Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy

Last updated

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.

Contents

History

While attending the first Provincial Council of Baltimore in the fall of 1829, England met four women of that city: sisters Mary and Honora O’Gorman, their niece, Teresa Barry (aged 15), natives of Ireland and Mary Elizabeth Burke, who all wished to live a consecrated life dedicated to serving the poor, sick, orphaned and uneducated in his diocese. England accepted their offer and had them sail with him on his return to Charleston, where they landed on the following November 23. He established them as a religious community on December 8. He called the new community the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and patterned it after the Sisters of Charity founded by Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. [1]

The Sisters quickly opened a school in their residence, which later moved to a larger site, where they established a school, orphanage and convent. They received incorporation by the State of South Carolina in 1835. They operated a number of educational and medical institutions which lasted for varying periods, including a school for the children of free blacks.

The Constitutions of the infant congregation were written by the second Bishop of Charleston, Ignatius A. Reynolds, in 1844. He based the Constitutions on those of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, whom he knew as a native of Kentucky, and on the simple Rule given to the Sisters by England, which was based on the Rule of Life of St. Vincent de Paul. [2]

In the mid-19th century, even through the turmoil of the American Civil War, the congregation grew and expanded into the states of Georgia and North Carolina. At least eighteen Sisters provided nursing care on the battlefields and nursed prisoners of war in the prisons throughout the course of the war. [3] Among those particularly remembered is Sister M. Xavier Dunn for her patient work in Confederate hospitals. Congress received so many testimonials to the Sisters care, that in 1871 it voted $12,000 in reparations to the rebuild the orphanage destroyed during the siege. [4]

As a congregation of diocesan right, the Sisters live under the full authority of the local Ordinary of the diocese in which they serve. Consequently, when new dioceses were established for Savannah, Georgia, and Wilmington, North Carolina, the Sisters living in those locations were separated from the motherhouse in Charleston, coming under the authority of the new local bishops. [2]

In 1882 the Sisters opened St. Francis Xavier Hospital, which exists today as Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital in Charleston. They cared for soldiers wounded in the Spanish–American War and for yellow fever victims. [5] The Sisters also responded to the increasing need for trained nurses by establishing the St. Francis Xavier Infirmary Training School for Nurses which opened on October 22, 1900.

The Neighborhood House has served the Charleston community since 1915 when it was established as a social service center and home nursing outreach. The soup kitchen at downtown Charleston's Neighborhood House feeds 120 per day as well as providing GED preparation. The Sisters also staffed Bishop England High School. [6]

In 1989 the society opened an outreach center on Johns Island, near Charleston. In the wake of Hurricane Hugo, Sister Carol Wentworth established the Nun Better Roofing Company; all work was free of charge. [7] Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach focuses on health care, including dental and pre-natal services, [5] and sponsors a Health and Wellness summer camp.

As of 2014 fifteen Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy serve Charleston, South Carolina from the May Forrest motherhouse on James Island. As of 2015 there were fourteen members.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Mercy</span> Religious order

The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They also started many education and health care facilities around the world.

The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity are a Congregation of Roman Catholic apostolic religious women. The congregation was founded in 1869 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, later part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay. The sisters have active apostolates in education, health care, spiritual direction, and other community ministries. As of 2021, there are 188 sisters in the community. The FSCC is a member of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, an organization which represents women religious in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Frances Xavier Warde</span>

Mary Frances Xavier Warde R.S.M. (1810-1884) was one of the original Sisters of Mercy, a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Ireland by Catherine McAuley, and the foundress of the order in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth</span> Catholic religious institute

The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth is a Catholic religious institute based in Leavenworth, Kansas who follow in the tradition of Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. A member of the Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian Tradition, the order operates schools and hospitals in the United States and Peru. Members are denominated with the post-nominal letters SCL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of St. Joseph</span> Female Roman Catholic religious congregation

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 Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ (PHJC) is a female congregation of the Catholic Church. It originated in Dernbach (Westerwald), where the generalate is still located. Their organization for associates is also open to men. The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ American Province has its motherhouse in Donaldson, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Charity of New York</span>

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.

The Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration is a papal congregation of the Roman Catholic Church, founded on July 20, 1863, by Mother Maria Theresia Bonzel in Olpe, Germany. In 1875, they opened St. Elizabeth Hospital in Lafayette, Indiana; now part of the Franciscan Health healthcare system. In 1890 they founded Saint Francis Normal School, a teacher training school; which is now the University of Saint Francis (Indiana).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota</span>

The Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women. The congregation was founded in 1877 by Mother Mary Alfred Moes in the Diocese of St. Paul of Minnesota. The motherhouse, which is in Rochester, Minnesota, is called Assisi Heights.

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.

The Sisters of St. Martha were founded as a religious congregation in 1900 at Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The Sisters of St. Martha are members of the Sisters of Charity Federation.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods</span> Apostolic congregation of Catholic women (1840–)

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840. Mother Theodore and her companions left the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, at the invitation of the Bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, to found the Sisters of Providence in the United States. In 1843, the Indiana congregation became independent of the religious institute in Ruillé, and the Rules of the Congregation were approved by the Holy See in 1887.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Providence of Holyoke</span>

The Sisters of Providence of Holyoke, Massachusetts, are a congregation of Roman Catholic religious sisters founded in 1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of Mercy</span>

The Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of Mercy (SCMM) are a Roman Catholic congregation founded in the Netherlands in 1832 by Rev. Johannes Zwijsen, pastor of Tilburg, aided by Mary M. Leijsen, for the instruction of children and the betterment of people deprived of spiritual aid. The motherhouse is in Tilburg.

The Congregation of Our Lady of Fidelity is a Catholic religious congregation of women founded in France in 1831 by Henriette Le Forestier d'Osseville, known in religion as Mother Saint Mary, which has as its primary goal the education of young women, especially orphans. They currently serve worldwide.

The Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women, have served health, education and social service needs in the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio, since 1851.

The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia are a women's religious congregation of the Third Order of Saint Francis founded in 1855 by Maria Anna Boll Bachmann, an immigrant from Bavaria. The congregation is known for its work in education and healthcare.

References

  1. ↑ "Our History". Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy.
  2. 1 2 "Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy", Vincentian Encyclopedia
  3. ↑ Maher, Mary Denis. To Bind Up the Wounds: Catholic Sister Nurses in the U.S. Civil War, LSU Press, 1989 ISBN   9780807124390
  4. ↑ Joslyn, Mauriel Phillips. Confederate Women, Pelican Publishing, 1996 ISBN   9781455602841
  5. 1 2 Hawes, Jennifer Berry. "After 183 years, OLM sisters aging but still serving Charleston", The Post and Courier, November 18, 2012
  6. ↑ History of Bishop England High School
  7. ↑ Ritter OLM, Mary Joseph. "A Reach Out to Others", Sunsets Over Charleston: More Conversations With Visionaries, Luminaries and Emissaries of the Holy City, (W. Thomas McQueeney ed.)The History Press, 2012 ISBN   9781609497859
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.