November 27, 2013 · 6:00 am

Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Miraculous Medal painting

Painting showing one side of the Miraculous Medal, now on display in the Provincial Archives

(Image used with permission of the Daughters of Charity Provincial Archives)
November 27 marks the first of three special feast days for the Company of the Daughters of Charity: the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. From July to November 1830, Catherine Laboure, then a Seminary Sister (novice) of the Daughters of Charity, was visited several times by Our Lady at the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity in Paris. During the apparition of November 27, 1830, Catherine saw Our Lady standing on a globe, with rays of light streaming from her outstretched hands. Framing the figure was an inscription: “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” Then Mary spoke to Catherine: “Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.” The vision then turned to show the reverse of the Medal: the letter M surmounted by a cross with a bar at its base; below this monogram, the Sacred Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword.

With approval of the Catholic Church, the first medals were made in 1832 and were distributed in Paris. The medal quickly became a popular devotion, popularly known as the “Miraculous Medal” because of the many graces and blessings that were connected with the wearing of the medal.

The painting seen here, showing the reverse of the medal, will be on display in the Provincial Archives through December 31, as part of our exhibit: “Oh Mary Conceived Without Sin”.

November 28 is the feast of Catherine Laboure. Catherine will be the subject of our November 28 post.

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November 25, 2013 · 6:00 am

Why are they called the Sisters of Charity of Convent Station?

Train station, Convent Station NJ

Front of campus and train station, 1880s (Courtesy Sisters of Charity of Convent Station, NJ)

Based on the research of Sister Hildegarde Marie Mahoney, former General Superior of the Sisters of Charity, Convent Station

On July 2, 1860 the Motherhouse of the New Jersey Sisters of Charity was transferred from Newark, NJ, to what would be called in future years “Convent Station.” Mother M. Xavier Mehegan, founder and Mother General, purchased 63 acres of land and a wooden structure that still stands near the northern entrance to the campus from James Roosevelt Bayley, nephew of Mother Seton and first Bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Newark. The land purchased by the Sisters included a narrow strip which extended over the hill to the tracks of the Morris and Essex Railroad, a branch of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad.

Because the nearest train station was nearly three miles distant in Madison, Mother M. Xavier petitioned the railroad company to make a stop at convent grounds and in 1867 she had received a favorable response. This was an advantage to the students of the Academy of Saint Elizabeth (founded in 1860), as well as to the Sisters. In return the Sisters built a simple little station on the north side of the tracks and for many years paid the salary of the stationmaster.

In 1870 Mother M. Xavier wrote to the Honorable T. F. Randolph, Governor of New Jersey and former President of the Board of the railroad. She asked that he further her request that more trains stop at “Convent Station,” including the Oswego Express and the Binghamton Mail trains, and that freight be delivered at “our own depot.” The request concerning the Oswego and Binghamton trains was related to the fact that students at the Academy came from upstate New York, as well as from towns and cities along the Lackawanna route.

The railroad in 1876 erected a new station, which it named “Convent,” on the present site, some distance to the southwest of the original depot. Thus, while there is no such municipality, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth are often known as the Charities from Convent Station.

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November 22, 2013 · 3:30 am

November 25, the Kennedys, and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth

Jackie Kennedy letter

Letter from Jackie Kennedy to the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (Courtesy Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center)

Guest post by Kathy Hertel-Baker, Director, Archival Center, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (KY).

November 25. Most people, if they associate this day with anything at all, associate it with the funeral and burial of a young President, taken from us too soon, with a young widow and her grieving family, and a three-year old child, saluting the body of his father, too young to understand the horror of what was happening. But, before that somber day in 1963, November 25 had a very different association for the Kennedy family. On that day in 1960, John F. Kennedy, Jr. was born at Georgetown Hospital in Washington, D.C., at that time administered by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. The SCNs cared for the newborn and his elated parents, then President-elect John Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline. ‘John-John’, as he was affectionately known, arrived a month early, much to the surprise of his young parents. His father was in Florida at the time and received word of the birth while on the plane back to Washington. Sister Mary Evangelist, SCN, the administrator at Georgetown, presided over the crowd of reporters in the lobby waiting for word of the birth, releasing as much information as she was allowed and trying to keep everyone calm and comfortable. She met Mr. Kennedy when he finally arrived at the hospital and escorted him to his wife’s room. When she returned to speak with the press, she commented that the President-elect “was all smiles. We all congratulated him. Everybody is excited. We never had anything like this.” A few days later, Jacqueline Kennedy sent a personal note of thanks to the Sisters who had cared for her and the newest addition to their family. She included a check with the note, asking the Sisters “to get something nice for Christmas for all the nuns who were so good to me.” The Sisters used this gift to purchase a set of china to use in the Georgetown convent. Little could they have known the deep sorrow that would be enveloping them just three short years later. But until then, November 25, was a day of joy and celebration for the Kennedy family and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth who helped bring their son into the world.

China

Some of the china purchased by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth with Jackie Kennedy’s gift (Courtesy Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center)

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Filed under John F. Kennedy, Sisters of Charity Federation, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, U.S. Presidents