On the Feast of Pentecost, during holy Mass or while I was praying in the church, my mind was instantly freed of all doubt. I was advised that I should remain with my husband and that a time would come when I would be in a position to make vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and that I would be in a small community where others would do the same. I then understood that I would be in a place where I could help my neighbor but I did not understand how this would be possible since there was to be much coming and going.

On Sunday, 4 June 1623, at the age of 31, Louise de Marillac, a pious wife and mother, received a vision about her future while praying in a church in her neighbourhood in the sophisticated Marais. This vision later became a powerful means for her to claim divine support for transforming herself from a pious wife to a holy widow with significant spiritual authority. The piece of paper on which she wrote down her Pentecostal experience became such a precious document that it is conserved at the archives of the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Mission, the father organization of the Daughters of Charity. The stage of the vision, the church Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs, is still today a holy site upholding the memory of Louise de Marillac and her calling vision.