It was founded in 1796 at Thueyts in the Ardèche department of south-central France, by Anne-Marie Rivier (1768–1838); originally, the congregation was devoted to the education of young girls.
As of 2024[update], the sisters report 850 members ministering in 19 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America.
The first six sisters, with Marie St-Maurice as superior, settled at Sainte-Marie-de-Monnoir (Marieville, Quebec), where E. Crevier, pastor of the parish, had prepared a convent.
In 1855 the novitiate was transferred to Saint-Hugues, Quebec, and in 1858 it was definitively located at Saint-Hyacinthe in a convent which was occupied up to this time by the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame from Montreal.
The Canadian sisters are engaged in a variety of apostolates: campus ministry in secondary schools, teaching, Catholic Christian Outreach at universities, nursing, inner city, spiritual direction, pastoral care, and working with the people of the First Nations.
In 2008 the Casa de Esperanza (House of Hope) community was established in Houston, Texas, where sisters work with children who have been subjected to abuse, deserted by parents, or exposed to HIV.