In memoriam: Sister Mary Ann Bozel

In memory of Sister Mary Ann Bozel, who died at the Villa St. Michael, Emmitsburg, Maryland, on March 1, 2014, 89 years of age and 71 years of vocation.
May she rest in peace.

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Online Exhibit: “Beginning the Good Work: 200 Years of Service in Philadelphia”

Images from our current exhibit, on display in Gallery 1 through April 30.

Philadelphia exhibit - case with items showing the start of ministry in Philadelphia.

Start of the work in Philadelphia. Mother Seton, who sent the first three Sisters, is on the far right. Next to her is Mother Rose White, the first superior. in the middle is a book with early minutes of the board of St. Joseph Orphan Asylum.

Mother Rose White

Mother Rose White, leader of the first group of Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s to serve in Philadelphia. After Elizabeth Seton’s death in 1821 Mother Rose served as the community’s superior.

Philadelphia exhibit - case showing connections with Sisters of Charity of New York

Mother Rose White’s skill in managing St. Joseph Orphan Asylum led to a request, in 1817, for the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s to start an orphanage in New York. In the center is a letter from Mother Seton talking about her desire to send Sisters there. One companions of Mother Seton’s who served in Philadelphia was Mother Elizabeth Boyle, seen at right, who in 1846 became the first superior of the Sisters of Charity of New York. (Image of Mother Elizabeth Boyle courtesy of Sisters of Charity of New York)

Mother Elizabeth Boyle, Sisters of Charity of New York

Mother Elizabeth Boyle (1788-1861), first superior of the Sisters of Charity of New York (1846-1849) (Courtesy Sisters of Charity of New York)

Philadelphia exhibit - case showing Sr. Mary Gonzaga Grace and Gonzaga Home

Photos and artifacts of Sr. Mary Gonzaga Grace and Gonzaga Home. Sr. Mary Gonzaga is at the upper left. Beneath her is an image of the Sisters who served at Satterlee Hospital in West Philadelphia during the Civil War. In the center are pages from a handwritten life of Sr. Mary Gonzaga. On the far right is an image of Gonzaga Home.

Sister Mary Gonzaga Grace

Sr. Mary Gonzaga Grace spent 61 years of her community life in Philadelphia. During the Civil War she served as both superior of Satterlee Military Hospital and St. Joseph Orphan Asylum.

Gonzaga Home

Gonzaga Home, completed in 1899 and named in honor of Sr. Mary Gonzaga Grace.

Photos and artifacts for St. Joseph Hospital.

Photos and artifacts for St. Joseph Hospital.

St. Joseph Hospital building

St. Joseph Hospital, early 20th century.

St. Joseph Hospital operating room 1900

St. Joseph Hospital operating room, ca. 1900

Exhibit case - St. Vincent Orphan Asylum Drexel Hill

Case showing photos and artifacts from St. Vincent Orphan Asylum, Drexel Hill.

St. Vincent Orphan Asylum building, early 1920s

St. Vincent Orphan Home, founded in 1850, moved into this building in the early 1920s. The building later became an archdiocesan high school.

St. Vincent Orphan Home Drexel Hill, children on playground, 1943

St. Vincent Orphan Home Drexel Hill, children on playground, 1943

Girls' band from St. Vincent Orphan Asylum Drexel Hill

“Musical Mites” – a girls’ band from St. Vincent Home Drexel Hill, 1943

Philadelphia exhibit - case showing St. Joseph Hall for Girls and Ghebre Michael Inn.

On the left are images of St. Joseph Hall for Girls, from the 1970s and early 1980s. On the right is Ghebre Michael Inn, founded by the Vincentians at Immaculate Conception Parish in Germantown in 1989. Ghebre Michael Inn, named for a Vincentian priest and martyr, provided temporary housing and job assistance to under-and-unemployed single men.

St. Joseph Hall for Girls, unidentified Sister and students, early 1970s

St. Joseph Hall for Girls, unidentified Sister and students, early 1970s

St. Joseph Hall for Girls, early 1980s

Sr. Mary Frate and children at St. Joseph Hall for Girls, early 1980s.

Case showing yearbooks from Gwynedd Mercy Academy

Gwynedd Mercy Academy was one of a number of school ministries. Sr. Denise Williams taught at the school in the late 1980s.

case showing images of special celebrations for the DCs in Philadelphia
Mayor presenting proclamation to Sisters

Mayor Rizzo of Philadelphia presents a proclamation for “Elizabeth Seton Day” in the city of Philadelphia, September 14, 1975.

Seton Proclamation from City of Philadelphia

Proclamation from the City of Philadelphia in honor of Elizabeth Seton Day, September 14, 1975

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Sisters of Charity and Bishop John Hughes

Guest post by Sister Constance Brennan, Archivist, Sisters of Charity of New York

Leather book

Leather handwritten book – Instructions by Archbishop Hughes given to Mother Angela (Courtesy Sisters of Charity of New York)

“A Monumental Legacy: Archbishop John J. Hughes and the Building of St. Patrick’s Cathedral,” an exhibition to record the life and works of Archbishop John Hughes, will open at the Consulate General of Ireland on Thursday, March 7 and will run through July 31, 2014. Included in this exhibition will be the cover and five digitized pages of the original leather handwritten book, “Instructions by Archbishop Hughes given to Sister Angela.” This book contains instructions given to the Sisters of Charity of New York by Archbishop Hughes in 1860. Sister Angela Hughes, the sister of the archbishop, was the third Mother General of the Sisters of Charity of New York, (1855-1861).

Bishop John Hughes portrait

Bishop John Hughes (Courtesy Sisters of Charity of New York)

Mother Angela Hughes (Courtesy Sisters of Charity of New York)

Mother Angela Hughes (Courtesy Sisters of Charity of New York)


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This exhibition also highlights the relationship between Saint Elizabeth Seton and the archbishop. In the fall of 1819 the young John Hughes sought work with the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s whose motherhouse in Emmitsburg was a short distance from Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary. Hughes had sought admission to the seminary and had been refused by Bishop Dubois. Elizabeth Seton got to know the young Hughes who opened his heart to her of his desire to enter Mount St. Mary’s and become a priest. She looked beyond his aggressive stance to his call and wrote to Bishop Dubois. Dubois, who could not refuse Elizabeth anything, gradually reversed his decision and John Hughes was admitted to the seminary. We know the rest of the story!

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Filed under Sisters of Charity Federation, Sisters of Charity of New York