Category Archives: Ministries

January 27, 2015 · 11:39 am

National Catholic Schools Week – Sister Annina Fox, S.C.

Sister Annina Fox, SC (courtesy Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill)

Sister Annina Fox, SC (image courtesy Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill)

By Sister Louise Grundish, S.C., archivist, Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill

In celebration of Catholic Schools Week, the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill remember Sister Annina Fox, SC. Sister Annina attended St Philip School in Crafton, PA. She entered the Sisters of Charity in 1937. Sister Annina returned to St Philip School as a teacher. She also served as principal of the school. After her time as principal she remained at the school as librarian and later a volunteer. Her dedication to the children of the parish was outstanding and she was a beloved member of the Crafton community as well as the school community. When Sister Annina retired to the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity a fund called the Sister Annina Fund was established to help students who needed support. Sister Annina died on December 16, 2010. She continues to be fondly remembered by the many students whose lives she touched. As St Philp School celebrates its 100th year Anniversary many stories of Sister Annina and other Sisters of Charity are being shared. Congratulations to all who celebrate this special week.

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Filed under Education, Ministries, Sisters of Charity Federation, Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill

December 8, 2014 · 10:22 am

Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

(December 7, 1947 letter to St. John’s Hospital, Lowell, MA used with permission of the Daughters of Charity Archives)

Over the weekend we marked the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. The Provincial Annals for the following day recorded the news of the events in Hawaii.

December 8 [1941]
Our great Feast of the Immaculate Conception, celebrated with Solemn High Mass at eight o’clock. Father Cloonan was the celebrant, assisted by Seminarians … This day is ever to be remembered, as the news was made known that the United States had declared war with Japan. It had been rumored for some days past that this dreaded news might be expected. The fighting is going on in Manila.

In the years following World War II the American provinces of the Daughters of Charity received many letters similar to the one below. In response both provinces of the Daughters of Charity in the U.S. organized war relief efforts which sent food and clothing to Sisters and poor persons in post-war Europe. This letter comes from the records of St. John’s Hospital in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Heinburg, Dec. 7, 1947
My Most Reverend and dear Sister:

The grace of Our Lord be with us forever.

Through Very Reverend Weiser, (Boston, Mass), I heard of the charity and benevolence of you, most reverend and dear Sister. Permit me, therefore, now before Christmas to knock on the door of your sympathetic heart and to beg for soap, starch, [wool] stockings, Cornette linen, and linen, etc., and whatever your kindness and generosity can spare. We are most grateful for anything, as we were completely burned out, and through the ration cards we can barely obtain the bare necessities with the greatest difficulty. Two third [sic] of our Motherhouse in Graz was destroyed by fire and for the last two years the Sisters are living in a private home, awaiting the completion of the building of the motherhouse, God willing, and hope to have it ready in the coming year. We are contented and happy due to the fact that we are working in an Orphanage connected with the mills.

May the Divine Child bless and reward you. I wish you, most reverend and Dear Sister a very blessed and holy Christmas and New Year, I remain in the love of Jesus and Mary, my dear most reverend Sister.

Your humble,
Sister Girarda Ulz,
Austria

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Filed under Health Care, Ministries, World War 2

November 20, 2014 · 9:57 am

Throwback Thursday: St. Mary’s Hospital Evansville, 1894

St. Mary's Hospital Evansville brochure

1894 brochure for St. Mary’s Hospital, Evansville, Indiana (used with permission of Daughters of Charity Provincial Archives)

For Throwback Thursday, an 1894 advertisement for St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville, Indiana, about the features of its new building. Among the new features were electricity and steam heating. The “Brief Descriptive” reads:
“Cost of Building: $110,000
A four-story structure of pressed brick
Large, handsome grounds
Five wards, 23 Private Rooms
Hospital Capacity 130 Beds
Twenty-four Baths, with Hot and Cold Water
Electric Bath on every floor.
Twenty Lavatories.
Two Dumb Waiters on each floor.
Two Pantries on each floor.
Modern Steam Elevator.
Steam Heat throughout the Building
Direct Outside Ventilation in each room, ward, and hall.
Two General Operating Rooms with tiled floors
One Special Operating Room for the most delicate surgical work, supplied with distilled water, hot and cold, from two tanks, each fifty gallons capacity.
Lighting of the Operating Rooms is such that operations are performed equaloly well by night or day.
The Institution thoroughly equipped with all modern Electrical and Surgical Appliances.
The only Hospital in Southern Indiana with a resident house surgeon.
Trained Nurses. Nursing in charge of a graduate of Eastern school.
Well equipped Pharmacy in charge of a competent pharmacist
The very best Kitchen and Culinary arrangement.
The entire institution under Sister Loretto, who had had a hospital experience extending over twenty-five years.”

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