TheSisters of the Holy Cross are one of threeCatholiccongregations ofreligious sisters which trace their origins to the foundation of theCongregation of Holy Cross byBasil Moreau inLe Mans,France in 1837. Members designate themselves with the post-nominalsCSC.
The other two congregations of religious women in the tradition of the Holy Cross Family are theMarianites of Holy Cross (New Orleans,Louisiana) and theSisters of Holy Cross (Montreal, Quebec,Canada). The Sisters of Holy Cross motherhouse is located inNotre Dame, Indiana.
They are distinct from theSisters of the Holy Cross Menzingen, a teaching congregation founded inSwitzerland in 1844.
In 1837,Basil Moreau established theCongregation of Holy Cross. The congregation took its name from the neighborhood of Sainte Croix in Le Mans, where the 12th-century church, Notre Dame du Sainte Croix, was to become the mother church of the new foundation.[1] In 1841, Moreau founded a society of sisters within the Congregation.[2]
In June 1843, four sisters left the mother house in France to joinEdward Sorin at his mission atNotre Dame, Indiana. A second story had been added to the log chapel at theUniversity of Notre Dame for their convent. The Sisters of the Holy Cross were founded originally to care for the housework in the boarding schools conducted by the priests. Upon their arrival, they took charge of the sacristy, infirmary, clothes room, etc. In 1844, a novitiate was opened atBertrand, Michigan, six miles from Notre Dame. The sisters taught the children of the neighbourhood, and cared for several orphans. With assistance from theSociety for the Propagation of the Faith, the sisters were able to extend their work.[3]
A school was opened atPokagon, Michigan, in 1845. This was followed by other foundations atSt. Johns,Mackinac,Louisville,Lowell (Indiana),La Porte,Michigan City, andMishawaka. In 1847, four sisters with some companions from the mother-house in France opened a convent atSt. Laurent, Canada, which formed the nucleus of the subsequently erected province. In 1849 four sisters took charge of the boys' orphan asylum inNew Orleans, and from there a house was opened in 1854 in New York with the sanction of Moreau. Sisters were sent to this establishment from Notre Dame,Canada, and New Orleans. Misunderstandings due to orders issued from France and Notre Dame led to the withdrawal of the American sisters from the new foundations, the houses of New Orleans andNew York remaining subject to the French motherhouse.
The year 1856 saw the sisters well-established inChicago andPhiladelphia. They had charge of the cathedral parochial school, St. Joseph's German school, and an industrial school in Chicago, and were installed in St. Paul's and St. Augustine's schools in Philadelphia. Later they opened a select school for boarders and day-pupils inWest Philadelphia. These foundations all promised success, but the strained relations between the mother-house at Le Mans under Father Moreau and the Provincial House at Notre Dame under Father Sorin led to the recall of the sisters.
In 1853,Eliza Gillespie, sister ofNeal Henry Gillespie, received the habit from Sorin, and sailed for France to make her novitiate as Sister Angela. After profession, she returned to Bertrand and took charge of the academy, 1854. From that time until her death (1887), Gillespie laboured indefatigably to develop the highest intellectual and religious qualities in both teachers and students, and must be regarded as the virtual founder of the order in the United States.[3]
On 15 August, 1855, the convent and academy were moved from Bertrand toSouth Bend, Indiana. Saint Mary's Academy eventually grew to become Saint Mary's College.[4] By 1861 the sisters were operating schools and orphanages throughout the eastern half of the United States.
When Moreau visited the provinces of Canada,Louisiana, and Notre Dame in 1857, he promulgated the Decree of Separation of the sisters from the priests and brothers. In 1869, at the advice ofJohn Luers of Fort Wayne, the Sisters of the Holy Cross in the United States separated from the motherhouse in France and formed a distinct congregation.[3]
Oliver P. Morton, governor of Indiana, requested the assistance of 12 sisters from the congregation. Gillespie along with five other sisters volunteered as nurses. The sisters were sent to Cairo, Illinois, where they met GeneralUlysses S. Grant. The sisters were then sent to the regimental headquarters of GeneralLew Wallace's brigade inPaducah, Kentucky. All told, some eighty sisters served as nurses, managing hospitals in Kentucky,Illinois,Tennessee,Missouri, andWashington, D.C.[5]
Thomas Ewing, father-in-law of GeneralWilliam Tecumseh Sherman, was a kinsman of Gillespie; U.S. RepresentativeJames G. Blaine was her cousin. When generals failed to secure needed aid for the sick and wounded, she made trips to Washington on their behalf. Her influence in Washington was significant both because of her family connections and because of the recognition of her work for the sick and wounded soldiers. Eighty sisters nursed the wounded and ill soldiers in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. Four sisters served on the U.S. Navy's first hospital ship, the"Red Rover". They were the first female nurses to serve on board a Navy ship.[6][7]
CommanderCharles Henry Davis of theWestern Flotilla presented Gillespie with two civil war cannons, "Lady Polk" and "Lady Davis." During WWII, the cannons were melted down for scrap iron. There is a monument that stands in memory of the sisters that served in the Civil War, erected on September 20, 1924. It is located in Washington D.C., across fromSt Matthew's Cathedral.[8]
Angela Gillespie returned toNotre Dame, Indiana, where her brother,Neal Henry Gillespie, was soon appointed editor ofAve Maria Magazine.[9] Sorin put Angela Gillespie in charge of editorial management.[10] While the Holy Cross Brothers served as typographers and pressmen,[11] the sisters assisted in various editorial and production capacities.
The Sisters of the Holy Cross are represented in the following countries:
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sisters of the Holy Cross".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
