Étienne Pernet was a 19th-century French priest and theologian who dedicated his life to serving the working class. Born in 1824 into a humble rural family, he eventually joined the Augustinians of the Assumption. Driven by a desire to support impoverished families, particularly when mothers were ill, he co-founded the Little Sisters of the Assumption in 1870. This religious community was established to provide free nursing care to the sick within their homes. He died in Paris in 1899, having expanded his charitable works internationally.