Abstract
In 1727, a small group of French Ursuline sisters arrived in New Orleans to provide for the local community’s needs. With financial support from the French colony, the sisters created an orphanage, a health care ministry, and a home for "women ol the streets." Sanctioned by President Thomas Jefferson, when Louisiana was purchased in 1804, their efforts marked the beginning of Catholic charities and Catholic health care in the United States. Public funding for faith-based organizations is rooted in the history of the U. S.