The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of New York, most often known as the Sisters of Charity of New York, is a religious congregation of sisters in the Catholic Church whose primary missions are education and nursing and who are dedicated in particular to the service of the poor. The motherhouse is located at Mt. St. Vincent in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. They were founded by Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1809.
In April 2023, the congregation announced that they would cease accepting new members, with the current sisters aging out until the order reaches a "path to completion".[1]
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774 - 1821)
History
Saint Elizabeth Seton founded the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in 1809,[2] modeling her foundation on the Daughters of Charity founded in France by Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise de Marillac in the 17th century. The Sisters followed the Vincentian practice of taking temporary religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, renewing these annually (in contrast to most orders of religious women, who at some point take permanent or "perpetual" vows). This practice lasted until 1938, when the congregation adopted the more standard practice of professing lifetime vows.
St. Patrick's Convent and Girls' School
In 1814, Mother Seton sent three sisters to care for orphans after receiving a request from clergy in Philadelphia. In 1817, three Sisters were sent to New York City (which was Seton's hometown) to establish an orphanage,[2] at the corner of Prince and Mott Streets. The Sisters quickly took on the job of establishing Catholic orphanages in a city overrun with abandoned, orphaned or neglected children. Mother Seton had established one of the first Catholic elementary schools in Emmitsburg. With this background, the Sisters also began to establish or staff existing parish schools, particularly in poor and immigrant neighborhoods, and to set up hospitals. Some of the earliest, sustained social service institutions and health care facilities in New York City were started by the sisters.[3]
The motherhouse at Emmitsburg negotiated for affiliation with the Daughters of Charity in France. In consequence there developed a tendency to dispense with certain customs observed at Emmitsburg because these changes were required by the French superiors; for example, the sisters in charge of boys' asylums were everywhere to be withdrawn. The measure threatened at that period the very existence of the New York orphanage.[4] The allegiance of the sisters to local Catholics in New York came in conflict with their obedience to their superiors in Emmitsburg, eventually leading to the establishment of a separate order recognized as the Sisters of Charity of New York (SCNY).[3]
Forrest's Font Hill by the Hudson River
In 1846, the Sisters in New York incorporated as a separate entity from the Sisters of Charity still based in Maryland. Mother Elizabeth Boyle was the first Mother Superior, succeeded by Mother Jerome Ely. They became the Sisters of Charity of New York. This was not unusual, in that several other groups of Sisters founded by Seton established themselves as independent diocesan entities once their communities reached maturity. The novitiate of the New York community was opened at St. James's Academy, 35 East Broadway, and later moved to the new motherhouse on an estate purchased at Mcgown's Pass, situated within the limits of the present Central Park. Here, in 1847, the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent had its foundation.[4] In the late 1850s the sisters bought the Edwin Forrest estate called Font Hill and the Motherhouse and academy relocated to the Riverdale section of the Bronx. In 1857 Holy Cross Academy, a boarding school for young ladies, had its foundation in New York City.
In 1849 four sisters were sent from Mount Saint Vincent to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Sisters of Charity of Halifax became an independent congregation in 1856.[5] In 1890 the Sisters of Saint Martha of Antigonish evolved from the Halifax congregation as an order initially devoted to housekeeping and nursing duties at St. Francis University.
In 1856, under Mother Mary Xavier Mehegan, a local community was formed of the sisters then labouring in the Diocese of Newark.[4]
Sister Irene and children at New York Foundling, 1888
As immigrants arrived in poverty during the 19th century, the sisters became known for accepting newborns at the doorsteps of the convent.[3] The Sisters in New York established The New York Foundling in 1869,[6] an orphanage for abandoned children but also a place for unmarried mothers to receive care themselves and offer their children for adoption. (New York immigrant communities were plagued by prostitution rings that preyed on young women, and out-of-wedlock pregnancies were a severe problem in these communities.) New York Foundling continues its work today and is noted for its work with babies and young children infected with HIV, and also with severely handicapped children.
In 1855, Archbishop John Hughes' sister, Mary Angela Hughes became Superior of the Sisters in New York. It was during Mother Angela's tenure that the Sisters of Charity of Newark branched off as a separate congregation.[5] The cholera epidemic of 1849 impelled the Sisters to open St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan (closed 2010), the first Catholic hospital in New York City.[7] St. Vincent's Hospital became the centerpiece of an extensive health care system under the Sisters' care that included St. Vincent's Hospital in Westchester (a psychiatric hospital) as well as two hospitals on Staten Island: St. Vincent's Hospital (closed 2006) and Bayley Seton Hospital, in addition to a network of nursing homes and other institutions.
In 1862 the sisters nursed Civil War wounded in St. Joseph's Military Hospital, former site of Mt. St. Vincent in Central Park. The hospital closed in 1865.
The Sisters were also the key congregation in the establishment of New York's parochial school system, staffing more schools than any other single order of women. In addition to parish schools (which, in New York, typically carry children through grade 8), the sisters ran a number of high schools themselves or provided staff for high schools run by others, and they established the College of Mount Saint Vincent, which also serves as their motherhouse. They also founded St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School on Staten Island. Beginning as a summer retreat for orphans from the Foundling Hospital and as a place for the sisters to obtain degrees under the auspices of Mount St. Vincent, it was turned into an all-girls Catholic high school in 1963. Now co-ed, it is still staffed by a number of Sisters of Charity.
In 1958 the Congregation opened the Convent of Mary the Queen in Yonkers as a residence for Senior Sisters.[6]
Today, the Sisters of Charity of New York is a constituent community of the Federation of Sisters of Charity in the Vincentian-Setonian Tradition, an umbrella group that brings together the various congregations that trace their roots back to Saint Elizabeth Seton, and ultimately to Saint Vincent de Paul.
Mission
The website of the Sisters of Charity of New York states the congregation's mission as follows:
The Mission of the Sisters of Charity is to share in the ongoing mission of Jesus by responding to the signs of the times in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, by revealing the Father's love in our lives and in our varied ministries with and for all in need, especially those living in poverty.[8]
Ministry
The congregation's traditional ministries have been in education, healthcare, and child care. However, members have expanded their ministries to include parish ministries; spiritual direction and retreat opportunities; and homeless, new immigrant, and women's centers. The sisters are active in ecological concerns, and sponsor a number of affordable housing facilities for those in need.[9]
Close Up & Vision
Close Up was the inaugural magazine of the Sisters of Charity of New York. Close Up has since ceased operation. But the Sisters have launched Vision magazine. Vision is released quarterly with Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall issues.[10] Vision magazine has interviews, features, and stories concerning the Sisters of Charity of New York. The writing team of Vision consists of Sisters, associates, and those that work with the Sisters of Charity of New York. In February 2018, the Sisters of Charity of New York celebrated thirty years of publication.[11] The magazine currently available in print and on the Sisters of Charity of the New York's website in digital form.
In popular culture
Sisters of Charity of New York were main characters in the 2005 Pulitzer-Prize winning play Doubt: A Parable, which was the basis of the 2008 film of the same name.
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was a Catholic religious sister in the United States and an educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. After her death, she became the first person born in what would become the United States to be canonized by the Catholic Church. She also established the first Catholic girls' school in the nation in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she likewise founded the first American congregation of religious sisters, the Sisters of Charity.
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some Sisters of Charity communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The rule of Vincent de Paul for the Daughters of Charity has been adopted and adapted by at least sixty founders of religious institutes for sisters around the world.
The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for Saint Joseph, has approximately 14,000 members worldwide: about 7,000 in the United States; 2,000 in France; and are active in 50 other countries.
The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul, is a Society of Apostolic Life for women within the Catholic Church. Its members make annual vows throughout their life, which leaves them always free to leave, without the need of ecclesiastical permission. They were founded in 1633 and state that they are devoted to serving the poor through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
Catherine Spalding, known as Mother Spalding, was an American educator who was a co-founder and longtime mother superior of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. She pioneered education, health services and social services for girls and orphans in Louisville and other Kentucky cities. On January 6, 2003, the Louisville Courier-Journal named Spalding as the only woman among sixteen "most influential people in Louisville/Jefferson County history."
The Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian Tradition is an organization of fourteen congregations of religious women in the Catholic Church who trace their lineage to Saint Elizabeth Seton, Saint Vincent de Paul, and Saint Louise de Marillac.
The Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth are a Roman Catholic apostolic congregation of pontifical right, based in the Convent Station area of Morris Township, New Jersey, USA. The religious order was established in 1859 in Newark, New Jersey, following the example of Elizabeth Ann Seton's community that was founded in 1809 in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi.
Mary O'Connell was an Irish immigrant to the United States, who became a Roman Catholic religious sister. A Sister of Charity of Cincinnati, she served with distinction as a nurse on the front lines of the American Civil War. Her work with the wounded and in health care in general caused her to be known as "the angel of the battlefield" and "the Florence Nightingale of America." Her portrait hangs in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill were founded by Sister Aloysia Lowe. In 1870, she and sisters Blanche O'Keefe, Maria Theresa O'Donnell, Maria Kavanaugh and two novices were sent to western Pennsylvania from the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and began their work, founding and staffing schools. The sisters later expanded their work to include healthcare.
The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati were founded in 1852 by Mother Margaret Farrell George, by the separation of the community from the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland. the motherhouse of the community is at Mount Saint Joseph, Ohio.
The Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception (SCIC) were established in 1854 by Honoria Conway and her companions in Saint John, New Brunswick. They serve in Canada, Peru, and Ireland.
The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul were founded on May 11, 1849, when the four founding Sisters of Charity arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from New York City; this has been designated a National Historic Event.
Mary Xavier Mehegan, S.C. was a Catholic religious sister and educator who founded the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth and opened New Jersey's first four-year college for women.
The Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Bishop John England of the Diocese of Charleston in South Carolina, in 1829 as the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. In 1949 the word "Charity" was added to the congregation's name, in order to identify it more explicitly with others that follow the Rule of Life of St. Vincent de Paul. They came to serve throughout the Eastern United States. The members of the congregation use the postnominal initials of O.L.M.
The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic female religious congregation, founded in 1880 by Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini. Their aim is to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart by means of spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The sisters conduct homes for the aged and the sick, orphanages, industrial schools, sewing classes; they visit hospitals and prisons, and give religious instruction in their convents, which are open to women desirous of making retreats. The congregation operates in 15 countries on 6 continents, coordinated by its motherhouse in Rome.
The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is a U.S. religious site and educational center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, that pays tribute to the life and mission of Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. It is both a minor basilica and a national shrine.
Catholic sisters and nuns in the United States have played a major role in American religion, education, nursing and social work since the early 19th century. In Catholic Europe, convents were heavily endowed over the centuries, and were sponsored by the aristocracy. Religious orders were founded by entrepreneurial women who saw a need and an opportunity, and were staffed by devout women from poor families. The number of Catholic nuns grew exponentially from about 900 in the year 1840, to a maximum of nearly 200,000 in 1965, falling to 56,000 in 2010. According to an article posted on CatholicPhilly.com, the website of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in October 2018, National Religious Retirement Office statistics showed that number as 47,160 in 2016, adding that “about 77 percent of women religious are older than 70.” In March 2022, the NRRO was reporting statistics from 2018, citing the number of professed sisters as 45,100. The network of Catholic institutions provided high status lifetime careers as nuns in parochial schools, hospitals, and orphanages. They were part of an international Catholic network, with considerable movement back and forth from Britain, France, Germany and Canada.
Mother Angela Hughes was an Irish-American Sisters of Charity of New York nun, and was the first superior of St Vincent's Hospital in New York City.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
