At the turn of the 20th century, a Daughter of Charity, Sister Chrysostom Moynahan, was sent to Birmingham to serve as the first administrator of St. Vincent’s Hospital. Seeing a great need in the community, she established the first association of the Ladies of Charity in the city to aid the sisters in providing care to the poor and sick.

For decades, the Ladies of Charity of Central Alabama, the only chapter in the diocese, worked tirelessly alongside the Daughters of Charity to care for the less fortunate. The 21st century brought some major changes. The sisters officially left the diocese in 2014, and in 2024, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System Authority assumed ownership of Ascension St. Vincent’s Health System in central Alabama.

Through it all, though, the Ladies of Charity continued to be committed to their mission, maintaining their dedication to efforts such as rosary making, donating food to the St. Barnabas Parish Food Pantry, making lunches monthly for the Friars Poor of Jesus Christ to deliver to the homeless, preparing and delivering Thanksgiving dinners to those without family, providing assistance to women in shelters, and supporting individuals in crisis.

Their impact is wide and, oftentimes, not calculable. Even after changing hands, St. Vincent’s Oncology Center still provides the plastic rosaries made by the ladies. Over 12 years ago, a patient undergoing radiation treatment was unable to take a metal rosary into the treatment area. As a result, the Ladies of Charity offered to provide mission rosaries made of cord and plastic. Today, the rosaries are still making a difference, even for non-Catholics. Louis Josef, an oncology counselor at UAB St. Vincent’s Birmingham Bruno Cancer Center, attests to the impact. He recently spoke with a patient and likened the radiation treatment room, which is basically a lead room, to a meeting room to have an “appointment with God.” During the conversation, rosaries made by the Ladies of Charity sat on a side table. The man stared at them, then grabbed one. “When I go in there to take my treatment,” the gentleman said emphatically, “I'm taking Jesus with me.”