Nicolas Barré had always insisted that the Institute should not accept ‘endowments’: a form of monetary patronage that would guarantee the financial security of the Institute. Some of the Institute’s lay administrators thought this unrealistic and unwise. Until his death, Nicolas Barré resisted any compromise which could restrain the group’s freedom to be true to the founding spirit. Eventually, in 1691, this led to a division between the communities of Rouen and those of Paris. These two branches of the Institute were to develop separately: The Infant Jesus Sisters - Providence of Rouen, became a diocesan institute with a missionary outreach in Madagascar and Central Africa.  The Infant Jesus Sisters (Paris based) became an institute of pontifical right with communities in five continents.