Carrying Forward the Spirit: 200 years after Elizabeth Seton’s death, Cincinnati SCs follow in her spirit By S. Judith Metz
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are is the Sister of Charity of Cincinnati who has not ministered in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Just eight years after the diocese was established in 1821, the Sisters of Charity began their service. Since, they have been a permanent and pervasive presence in church ministries of education, health care and social outreach in many cities and small towns throughout the diocese. In doing so they were inspired by their founder, St. Elizabeth Seton, who expressed the spirit of the Community when she wrote of the joy she felt “at the prospect of being able to assist the poor, visit the sick, comfort the sorrowful, clothe little innocents, and teach them to love God.”
took a canal boat to Dayton where they opened St. Mary’s Academy and free school, and two years later traveled to St. Patrick’s in Fayetteville to open a boarding school for boys and a free school for village children. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 a majority of the Sisters served the sick and wounded soldiers in military hospitals from the east coast to the Mississippi River as well as at St. John’s Hospital.
Between the Civil War and the end of the 19th century the Sisters followed the roads, canals, and railroads north and east from Cincinnati to serve in schools from Glendale to Findlay; from Marion In 1854 the Sisters of to Chillicothe to Portsmouth. Meanwhile Charity established Mount Elizabeth Seton had a deep desire to the number of schools in Cincinnati St. Vincent Academy in Price teach poor children but economic necessity multiplied to include Northside, Mount Hill (Cincinnati); today the determined that she open a pay school Adams, Madisonville, and Norwood. By school is known as Seton where students’ fees could support serving the early 1900s the Sisters were educating High School. the poor. She also never lost her desire to well over 8,500 children per year in parish provide care for the sick, visit the poor schools, orphanages, and academies in their homes, and assist the needy in any way possible. The throughout the archdiocese. Cincinnati Sisters embraced this vision. In addition to opening To serve the needs of the schools the Community a pay school, free school, and girls orphan asylum in 1829, they continually worked to strengthen normal school training for worked with the Martha and Mary Society to assist the poor, Sister-teachers. Community supervisors and a school board and nursed during periodic cholera epidemics. oversaw their work and published courses of study. The Sisters Their ministries grew through the 1830s and 1840s as did the number of Sisters working in Cincinnati. However when superiors at their motherhouse decided to join the French Daughters of Charity, six of the Sisters in Cincinnati chose a different direction. Wishing to continue Elizabeth Seton’s original vision of serving the American church, they applied to Archbishop John Purcell who supported them in establishing a diocesan community under the leadership of S. Margaret George in 1852. Opening a novitiate and accepting new members their numbers swelled, allowing the Sisters to expand their ministries. Within two months of their founding, St. Joseph’s Boys Orphan Asylum opened and in November Bishop John Purcell purchased property where the Sisters started St. John’s (later Good Samaritan) Hospital. Soon the Sisters opened new schools in Cincinnati, including Mount St. Vincent Academy in Price Hill (later Seton High School). By 1857 four Sisters 20
attended six-week summer courses and continued their work during the school year studying to pass exams required to teach specific grades. As high schools began to proliferate, the Sisters received additional opportunities to attend summer and Saturday classes at local colleges and universities. While many Sisters were involved in classroom education, others ministered in health care and social outreach. St. Joseph’s Infant and Maternity Home founded in 1873 provided a unique service in the archdiocese. Besides caring for young mothers and their newborns, St. Joseph served as a maternity hospital for neighboring communities. In addition, while many babies were adopted, others resided at the home until they were transferred to St. Joseph Orphanage. The Sisters conducted a preschool and kindergarten for these children, as well as providing prenatal instruction for the expectant mothers. In 1976 St. Joseph’s changed its focus to caring for individuals with complex disabilities, a service it continues to offer. I n terc o m
