From the Consulate down to the present day they can everywhere be seen sprouting and growing. Early， new sprouts shoot out and cover the old trunks of which the revolutionary axe had cut off the branches. In 1800， "the re-establishment of a corporation shocked current ideas."[9] But the able administrators of the Consulate required volunteer women for service in their hospitals. In Paris， Chaptal， the minister， comes across a lady superior whom he formerly knew and enjoins her to gather together ten or a dozen of her surviving companions； he installs them in the rue Vieux-Colombier， in a building belonging to the hospitals， and which he furnishes for forty novices；at Lyons， he notices that the "Sisters" of the general hospital were obliged， that they might perform their duties， to wear a lay dress； he authorizes them to resume their costume and their crosses； he allows them two thousand francs to purchase necessaries， and， when they have donned their old uniform， he presents them to the First Consul. Such is the first sprout， very small and very feeble， that appears in the institution of Saint-Vincent de Paule at Paris and in that of Saint-Charles at Lyons. In our days[10](around 1885)， the congregation of Saint-Charles， besides the parent-house at Lyons， has 102 others with 2，226 nuns， and the congregation of Saint-Vincent de Paule， besides the parent-house at Paris， has 88 others with 9，130 nuns. Often， the new vegetation on the trunk amputated by the Revolution is much richer than on the old one； in 1789， the institution of the "Fréres des Ecoles Chrétiennes" had 800 members； in 1845， there were 4，000； in 1878， 9，818； on the 31st of December， 1888， there were 12，245. In 1789， it counted 126 houses； in 1888， there were 1，286. - Meanwhile， alongside of the old plantations， a large number of independent germs， new species and varieties， spring up spontaneously， each with its own aim， rules and special denomination. On Good Friday， April 6， 1792， at the very date of the decree of the Legislative Assembly abolishing all religious communities，[11] one is born， that of the "S？urs de la Retraite Chrétienne，" at Fontenelle， and， from year to year， similar plants constantly and suddenly spring out of the ground for a century.
The list is too long to be counted； a large official volume of more than four hundred pages is filled with the mere statement of their names， localities and statistics. - This volume， published in 1878， divides religious institutions into two groups. We find in the first one， comprising the legally authorized societies， at first 5congregations of men possessing 224 establishments with 2，418 members， and 23 associations of men with 20，341 members and supplying 3，086schools； next， 259 congregations of women and 644 communities which possess 3，196 establishments， supplying 16，478 schools and counting 113，750 members. In the second group， comprising unauthorized societies， we find 384 establishments of men with 7，444 members， and 602 establishments of women with 14，003 members， - in all， in both groups， 30，287 brethren and 127，753 sisters. Considering the total population， the proportion of brethren in 1789 and in our day is about the same； it is their spirit which has changed； at the present day， all desire to remain in their profession， while in 1789 two-thirds wanted to withdraw from it. As to the proportion of Sisters， it has increased beyond all calculation.[12] Out of 10，000 women in the population， there were， in 1789， 28 Sisters； in 1866， 45； in 1878， 67.[13]
Carmelites， Clarisses， Filles du C？ur de Jésus， Réparatrices， S？urs du Saint-Sacrament， Visitandines， Franciscaines， Benedictines and others like these， about 4000 nuns or sisters， are contemplatists. The Carthusians， Cistercians， Trappists， and some others， about 1800 monks and brethren who， for the most part， till the ground， do not impose labor on themselves other than as an accessory exercise； their first and principal object is prayer， meditation and worship； they， too， devote their lives to contemplation on the other world and not to the service of this one. But all the others， more than 28，000 men and more than 123，000 women， are benefactors by institution and voluntary laborers， choosing to devote themselves to dangerous， revolting， and at least ungrateful services - missions among savages and barbarians， care of the sick， of idiots， of the insane， of the infirm， of the incurable， the support of poor old men or of abandoned children；countless charitable and educational works， primary schools， orphan asylums， houses of refuge and prisons， and all gratuitously or at the lowest wages through a reduction of bodily necessities to the lowest point， and of the personal expenditure of each brother or sister.[14]