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Mère Marie-Anne, Foundress, wearing the Sacred Heart pendant
Mère Marie-Anne, Foundress, wearing the Sterling Silver Sacred Heart as part of the Habit. -
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Louise Le Gras Hall
Louise LeGras Hall, is the administrative center for the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of New York, Mount Saint Vincent, Bronx, New York. Named after St. Louise de Marillac (August 12, 1591-March 15, 1660), the building was renovated to accommodate three floors of office and meeting space for the Community's Leadership and staff. The building housed St. Vincent's Free School from 1876-1911, primarily funded through a legacy from a former pupil of the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent, also on the Bronx campus. After this time, building was used by the College of Mount Saint Vincent as an auditorium and library, and also Elizabeth Seton School. The former Motherhouse building became Founder's Hall, primarily used for College activities and in 1971, the administration for the Community moved to LeGras Hall. -
Linoleum blocks used to print front and back covers of the pamphlet, 'The Antigonish Way.'
Two linocut blocks, hand-carved by Sister Irene (Mary Anselm) Doyle in 1940. The linocuts utilize the “multi-block” printing technique, in which each color in a print is made from a different block. They feature thematic representations of Nova Scotian production of the era: fishing, agriculture, handcrafts, mining, and industry. The blocks were used to print an array of material, including sharkskin drapery, posters, and notably the front and back cover for the pamphlet, The Antigonish Way.
Based on a series of radio broadcasts and published by the Extension Department at Saint Francis Xavier University, The Antigonish Way illustrates the history of the Antigonish Movement and its guiding principles. In the early 20th century, the Antigonish Diocese in eastern Nova Scotia experienced the dramatic decline of its resource based economy and extensive poverty. Diocesan clergy, Dr. Moses Coady and Father Jimmy Tompkins, advocated for adult education as a means of improving these social and economic concerns. This became commonly known as the Antigonish Movement and took the form of study clubs that would identify a community’s unique strengths and weaknesses, and then formulate collaborative solutions, such as cooperatives and credit unions.
Then in 1928, Saint Francis Xavier University established the Extension Department, led by Dr. Coady, to teach and implement the methods of the Antigonish Movement in the wider community. Marthas were tasked with heading the Women’s Division, dedicated to encouraging women’s involvement in the movement. Sister Irene (Mary Anselm) Doyle, a talented artist, oversaw the Handicrafts Section which promoted traditional crafts such as weaving, knitting and other textile work, woodworking, canning, leatherwork, pottery, and printmaking.
Sisters also supplied book-keeping services, established lending libraries, arranged study clubs, classes, and conferences, and aided in the production and distribution of Extension literature, such as the pamphlet, The Antigonish Way. It was one of many instructional publications the Extension Department offered to communities around the world that sought cooperative solutions to reduce poverty and strengthen local economies. Sister Irene Doyle’s block prints – a handicraft that illustrated Nova Scotian production and self-sufficiency, were perfectly suited for the cover.
The legacy of the Antigonish Movement perseveres to this day—the Coady International Institute at St. Francis Xavier University, continues to teach its principles, fostering community-based development and leadership education at an international level. -
Lap Desk used by Mother Regina Mattingly circa 1855
A small brass plate inscribed “Sr. Mary Regina” affixed to a varnished wooden box - a black velvet-lined writing surface – small compartments for pens and ink – and tucked beneath, a secure space for writing paper, snippets already penned, or letters received. Mother Regina’s lap desk was a well-loved and treasured possession.
When did she acquire such an item? On how many journeys did it accompany her? Imagine her carrying it as she made her way to Dayton to open the new St. Mary’s Academy in 1857. Or later, when she was Mother of the Congregation, did it accompany her as she traveled to visit the Sisters on the various missions? Did she use it as she sat in quiet corners at Cedar Grove, the Motherhouse of the Community at this time and the current site of Seton High School, writing in her journals? Or in her last months as she lay in a hospital bed suffering the ravages of cancer?
Well-educated as a young woman, Mother Regina Mattingly was a deeply reflective person, a lover of books, a devoted educator, a keeper of journals, and a prolific letter-writer. Surely, for such a one, the familiar feel of the polished wood and the worn velvet cloth provided a sense of comfort and peace as she settled in with pen and paper.
As she began her journals, she told herself, “All that I may promise in these pages shall be the true exponent of self, as far as circumstances will permit….I wish to be real in all things – real in friendship, real in practical piety, real in the correction of my many faults, real in my intercourse with others, and above all real in my love of God and His Sacred Heart.” She returns again and again to these themes, often starting a passage by describing some event such as the felling of trees at Cedar Grove, then shifting to a spiritual reflection, as when she writes, “It forcibly reminded me of the roots of our human passions with some of us have been tugging at for so many years.”
A great lover of natural beauty, she often remarked on her surroundings as when she and Mother Josephine Harvey visited the Western missions where she was extravagant in describing the magnificent sights of the Colorado Rockies, and the gorgeous hues of the New Mexico Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
By reading her journals and letters, it is possible to see deeply into the soul of this prayerful woman who was so influential in the foundational years of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. How many of these passages were written on her beautiful lap desk? -
King, Sister Rita, SC, Oral History
As an educator and archivist, Sr. Rita King's career has been steeped in the pursuit of history. A former high school teacher, Dean and Principal, Sr. Rita was Congregation Archivist for over 15 years. During this time, she developed an arrangement by record group of archival materials and created a database of Sisters' records that became an essential research tool. Involved in the early development of the Archivists for Congregations of Women Religious (ACWR), she served a two-year term as President. Retired since 2008, Sr. Rita provides her thoughts about the role of an archivist, training and archival certification. completion of the Community.
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Key to the St. Joseph Motherhouse (Stokes Mansion) at Seton Hill
The original key to the front door of the Stokes Mansion which served as the first motherhouse and Academy of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in Greensburg. Mother Aloysia Lowe, foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, used the key up until her death in 1889. The Sisters preserved the key as a treasured memento of the community’s early years in Greensburg.
In 1932, in honor of the 50th Jubilee of the congregation, Father Daniel Sullivan, the first priest-president of Seton Hill College, commissioned a special engraved metal accompaniment for the key. It reads “With this key Mother Aloysia Lowe unlocked and entered this the first mother house of the Sisters of Charity Aug. 7 1882. Seton Hill.” On the reverse appears a quote attributed to Mother Aloysia which reads “I opened not merely the door of this house, I swung the gates of an era.” This attributed quote reflects the roles of Mother Aloysia as leader, foundress, and visionary. It serves as a reflection of the sisters’ astounding work over more than 150 years. -
Kehoe, Sister Maria Clare, SC, interview [Excerpt]
Sister Maria Clare Kehoe (1887 - 1986) discusses her life as a Sister of Charity – Halifax. Sister Maria Clare spent 48 years as a teacher to grades primary to 4 and reminisces on her time spent at missions in Vancouver, British Columbia (1927-1948) and Halifax, Nova Scotia (1948-1981). Sister Maria Clare retired at 1959 from teaching and at age 93, is reflecting on her experience as a self-proclaimed “Senior Sister." -
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