 Motherhouse in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin | |
| Formation | c. AD 1858 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Caspar Rehrl, Francis Haas, Mother Agnes Hazotte |
| Type | Catholic religious order |
| Headquarters | Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Archdiocese of Milwaukee |
| Website | csasisters |
The Congregation of Sisters of Saint Agnes is a Catholic religious institute for women founded in 1858 and named in honor of Saint Agnes. [1] The Motherhouse is located in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin within the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes was founded in Barton, Wisconsin, on August 12, 1858. Father Caspar Rehrl (1809 - 1881), an Austrian missionary, established a sisterhood of pioneer women under the patronage of St. Agnes of Rome to whom he had a special devotion. At first the group suffered such untold hardship that, for a few months in 1861, it was reduced to one blind sister. [2]
The arrival of Mary Hazotte in 1863 gave the fledgling community a new life and leadership when she, in 1864 at the age of 17, was elected general superior. Mother Agnes Hazotte (1847 - 1905) [3] directed the move from Barton to Fond du Lac, WI, in 1870. She also authorized the staffing by Sisters of St. Agnes of Leo House for German Catholic immigrants in NYC in 1889. [4] Mother Agnes served as the leader of the Congregation until her death in 1905. In 1870, Father Francis Haas became the spiritual director of the community and assisted in revising the original rule. [2]
In 1893, land was purchased adjoining the convent grounds for the establishment of St. Agnes Hospital, which was dedicated on June 23, 1896. [5]
These three founders paved the ways for growth and expansion. As of 2023, more than 125 vowed members of the Congregation minister throughout the United States and Nicaragua.
Catholic women who profess the vows of celibate chastity, poverty, and obedience are known as vowed members. Women and men of any religious background who are single, married, or divorced and desire to live out the Congregation's mission without professing the three vows are known as Associates.
Vowed members are involved in the work of education, health care, social services, community service, church ministry, retreat ministry, prison ministry, spirituality and wellness, and non-profit service. The Congregation sponsors Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
The Congregation sponsored Agnesian HealthCare in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, until 2018, when it transferred sponsorship of its medical ministries to SSM Health.
In 2023, the congregation was recognized by Catholic Climate Covenant with a "U.S. Laudato Si' Champions Award" in the "Religious Order" category. [6]
Agnes of Rome is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches. She is one of several virgin martyrs commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass, and one of many Christians martyred during the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian.
The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Roman Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute has about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They also started many education and health care facilities around the world.
The Sisters of Charity of Montreal, formerly called The Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général of Montreal and more commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal, is a Canadian religious institute of Roman Catholic religious sisters, founded in 1737 by Marguerite d'Youville, a young widow.
The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a 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.
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The Society of Helpers, formerly known as the Society of the Helpers of the Holy Souls, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Paris, France, in 1856, with the objective of assisting the souls in Purgatory through their service to the needy of the world. The Sisters use the postnominal initials of "A.P." in Europe, or, alternately, "H.H.S" in English-speaking countries.
The Franciscan Sisters of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of religious sisters based in St. Louis, Missouri, noted for its operation of SSM Health Care, a group of some 20 hospitals throughout the Midwestern United States. It was formed in 1987 from the merger of two related congregations that founded many of the hospitals.
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Charles Chapman Grafton was the second Episcopal Bishop of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Catholic female religious congregation founded in 1880 by Frances Xavier Cabrini. Their aim is to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart by means of spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
The Sisters of St. Anne (SSA) is a Catholic religious institute founded in 1850 in Vaudreuil, Quebec, Canada, by Marie Anne Blondin to promote the education of the rural children of the Province of Canada. Their vision is rooted and guided by Ignatian spirituality.
William Louis Stevens was a bishop in the United States Episcopal Church.
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St. Agnes-by-the-Lake Episcopal Church, Algoma, Wisconsin, United States, is an Anglo-Catholic mission congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac. The congregation first met in 1877, becoming an organized mission in 1897.
The Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity (SHN) is an Anglican religious order for women founded in 1882 by Charles Chapman Grafton SSJE. Three sisters and six novices of the Society of St. Margaret (SSM), associated with the Cowley Fathers, left SSM in 1882 to establish the new order. Sister Ruth Margaret Vose (1826-1910) was its first mother superior. The order was incorporated in Wisconsin on May 29, 1921, and remains active in the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac.
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