Federation of the Sisters of Mercy of Mother Seton

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The Federation of the Sisters of Mercy of Mother Seton is an amalgamation of 13 Roman Catholic women's orders in North America , all in the tradition of St. Vincent de Paul and the founder of the order Elisabeth Anna Bayley Seton (1774-1821), who was canonized in 1975 . In 1809 she founded the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's (SC) near Emmitsburg , Maryland, in the tradition of the Daughters of Christian Love of St. Vincent de Paul in France. Other communities that also live according to the Vincentine Rule of 1672 have joined this order to form a federation.

history

The founding of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's was suggested by the Reverend Louis William Dubourg, who belonged to the Sulpizian order . Elizabeth Bayley Seton founded a small boarding school for girls in Baltimore with his help in 1808. Under the leadership of the Sulpician, some women soon joined together in a sisterhood that was modeled on the French daughters of Christian love . Thanks to a generous foundation, the new community was able to build a mother house near Emmitsburg and settle under the name Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's . The community was founded on July 31, 1809 and was given preliminary statutes. A novitiate was established in St. Joseph's monastery in Emmitsburg, and the young order grew rapidly. Mother Seton was elected headmistress even though she was a widow and cared for her five children.

The religious rule of the French sisters was carefully adapted to American conditions and recognized by John Carroll , Archbishop of Baltimore , in 1812.

The first apostolate of the sisters was the upbringing and education of the girls. The sisters founded the first free Catholic school for girls in North America in Emmitsburg and the first Catholic hospital in St. Louis . Soon orphanages were founded in addition to schools. By 1830 male orphans were also added. The superior of the community wanted to prevent this because he considered it problematic. From the conflicts that arose from it, a split emerged, thirty sisters left the community and founded the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of New York . Concerned that there could be further divisions, and to relieve the Sulpicianer of caring for the sisterly community, the Superior Louis-Regis Deluol pushed ahead with the unification of the American community with the French community, but was initially unable to assert himself. In 1850, the union with the French order was completed. Two provinces have now been established in the USA, with headquarters in Emmitsburg and St. Louis. Nevertheless, there were further spin-offs in the following years. a. settled in Cincinnati , Halifax and Greensburg . In 1889, the Sisters of Charity founded their first subsidiary outside the USA in Nassau .

reunion

Sister Isabel Toohey (1893–1979), Provincial Superior of the Eastern Province in the USA, visited all congregations during her tenure that had historically split off from the Emmitsburg Sisters and asked their forgiveness for all unsuccessful relationships and the conflicts that arose the various daughter monasteries. This made it possible for the various branches to work together for a canonization of their founder Elizabeth Seton. In 1947 the first joint conference took place. After the canonization was achieved in 1975, the federation also worked together for other purposes, such as facilitating its charitable work, training the next generation of the order, and for spiritual renewal. The Federation also seeks historical publication and collaboration with other branches of the Vincentian family.

Founding members of the Federation

  • Sisters of Charity of New York (founded 1846)
  • Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati (founded 1852)
  • Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (founded 1856) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  • Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth (founded 1859) in Newark, New Jersey
  • Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill (founded 1870) in Pittsburg

Other members of the Federation

  • Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception (SCIC), founded in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada in 1854 (member since 1979)
  • Les Religieuses de Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur (NDSC), founded in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, Canada in 1871, as a spin-off from the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception (member since 1986)
  • Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN), founded in Nazareth, Kentucky in 1812 (member since 1991)
  • Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy of Charleston (OLM), founded in Charleston, South Carolina in 1829 (member since 1994)
  • Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (SCL), originally from a mission of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in 1851 , founded as Sisters of Charity of Nashville , moved to Leavenworth in 1858 and renamed. (Member since 1995)
  • Vincentian Sisters of Charity of Pittsburgh (VSC), founded in 1902 in Braddock, Pennsylvania, as the re-establishment of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent by Paul Sisters of Satu-Mare in Romania to take care of immigrants from Eastern Europe (member since 1989)
  • Vincentian Sisters of Charity of Bedford (VSC), founded in Bedford, Ohio in 1928 to care for Slovak immigrants (member since 1990)

Footnotes

  1. ^ Colman Barry: Upon these rocks. Catholics in the Bahamas . St. John's Abbey Press, Collegeville 1973. ISBN 0-8146-0812-4 . Pp. 88-97.

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