Called to Serve: A History of Nuns in America

279 Pages·2014·2.493 MB·English

by  Margaret M. McGuinness

Called to Serve
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Called to Serve
A History of Nuns in America
Margaret M. McGuinness
a
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
© 2013 by New York University
All rights reserved
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that
may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McGuinness, Margaret M.
Called to serve : a history of nuns in America / Margaret M. McGuinness.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8147-9556-9 (cl : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8147-2472-9 (e-book) — ISBN 978-
0-8147-8926-1 (e-book)
1. Nuns—United States—History. 2. Monasticism and religious orders for women—United
States—History. 3. Monastic and religious life of women—United States—History. 4.
United States—Church history. I. Title.
BX4220.U6M34 2013
271'.90073—dc23 2012038065
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials
are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers
and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Bill, Will, Sarah, and Erin, with love
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
 Organizing to Serve 15
 Service to a Growing Catholic Community 41
 Serving through Education 66
 Serving the Sick 87
 Serving Those in Need 111
 Praying for the World 137
 Redefining Sisterhood 154
 Serving Today 180
Notes 201
Select Bibliography 235
Index 253
About the Author 266
vii
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Acknowledgments
IT IS A PLEASURE to remember and thank all those who helped to make
this book a reality. Administrators at La Salle University in Philadelphia,
especially Brother President Michael McGinniss, FSC, Joseph R. Marbach,
provost, and Dean Thomas Keagy have been consistently supportive of
this project. In addition, I am thankful for a research leave that I received
from the University’s Leaves and Grants Committee during the fall of
2010, which allowed me some uninterrupted time to think and write about
women religious. The staff at La Salle University’s Connelly Library was
unfailingly gracious and pleasant as they tracked down some rather ob-
scure sources. I am particularly grateful to Stephen Breedlove for his ability
to find every book and article I requested. Yvonne Macolly, administrative
assistant in the Religion department, makes my life easier in many ways,
and her presence on the second floor of McShain Hall has been a blessing.
A number of people read chapters or portions of chapters and offered
constructive comments while saving me from a number of embarrassing
errors. Joseph Mannard, Anne Butler, Kathleen Sprows Cummings, Bar-
bra Mann Wall, Carol K. Coburn, Eileen Flanagan, and Regina Siegfried,
ASC, all fine commentators on the history of women religious in their own
right, took time away from their work to critique, support, and encour-
age. Ellen Pierce, James O’Toole, Regina Bechtle, SC, Patricia Byrne, CSJ,
Anne Francis Campbell, OLM, Mada-anne Gell, VHM, Karen Kennelly,
CSJ, Joseph Chinnici, OFM, and Cait Kokolous helped me to understand
some of the subtleties involved in trying to portray American women reli-
gious as accurately as possible. Judith Metz, SC, Mary Ellen Gleason, SC,
Peter Schmid, Tom Felton, Anne Schwelm, M. Alan Wurth, ASC, and Pa-
tricia Anne, OSC helped to find photographs that accurately represented
women religious in the United States. A number of archivists, too numer-
ous to name, worked with me to find a suitable photograph for the book’s
cover. I am especially grateful to Janet Welsh, OP, who enlisted Dominican
archivists far and wide to assist in my search for just the right picture. Any
errors, of course, are mine alone.
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