massachusetts to care for the sick poor, most of whom were immigrants laboring in the city's paper mills.

Holyoke was a young, rapidly growing industrial city with cotton, satin and thread mills.

On November 7, 1873, four sisters arrived to establish the Holyoke mission, settling in their first House of Providence, located on the other side of the Connecticut River in South Hadley Falls.

Soon they were not only caring for the orphaned, the aged, and the infirm at the House of Providence, but for the sick poor in their homes where the sisters spent nights with the dying and preparing the dead for burial.

To help support themselves and their ministries, the sisters made and sold altar breads, church linens, vestments and burial robes.

In the summer of 1875 Father Harkins sent a request to Kingston for the Sisters to take charge of the Boys School at St. Jerome's Institute.

With true missionary spirit, these pioneer sisters generously and courageously fulfilled their vocation as servants of the poor.

And, on August 17, 1892 a provisional government was established with Mother Mary of Providence (in secular life Catherine Horan), as its first major superior.

By her death in 1943, the Sisters of Providence had made sharp inroads into alleviating the social needs of Western Massachusetts.

In their various missions, the works of the Community were continuing to flourish throughout the Springfield Diocese, which at that time include Worcester in central Massachusetts.

During these same years, the Community took steps to provide the advanced educations the Sisters needed in order to assume significant roles within these modern, sophisticated health and human service agencies.

Finding the motherhouse too large for their needs, the sisters converted it into "Providence Place at Ingleside", an independent living community with 119 units for those over age 55.

Residents are welcome to enjoy and gather in the large and ornate chapel for daily mass and prayer.

[6] Also on the same campus, "Mary’s Meadow" at Providence Place offers care to people needing long and short term rehabilitative services.