Browse Items (108 total)
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Sister Mary Helen McKenna, SC Interviewed by Sister Victoria Marie Forde, SC November 12, 2018
An interview with Sister Mary Helen McKenna by Sister Victoria Marie Forde. This recording is a part of the oral history series housed at the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Archives. -
Sister Lucia Mao, SC Interviewed by Sister Pat Saul, SC
An interview with Sister Lucia Mao by Sister Pat Saul. No date was noted in the transcript and this recording seems to be more of an informal conversation taken while at a restaurant or public setting. Sister Lucia shares the challenges she and her family faced in China during the Japanese occupation in World War II. She also shares about her nursing education and ministry in the United States. This recording is a part of the oral history series housed at the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Archives. -
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? -
Sister Celestia Koebel, SC Interviewed by Sister Andrea Koverman, SC and Sister Tracy Kemme, SC October 31, 2013
An interview with Sister Celesia Koebel by Sister Andrea Koverman and Sister Tracy Kemme. This recording is a part of the oral history series housed at the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Archives. -
Hughes, Sister Mary Clare, D.C. Oral History
Sister Mary Clare Hughes, D.C. discussed her life in community as a Daughter of Charity. She began her career as a nurse at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville, FL and St. Mary’s Hospital, Saginaw, MI before becoming Assistant Visitatrix of the Eastern Province of the Daughters from 1962-1969, Assistant Visitatrix of the Southeast Province from 1969-1974, and Visitatrix of the Southeast Province from 1974-1983. Relating to her time in office, she discusses the first Provincial and General Assemblies of the community after Vatican II, the changing of the Daughters of Charity habit, the exhumation of Elizabeth Ann Seton in anticipation of her beatification, the division of the five provinces in 1969, the closing of St. Joseph College, the building of the new provincial campus in Emmitsburg, and important guests such as Saint Teresa of Calcutta and President Jimmy Carter. She also discusses her close collaboration with General Councillor Sister Hilda Gleason and Vincentian Superior Father Richard McCullen. -
Hogan, S. Margaret, Oral History, 6/26/2017
She tells stories about growing up in Butte, Montana. She discusses her career in teaching in depth as well as her later parish work. She also speaks about her impressions of the changes from Vatican II. -
Hoffelmeyer, S. Rose Dolores, Letter from Piura, ca. 1980's
Sister sends an audio letter home to Leavenworth from her time in Peru. She describes life in Piura, a small city, and some of the families she has met and worked with. She talks of her work with a program designed to help provide some religious education to the local Catholic community. She mentions other Sisters working in programs related to health, food kitchens, and helping locals start businesses or find employment. She also describes the challenges of working in this area. There were relatively few priests and religious for the land area and population served. Electricity was often unreliable, and there were times of political and civil unrest, notably leading to a small bomb left at the gates of their home. -
Hill, Sr. Dorothy Marie, D.C. Oral History [Excerpt]
Sister Dorothy Marie Hill describes the changes that took place in the Catholic Chuch and the Daughters of Charity after the Second Vatican Council and her work combatting houselessness in South Boston.
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Henke, Sister Grace, SC., Interview
Sr. Grace Henke, SC, details her formative years as a novice and extensive career as a nurse and instructor at St. Vincent's Hospital School of Nursing. Sr. Grace authored 'Med-Math: Dosage Calculation Preparation and Administration' to simplify measurement of medications needed for patients. Sr. Grace developed a program to tutor underprivileged students to become nurses. She was part of the team that treated AIDS patients in the Greenwich Village hospital during the early years of the crisis. -
Gentile, Sr. Nanette, D.C. Oral History
Sister Nanette Gentile discusses growing up in an Italian-American family in St. Louis, studying different languages, and her life as a Daughter of Charity. She served as Visitatrix from 1989 to 1998, closed the Marillac College campus, and became the first woman to teach at the Vincentian Seminary in Perryville, MO.