Sisters of Charity of Nazareth

Inspired by Mother Seton -- and following correspondence with her -- the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth were founded south of Bardstown, KY, at St Thomas church:

https://www.saintthomasbardstown.org/about

Along with Loretto and the Springfield Dominicans, the SCNs comprise part of the Kentucky Holy Land:

http://www.kyholyland.org/

Why so many motherhouses so close together?  

Travel. 

Louisville is 40 miles from Bardstown. Lebanon and Springfield are 25 and 17 miles from Bardstown, respectively.  The second post following this one treats of the Dominicans. Guess which one was founded first? Springfield, KY. 

Bishop Flaget (Fla-schay) was the first bishop of the Diocese of Bardstown.

https://www.stjosephbasilica.org/history

These congregations were founded primarily for educating the pioneer children. Due to being in the wilderness, travel was difficult.

The SCN Congregational history:

https://scnfamily.org/about/

I was received into the Church at St Joseph Proto-Cathedral at age 16.  A few months previous, I had transferred to Bethlehem High.  At the risk of sounding crass, my feet can attest to the length of the Nazareth Motherhouse. Not only did we have Junior Retreat there (our group got lost trying to find the room), but our rain site for Senior graduation was the Gardner Auditorium. 

The Nazareth Villages website shows this unique venue which protrudes at the end of the building, diametrically opposed to the chapel. The historic Gardner balcony was suspended from the ceiling.  A very rare specimen, indeed.  Most of the motherhouse, however, was eventually converted to senior citizen housing. 

Gardner Auditorium -- or where it used to be -- is the first building seen in the drone footage here:

https://nazarethvillages.org/

Should one desire to have a photographed event at the beautiful Nazareth Motherhouse campus, please do mind one's manners: 

https://scnfamily.org/rules-and-policies/

SCN ministries mentioned in Dehey:

My alma mater, Bethlehem High School in Bardstown, KY:

https://www.bethlehemhigh.org/

St Mary's Ryken High School, Leonardtown, MD:

https://www.smrhs.org/about/history

U of L Health - Mary and Elizabeth Hospital:

https://www.uoflhealthnetwork.org/mary-elizabeth-hospital?utm_campaign=location+lbl&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google

Former St Thomas- St Vincent Orphanage, now a subdivision:

https://www.owlcreekcommunity.com/our-history/

Presentation Academy, Louisville, KY:

https://www.presentationacademy.org/about-us.html

Spalding University, Louisville, KY:

https://spalding.edu/about-us/

Wow.  Those last two links really take me back to my practical nursing school days. My school had an agreement with Spalding College, and I roomed in their dorm, Morrison Hall. The library, where I discovered the Dehey book, is on the other side of Spalding. I passed by Presentation Academy several times a day. 

The Spalding dining commons and bookstore were located in the basement of the large granite building shown on the university page.  

The Sisters who roomed in the other dorm wing would sometimes give me a ride to clinical at St Anthony's Hospital. 

"Our Lady of the Highway, may all your paths be peace."

SCN Vocational Link:

https://scnfamily.org/sisters/vocation/

Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross

The Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross -- the Lorettines -- are the first truly indigenous congregation in the US. In Dehey's words: "More than a century has passed since the establishment in the United States of the 'first religious order founded in America, without foreign affiliation or connection'. 

The history of the congregation: 

https://www.lorettocommunity.org/about/history/motherhouse-history/

The original buildings are still in use today. 

The Lorettines were originally a teaching Order for the sake of the pioneer families who settled in the area. Marion County, KY, is supposedly named for Our Lady, as well. The county is next door to Nelson County, of which this author's hometown of Bardstown is the county seat. The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, the subject of the next post, are located five miles north of the same. 

Along with Springfield in Washington County, the area is considered the Kentucky Holy Land:

https://www.kyholyland.org/

Be sure to check out the LOREtto Blog!

A feature regarding two of their schools:

https://www.lorettocommunity.org/loretto-treasures-webster-university-and-loretto-heights-college/

Lorettine vocational link:

https://www.lorettocommunity.org/join-us/sisters/

Sisters of Charity: Emmitsburg; New York City; Cincinnati; Halifax, NS; Convent Station; Seton Hill

The first Charity congregation discussed by Dehey are the Daughters of Charity. The American province was originally St Elizabeth Ann Seton's group of "Sisters of St Joseph's". Their amalgamation to the French DCs was actually prophesied by Mary, Mother of God, during the Miraculous Medal visions of 1830. 

The Daughters of Charity Archives are now located on the property where Mother Seton founded her congregation, in Emmitsburg, MD:

https://daughtersofcharity.org/about-us/early-history/

Mother Seton's Shrine: https://setonshrine.org/

2021 is the 200th anniversary of Mother Seton's passing. 

The Marillac Seminary shown in Dehey is now the Pierre Laclede Honors College at the University of Missouri St Louis. Be sure to watch the video!

https://www.umsl.edu/honors/index.html

As said previously, Mother Seton had intended for her congregation be joined to the original in France. However, the congregations that arose from Mother Seton's missions decided that they didn't want to follow, and petitioned to recognized as diocesan congregations. 

New York, NY:

https://scny.org/sisters-of-charity-timeline/

The College of Mt St Vincent is in the same building pictured in Dehey:

https://mountsaintvincent.edu/admission/choose-the-mount/watch-our-video/

Cincinnati, OH: 

https://www.srcharitycinti.org/who-we-are/motherhouse-and-chapel/

Halifax, Nova Scotia:

https://schalifax.ca/our-story/

Convent Station, NJ:

https://www.scnj.org/about

Building shown in Dehey: https://www.steu.edu/meet-seu

Seton Hill, PA:

https://sistersofcharityofsetonhillgeneralate.org/about-us-1

Building shown in Dehey: https://www.setonhill.edu/

Vocational Links:

Daughters of Charity:

Province of St Louise: https://daughtersofcharity.org/discerning-your-call/

Province of St Elizabeth Ann Seton: https://www.daughtersofcharity.com/vocation/

New York:  https://scny.org/join-us/become-a-sister-of-charity/

Cincinnati: https://www.srcharitycinti.org/join-our-mission/become-a-sister/

Halifax: https://schalifax.ca/we-welcome-you/

Convent Station: https://www.scnj.org/outreach-office

Seton Hill: https://scsh.org/get-involved/vocation/

The next post (s) will treat of the first two truly indigenous congregations in the US. 

The Visitation: Rock Island; Richmond; Wytheville; Dubuque; St Paul; Georgetown, KY; Tacoma; Springfield; Toledo; Philadelphia

Rock Island, IL's, Villa de Chantal closed in the 1970s. The next occupant was a child care center.  While in the process of being converted into senior housing, a fire gutted the interior. The property was sold to the local school district, who razed the remainder of the structure. 

The lady who authored this article managed to save the distinctive entrance archway. They had hoped to reassemble it in the cemetery near the graves of the Visitandines who died there.  

http://www.rockislandpreservation.org/postcards-from-home/villa-de-chantal/

Story regarding the arch:

https://qctimes.com/news/local/education/villa-de-chantal-arch-plans-remain-up-in-air/article_37f4e2f0-ed4a-11df-b5fa-001cc4c002e0.html

Richmond, VA's, former monastery is now an ecumenical residential prayer center:

https://www.richmondhillva.org/

The nuns built a new monastery out in Rockville:

http://www.visitmontemaria.com/

Wytheville, VA's, Visitation Academy is shown here in 1909: 

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/wytheville-virginia-academy-443647840

The property suffered a catastrophic fire in 1920.  The convent pictured in Dehey is likely the replacement. 

According to the Richmond Hill website, the Wytheville Visitation closed in 1940. The Sisters joined the Richmond monastery. 

Dubuque, IA, has a diocesan Visitation congregation. Their history page explains this difference at the bottom of the page:

http://www.sistersofthevisitationdbq.org/History/History.html

The former academy was bought by Loras College. The oldest part of the building was converted to a men's dormitory. In 2016, the cupola was struck by lightning, damaging the dorm. A year later, the college voted to raze the building:

http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=ACADEMY_OF_THE_VISITATION_(THE)

Visitation School was founded in St Paul, MN. They later moved to Mendota Heights:

https://www.visitation.net/about-vis/salesian2

There are sisters at the school to ensure that Salesian spiritually is taught properly.  Here's a picture of the former St Paul convent:

http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/largerimage?irn=10348052&catirn=10716999&return=

This author had corresponded with the Cardome Visitation (Georgetown, KY), community while in college. Unfortunately, they closed before I could get there. The building is now used for the arts:

https://cardome.org/

When Visitation Villa in Tacoma, WA, closed, the nuns built a Mid-Century Modern monastery. When the convent closed, the building was repurposed for secular use:

https://www.dumasbaycentre.com/

Historical marker for the school:

https://www.lakewoodhistorical.org/news/details.php?newsid=38

The Mansion at Elfindale in Springfield, MO, is the reuse of the St de Chantal Academy buildings:

https://mansionatelfindale.com/

The Visitation of Toledo, OH, has always been contemplative. They are still very much alive:

https://toledovisitation.org/

The Philadelphia, PA, Visitation was refounded after persecution in Mexico, where the Sisters had answered the call to establish a school.  Upon their return to Pennsylvania, they became purely contemplative:

https://www.visitationnuns.org/index.php

Vocational Link:

First Federation:

https://visitationsistersfirstfederation.org/

The Second Federation of the Visitation has unpublished their clearinghouse website. 

As far as I can tell, there is not a clearinghouse website for the Visitation schools, either. 

The congregations of the Sisters of Charity will be the next post. 

The Visitation: Georgetown, DC; Mobile; St Louis; Wheeling; Frederick; Catonsville; Wilmington; Brooklyn; Parkersburg; Riverdale

Out of 23 Visitation monasteries listed in Dehey, five cloistered monasteries are still extant. Only four remain from the teaching branch.  (One of the those four is a new community, which will be discussed at a later time). 

From 23 to 9. 

Let that sink in. 

I nearly entered the cloistered Visitation when I graduated college. The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary is obviously close to my heart.  I'm also co-founder of a new Salesian-Vincentian-Paulacrucian Congregation that includes a pro-life outreach.  Because of these factors, my research for this blog entry nearly put me into physical shock. 

If you don't have kids, you don't have schools.  

Enough of the soapbox, though. Let's get on with the tour. 

The history of the Visitation in the United States begins with an archbishop; a young lady; and two widows in Georgetown, D.C.  Although an established rule was utilized, the Visitation was the first indigenous congregation in the U.S.:

https://gvmonastery.org/history/

Georgetown went on to found the Mobile,AL, academy. Their schools eventually closed, and the academy converted to a retreat center. 

http://www.visitationmonasterymobile.org/HTMLcode/History.htm

St Louis has had various buildings, the latest now on Ballas Road:

https://www.visitationacademy.org/about-viz/our-history

One of St Louis' academy buildings was called the Castle. When the school relocated, the Victorian structure was razed. The property became Visitation Park, and has since been renamed. More here: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visitation_Park,_St._Louis

Wheeling, WV,'s convent and academy are completely gone now:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_de_Chantal_Visitation_Academy

The Frederick academy began in Baltimore proper:

https://collections.digitalmaryland.org/digital/collection/mdph/id/1072/

The academy closed in 2016.  The new owner, as of this article, was seeking a developer:

https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/real_estate_and_development/city-votes-to-rezone-visitation-academy-for-redevelopment/article_5712e4fb-5e8c-5a52-b457-b61dd8ddd152.html

Catonsville, MD, was founded from Mobile. The Visitandines eventually left, and the St Cecilia Dominicans took over:

https://www.mountdesalesacademy.org/about/history

The Visitation of Tyringham, MA, was transplanted from Keokuk, IA, via Wilmington, DE. This monastery began as a teaching Convent, but a benefactress bestowed a substantial financial gift that enabled the nuns to fully cloister. More of the history here:

https://vistyr.org/our-monastery

Brooklyn's Visitation monastery and academy are still going strong!  Be sure to check out the journal!

https://brooklynvisitationmonastery.org/

The Parkersburg, WV, Visitation is gone entirely:

http://electricearl.com/parkersburg/desales.html

Riverdale Visitation, which had been contemplative, was converted to the St John Vianney Clergy Residence for the Archdiocese of New York:

https://archny.org/about/associated-organizations/sjvcr/

Please stay tuned for the next installment. 

How I Met Dehey

 Or, probably more accurately, how I found the book. 

I was in my late teens, attending practical nursing school in Louisville, KY. I had planned to found my own congregation of religious Sisters who ministered to priests.  They would pretty much hang out at the convent and pray when not out ministering. The habit would have been royal blue, with black veil, and a royal blue scapular with gold host and chalice surrounded by a red crown of thorns. Belt and rosary would round-out the ensemble. 

Due to some issues, I was asked to redo the clinical portion of Medical-Surgical nursing. The experience was like having a part-time job, and I loved it. In the in-between time, I went to the library, which was half a block from the dining hall. (Our vocational college had an arrangement with a downtown college that had a dorm and dining facilities). I looked up religious life, and found the Dehey tome. 

The first thing I noticed was the almost sweet odor the book was giving off. The year was 1982, and the book had been published in 1930.  There was evidence of light use. 

There were so many pictures in the book!  However, I couldn't get focused on the text. (I didn't know that I have Autism Spectrum Disorder with severe, inattentive Attention Deficit Disorder).  So I enjoyed the smorgasbord of photos.  I was particularly taken with the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament sisters, whose habit had the crown of thorns, and the Albany, NY, convent of the Sacred Heart. 

Eventually, I did get some focus, and read the shorter profiles. I also made lots of photocopies of the foundresses and some of the convents/motherhouses. 

My college career would eventually take me to an internationally famous labor college down in the southern portion of the state. I had intended to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing there. After my Freshman year, I transferred labor positions to the bookstore, and ordered Dehey twice through Inter-Library Loan (ILL) at the library. 

I didn't graduate with a BSN. I did, however, graduate with a B.A. English. I changed majors after suffering burn-out, and taking a five month leave-of-absence. 

Long story short, I had to wait for Mel Waller and his St Athanasius Press to reprint the book. I was able to find both original editions via eBay, though, without paying more than $100 for either one, after the reprint.  God is good!

Curiosity has led me to develop this blog. With the Vocations crisis, I wanted to see who was left.  The Dehey Tour was originally meant to be a website with actual tours listed. I may eventually get there. As the nuns say, "We shall see."

Blessings, Gemma

The Discalced Carmelites: Buffalo; Cleveland; Dallas; Bettendorf; Detroit; Grand Rapids; New Albany; Alhambra; San Diego; Carmel

 The Carmel of Buffalo, NY, has a special relationship with St Therese the Little Flower. Read about it here:

https://www.buffalocarmel.org/buffalo-carmel-history

The Cleveland Heights, OH, Carmel has closed. A developer has bought the property, and plans to raze the building. The Cloister wall, however, has escaped the wrecking ball. The developer has a use for it. 

Article: https://www.cleveland.com/community/2020/06/cleveland-heights-council-gets-update-on-local-development-in-the-pandemic.html

Dallas, TX, still has their Carmel:

https://www.dallascarmelites.com/

Here's a history: https://materdeiparish.com/support-the-carmelite-nuns/

The Carmel of Bettendorf, IA, actually began in Davenport. This amazing monastery was vacated by the nuns when they relocated to Eldridge. (Unfortunately, that website is down). After the property was used as a boutique hotel -- after the Protestants then the Franciscans -- the owner developed an addiction treatment center. 

https://www.theabbeycenter.com/

And it's history: 

https://www.psychcongress.com/article/monastery-treatment-center

The Carmel of Detroit, MI, is now located in Clinton Township. Here's the website:

https://carmelctwp.org/

The Detroit Carmel's first home was on Webb Avenue. Then a more substantial monastery was built on Wyoming Avenue. The building has been repurposed as a homeless shelter/transitional housing, called COTS Peggy's Place:

https://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/2013/08/homeless_in_detroit_deep_in_th.html

COTS is the anacronym for Coalition in Temporary Shelter. 

Grand Rapids' Carmel built a new monastery in Parnell in the early 1990s: 

http://www.carmelitenuns.org/

The original monastery is now being utilized as an autism outreach center:

http://www.historygrandrapids.org/embeding/1689

New Albany's Carmel moved from there to Indianapolis. Eventually, the steady stream of Vocations evaporated, and the community was forced to put the monastery on the market. The Oldenburg Franciscan Sisters have taken in the nuns. The latter are now known as the Carmelites of Oldenburg:

https://ccacarmels.org/oldenburg/

The former monastery is now the Bishop Simon Brute College Seminary:

https://bishopsimonbrute.org/

The Alhambra, CA, Carmel is still located in their 1913 purpose-built monastery. Named for St Teresa of Avila, here is their site:

https://www.carmelteresa.org/

San Diego's Carmel also enjoys stability -- earthquakes notwithstanding:

https://www.carmelsandiego.com/

As does Carmel-by-the-Sea:

https://www.carmelitesistersbythesea.org/

Morristown, NJ, perseveres:

https://www.carmelnj.org/

The Carmel of Seattle is in their third building, and has just celebrated a double solemn profession!

https://seattlecarmel.org/photoalbums/solemn-profession-2021

Tucson, Arizona, had a monastery of Discalced Carmelite nuns at one time.  However, I am unable to share anything with the reader because the provincial office never returned my email. 

Last, but certainly not least, the former Carmelite monastery in Wheeling, WV, has been purchased by an entrepreneur. He plans to turn the building into a boutique hotel:

https://weelunk.com/monastery-rebuilds-look-inside-mount-carmels-changing-walls-beating-heart/

That being said, we conclude with the Discalced Carmelites, and I will return to discuss the Visitation -- or another pertinent post.  Please stay tuned.