Seton Legacy of Charity

The following bits of information regarding the 200th anniversary of Elizabeth Seton’s founding of the Sisters of Charity have been collected from the Seton Legacy of Charity column in Update, the Sisters of Charity biweekly newsletter.

October 29, 2009
We have had an eventful few weeks to wrap up the public celebrations of our 200th anniversary. We were honored by the College of Mount St. Joseph, Bayley Place, Seton High School and San Antonio parish. We had a wonderful closing liturgy at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains where we recognized both our origins by the representatives of Sisters from Emmitsburg, and our sending out by representatives from the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The music was wonderful and we had wonderful participation from Seton and Elder High School singers.

The “Visual Charity” exhibit at the College of Mount St. Joseph closed Oct. 25. They commented: “We are very pleased to report that this exhibit has had a tremendous response with a strong number and consistency of visitors.” There were many comments left in the visitors’ sign-in book complimenting the Sisters of Charity on their work.

Thanks to all who assisted with, prayed for, attended and supported our 200th anniversary events. It has been a fruitful time to remember, to celebrate, and to be energized for the future.

October 15, 2009
Alert for those taking the bus from the motherhouse to the Cathedral on October 25: There seems to be some confusion about the time of the bus. The bus leaves at 1:00 for all those taking it. The bus will be here at 12:45 so everyone will have time to get on the bus and have the bus leave at 1:00 sharp!! There are some people riding the bus who need to be at the Cathedral at 1:30 at the latest, so we need to be prompt! There is still room on the bus, so if you wish to sign up email judith.metz@srcharitycinti.org or call 347-4058 and leave message.

Another reminder about October 25: Don't forget to invite your family members, friends, and co-workers. There is a PDF file of the invitation on the SC website that you can forward via email or print off to give to people.

As we come to the end of our 200 th anniversary celebration, lets say a prayer of thanksgiving for all those Sisters of Charity who have gifted us with the rich legacy we enjoy today.

October 1, 2009
“All Creation Sings: Praying the Psalms with St. Elizabeth Seton” is a new resource available for prayer and reflection. It is put out by the Sisters of Charity of New York and was put together with photographs, psalm selections and quotes from Elizabeth Seton by Regina Bechtle, SC and Margaret Egan, SC. It is available for $10 in the gift shop at the Motherhouse, and will be available at the Western Congregational Meeting on Oct. 3. For anyone who does not have access to these supplies and who wishes to purchase a copy of the book, you can send your money to S. Judith Metz in the Archives and she will send you a copy.

Reminders:
Anyone who wishes to ride the bus from the Motherhouse to the Cathedral for our Mass on Oct. 25 should e-mail judith.metz@srcharitycinti.org or leave a message at 347-4058 by Saturday, Oct. 10;

Our Employee Appreciation Dinner will be held at Mount St. Joseph and Villa San Bernardo on Wednesday, Oct. 14;

The Visual Charity exhibit at Studio San Giuseppe Art Gallery at the College of Mount St. Joseph features art by SCs who were associated with the College. It runs through Sunday, Oct. 25;

The Seton-Elder Performance Series will honor the Sisters of Charity on Oct. 17 (8 p.m.) and Oct. 18 (3 p.m.) Call in your reservations to attend the program as a guest of Seton;

San Antonio Parish (Cincinnati) has invited Sisters of Charity to celebrate with them at the 9 a.m. liturgy. This parish had close ties to Sisters Blandina and Justina Segale and Santa Maria.

September 17, 2009
Our final 200th anniversary liturgy is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25 at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral in Cincinnati. It will be followed by a reception in the undercroft of the Cathedral. As we begin to prepare for this event you should know:

We will hire buses to transport people from the Motherhouse to the Cathedral for $5 per person; the bus will leave the Motherhouse at 1 p.m. and return from the Cathedral at 4:30 p.m. Those wishing to reserve a place on the bus should e-mail judith.metz@srcharitycinti.org or leave a message at (513) 347-4058 by Thursday, Oct. 10.

In the next issue of Update there will be an invitation similar to the one we have used for our previous liturgies. This also will be on our Web site as a PDF file that will be able to be printed out or forwarded to those you wish to invite. We are asking you to take the initiative in inviting your family members, friends and associates to this event.

We will be running public invitations to this event in the press and issuing special invitations to our sponsored ministries and other targeted groups.

A new invitation: San Antonio parish on Queen City Avenue will honor the Sisters of Charity on their 200th anniversary at their 9 a.m. Mass Sunday, Oct. 18. Sisters of Charity are invited to attend.

September 3, 2009
There are some 200th anniversary bookmarks available if anyone wishes to use them for distribution at some program or in your ministry. Call the Archives if you would like some.

There are a few historical booklets remaining from our June 200th Anniversary Banquet at the Gathering if anyone wishes to receive one. Let us know in the Archives.

The script used for the Bicentennial Concert at Emmitsburg, “Music in the Life of Elizabeth Seton,” is available on www.famvin.org. Click on “Vincentian Encyclopedia,” and then on “Elizabeth Ann Seton.” The script is under “Elizabeth Seton and Music.”

Check out our SC Web site www.srcharitycinti.org for a current listing of anniversary events scheduled for September and October:

Sept. 14 is the 34th anniversary of Elizabeth Seton’s canonization. We will be including a special commemoration of it at our Motherhouse liturgy. We invite you to do likewise.

Sept. 20 is the opening of “Visual Charity: Celebrating Sisters of Charity in Art, Architecture and Artifact” at Studio San Giuseppe Art Gallery at the College of Mount St. Joseph. The exhibit will showcase the arts connection between the Sisters of Charity and the College. Highlights will include art works by Sisters who were art professors and the art of Mater Dei chapel at the college. The gallery reception is from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20. You are most welcome to attend.

August 20, 2009
Newly available resources about Elizabeth Seton for the anniversary year:

“Light and Grace: Elizabeth Seton on Life, Faith and Eternity” (Daily Reflections) by Betty Ann McNeil, DC. Available from the Seton Shrine Gift Shop at Emmitsburg, Md. Visit the Web site at www.setonshrine.org. The e-mail address is giftshop@setonshrine.org.

“Elizabeth Bayley Seton 1774-1821” by Annabelle Melville, edited by Betty Ann McNeil, DC. Availability same as above.

“The Seton Legacy: Elizabeth Seton’s Life, Work and Continuing Legacy,” a 30-minute DVD produced by the Daughters of Charity at Emmitsburg. Availability same as above.

“The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,” a 58-page booklet describing the shrine at St. Joseph’s in Emmitsburg by Betty Ann McNeil, DC. Availability same as above.

“Baltimore Blessed: The Story of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,” a 28-minute DVD produced by the Mother Seton House on Paca Street. Visit the Web site at www.stmaryspiritualcenter.org.

[in press] “The Mountain and the Valley of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton at Emmitsburg” by Betty Ann McNeil, DC.

[in press] A reflection journal using photographs, excerpts from the psalms and quotes from Elizabeth Seton is in preparation by the Sisters of Charity of New York.

August 6, 2009
The following recognitions have been received by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati during our 2009 anniversary year:

The Ancient Order of Hibernians dedicated their March 14 St. Patrick’s Parade, under the theme “Leadership Through Inspiration and Charity,” to the Sisters of Charity as a “Thank You for 200 Years of Service.”

The Board of Trustees of the College of Mount St. Joseph passed a resolution honoring the Sisters of Charity for their 200 years of dedication to education on April 6.

The mayor of the city of Cincinnati, Mark Mallory, issued a proclamation April 30 declaring the year 2009 as “Sisters of Charity Bicentennial Year” in Cincinnati.

A Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition was issued to the Sisters of Charity. It was presented by U.S. Congressman Steve Driehaus on May 3 at the 200th anniversary special liturgy with our partners in ministry.

The Delhi Township Board of Trustees, Michael Davis, Albert Duebber, and Jerome Luebbers, proclaimed July 9 Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Day in Delhi Township.

July 23, 2009
The August issue of the Knights of Columbus magazine Columbia will include an article focusing on Catholic education in the United States. It will, of course, talk about the work of Elizabeth Ann Seton and will include artwork from our Sisters of Charity Archives.

As part of the 200th anniversary celebration, the Daughters of Charity at Emmitsburg have invited everyone to ring their church bells on Sunday, August 2. We will ring our Motherhouse tower bell at 9:15 a.m., just prior to our liturgy, as a participation in the
nationwide celebration.

July 9, 2009
July 31, 1809 is celebrated as the founding day of the American Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It was on this day that all of the founding members of the community assembled at the Fleming Farm House (Stone House) in St. Joseph's Valley and began their religious life together. There will be many activities held at Emmitsburg over the July 31-Aug. 2 weekend, including a concert planned by S. Alice Ann O'Neill and titled "Music in the Life of Elizabeth Seton." At our Mount St. Joseph Motherhouse the regular 9:30 a.m., Sunday Liturgy on Aug. 2 will include a special commemoration of the 200th anniversary of our founding.

An invitation to our Sunday, Aug. 9 anniversary liturgy with our friends and former members is on the front page of this issue of Update. We are counting on you to extend personal invitations to this liturgy, which will be followed by a reception in the dining room. Please call the front desk with the number (including yourself) attending in your party. The deadline for reservations is Friday, July 31. This invitation is available on our SC Web site by visiting the Sisters and Associates sections so that you can either print it or forward it as an e-mail.

June 25, 2009
Addenda to previous notice about our Employee Appreciation Dinner: The Bicentennial Committee is planning an appreciation meal for all our employees at Villa San Bernardo simultaneously with the employee appreciation meal at the Motherhouse. It too will be a catered meal served on Wednesday, October 14, at 6 p.m. in the Villa dining room. Our Sisters there will be hosting the event and expressing their gratitude on behalf of all of us for the employees' support of the Congregation and our mission.

Update for those who ordered CD's of the Sundays of Reflection: The CD's you received were in the MP3 format and can only be played on a computer. Each of you will be receiving a set of the talks in a CD format that can be played on a regular CD player. You will receive these as soon as the new CD's can be made. Sorry for the inconvenience!

June 11, 2009
The Bicentennial Committee is planning an appreciation meal for all our employees at the Motherhouse and in Mother Margaret Hall. It will take place at 6 p.m. on Wed., Oct. 14 in the Motherhouse dining rooms. Leadership Council will host the event and Sisters working on the campus who do not live at the Motherhouse will assist in serving the catered meal. Our Sisters at the Motherhouse will have an opportunity to express their appreciation personally after the meal is served. Additionally Sisters living in the greater Cincinnati area are being invited to provide homemade desserts for the meal. This is one small way we, as Sisters of Charity, can express our appreciation for all that our employees do and have done for endless years in support of the Congregation and our mission.

May 14 , 2009
Anniversary news from Emmitsburg:

• The Seton Legacy Garden at St. Joseph’s Provincial House in Emmitsburg is nearly completed. It is located in a quiet, shaded area behind the Stone House. Large engraved stone markers commemorating each of the Seton Communities are placed along winding brick paths. The centerpiece of the garden is a beautiful statue of Elizabeth Seton near a small waterfall and pool.
• A revised edition of “The Daily Thoughts of Elizabeth Seton” is currently being printed and will soon be available.
• A new edition of Annabelle Melville’s Elizabeth Bayley Seton is in the final stages of editing and proofreading and will be available soon.

May 14 , 2009
As part of our 200th anniversary celebration, 12 scrolls were created listing the names of every Sister of Charity of Cincinnati who has died in the Community and all those currently in the Community, as well as all Associates in Mission who have died as Associates and those current Associates in Mission. These scrolls are on display in the chapel hallway of the Motherhouse. Many Sisters and visitors to the Motherhouse have enjoyed perusing these lists, finding the names of their teachers, friends and Sisters with whom they lived. These scrolls are available for viewing on our SC Web site. They are saved as PDF files on the Sisters and Associates password-protected pages.

April 30, 2009
The 2008-09 “Reflection Sunday Series” is now available on CD. This disk contains five presentations on Elizabeth Seton’s Enduring Spiritual Legacy. These include: Mary Jo Mersmann’s “Elizabeth Seton, Wife and Mother”; S. Mary Dolores Schneider’s “Hazard Yet Forward, Elizabeth Seton’s Faith”; S. Alice Ann O’Neill’s “Elizabeth Bayley Seton: Spirituality of Education”; S. Marie Tessmer’s “Courage That Counts”; and S. Judith Metz’s “Elizabeth Seton’s Spirituality of the Cross.” The cost of the CD is $3.50. If you wish to order one, please e-mail judith.metz@srcharitycinti.org or call her at (513) 347-4058.

Frances Bovard, a graduate of Seton Hill College in Greensburg, Pa., is preparing a stained glass window to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Charity. The window will be placed in Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, N.Y., and will contain the logo of each of the Setonian Sisters of Charity communities. [Include graphic provided by Judy Metz]

Immaculate Conception Church in Kenton, Ohio, is renovating the old convent building into a parish center. They will honor the Sisters of Charity for their commitment to the Kenton community during the rededication ceremony.

 

April 16, 2009
Reminders regarding April events:

• Wednesday, April 15 – deadline for registration for Wednesday, April 22 event at the College of Mount St. Joseph honoring the Sisters of Charity for their legacy to education. Reservations required; call (513) 244-4425 or e-mail lisa_odenbeck@mail.msj.edu.
• Thursday, April 16 – “Sister Justina Segale and the Santa Marie Institute” lecture, 7:30 p.m. at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Free and open to the public.
• Wednesday, April 22 – deadline to make reservations for our 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 3 liturgy with our partners in ministry. Call the Motherhouse front desk (347-5300) to make reservations.
• Friday, April 24 – Sister of Charity Day at St. Brigid School in Xenia, Ohio, celebrating Elizabeth Seton and the 200th anniversary of the Sisters of Charity.
• Sunday, April 26 – 200th Anniversary Dulcimer Concert, 3 p.m. at the Mount St. Joseph Motherhouse. Further details are featured in this issue of Update. For a printable invitation, visit the “200th Anniversary” section of the SC Web site.

Make your plans now if you are interested in attending the Bicentennial Celebration Weekend Friday July 31-Sunday, Aug. 2 at St. Joseph’s in Emmitsburg, Md. Events will include: special Eucharistic liturgies; reenactment of Mother Seton’s journey to Emmitsburg, including Conestoga wagon, horses and costumed participants; the premier showing of the Bicentennial DVD “The Seton Legacy”; blessing of the Seton Legacy Garden; bus pilgrimages to the Mother Seton House on Paca Street, a Civil War encampment; archival exhibits; tours of Emmitsburg and the grotto at Mount St. Mary’s; and a concert featuring 18th and 19th century music popular at the time of Elizabeth Seton (planned and coordinated by S. Alice Ann O’Neill). For more information, visit www.setonlegacy.org.

April 2, 2009
An invitation to our Sunday, May 3 anniversary liturgy with our co-workers is on the front page of this issue of Update. Once again we are counting on you to extend personal invitations to this liturgy, although we ask that you to use discretion in your number of guests; space in the chapel is limited. Please call the front desk (347-5300) with the number (including yourself) of people attending in your party. The deadline for calling in reservations is Wednesday, April 22. The invitation is available on our SC Web site by visiting the Sisters and Associates sections of the site so that you can either print it or forward it as an e-mail.

April Anniversary Events:

• The April lecture at the Cincinnati Museum Center Seminar on the City is: “Sister of Charity Justina Segale and the Santa Maria Institute: Italian Immigrants in Cincinnati.” The lecture, free and open to the public, begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16.
• On Wednesday, April 22, the College of Mount St. Joseph will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its master’s degree in education with a reception in the College Theater Lobby from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. This event will feature a special tribute to the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, honoring their legacy to the field of education. Sisters of Charity are invited. Please RSVP by Wednesday, April 15 by calling (513) 244-4425 or e-mailing lisa_odenbeck@mail.msj.edu.
• On Sunday, April 26, the 200th Anniversary Committee is sponsoring a dulcimer concert, featuring S. Sophia Gilmeyer’s hammer dulcimer. The musicians will dress in 19th century period costumes and perform pieces from the colonial, antebellum and Civil War periods. The concert will be held at 3 p.m. in the Motherhouse chapel and is free and open to the public. Please invite your family members and friends to join us. 

March 19, 2009
Thanks to all who contributed so much to making our March 14 participation in the Cincinnati St. Patrick Parade and our Family Liturgy Celebration special. Both events were wonderful tributes to all those Sisters of Charity who have gone before us and to our families who have contributed so much to our Congregation.

Things to note:

• A display about the 200th anniversary of the Sisters of Charity is in place at the library of the College of Mount St. Joseph.
• Elizabeth Bookser Barkley has published an article in the March 2009 issue of Liguorian titled “Widowhood: Living with Memories That Sustain You and Pain You.” Elizabeth makes several references to how Elizabeth Seton as widow has been an inspiration to her. She concludes by saying: “Her rich life and deep spirituality are crystallized in these words that continue to anchor me and help me reach out to the growing numbers of widowed persons I encounter: ‘Contemplate how you are being asked to give your heart to God amidst your everyday activities. Be prepared to meet your grace in every circumstance of life.’”
• The April lecture at the Cincinnati
• Museum Center Seminar on the City will be presented by Dr. Christine Anderson, professor at Xavier University. Dr. Anderson’s topic is: “Sister of Charity Justine Segale and the Santa Maria Institute: Italian Immigrants in Cincinnati.” Dr. Anderson has conducted extensive research and publishing on Santa Maria Institute. The lecture is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16 at the Cincinnati Museum Center. It is free and open to the public.

March 5, 2009
S. Barbara Hagedorn received the following letter from Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Monzel:

Dear S. Barbara,

Congratulations and thank you to the Sisters of Charity for your 200 years of unending service not only to our Cincinnati Community but throughout the United States. The citizens of Cincinnati and surrounding areas are very fortunate to have the Sisters of Charity and I wish you continuous blessings in your ministry.

Sincerely,
Chris Monzel

As Saturday, March 14 approaches, we offer these reminders:

• For anyone participating in the Cincinnati St. Patrick’s Parade – if you are riding the bus from the Mount, we will load the busses at 9:30 a.m. in the Seton Hall parking lot at the Motherhouse. The busses will take us to the beginning of the parade route, pick us up at the end, and bring us back to the Mount. We anticipate being back to the Mount by 1 p.m. If you wish to meet us at the beginning of the parade route, come to Sentinel and Culvert streets (near Eggleston Avenue) under the I-71 overpass at the east end of downtown. The parade begins at 11 a.m. and we are leading the first division. We will have two flatbeds, six vehicles, a band and marchers in our contingent. Anyone who participates in the parade will receive a green derby hat with a “Sisters O’Charity” band.  
• Our anniversary liturgy celebration with our families will begin at 4 p.m. in Immaculate Conception Chapel at the Motherhouse. It will be followed by a reception. We need a count of how many plan to attend. If you have not yet called in your reservation to the front desk at the Motherhouse, please do so as soon as possible at (513) 347-5300.
• On the Daughters of Charity anniversary Web site (www.setonlegacy.org), you can view a two-minute preview of the DVD they are producing titled “The Seton Legacy,” a new 30-minute production on the life of Elizabeth Seton and her continuing legacy. If you are unable to access the video through the Web site, visit www.youtube.com and search “Seton Legacy” to see the preview.  

February 19, 2009

Dear Sisters and Associates,

Saturday, March 14 promises to be a very busy day in our 200th anniversary celebration, as there are two events scheduled for the same day.

Cincinnati St. Patrick’s Day Parade:  

• The festivities begin downtown at 11 a.m.
• The parade is dedicated to St. Elizabeth Seton and the Sisters of Charity, and the theme is “Inspiration through Leadership and Charity.” We lead the first division.
• Green derby hats with a “Sisters O’Charity” band will be provided for those who participate.
• We need walkers. A Sisters of Charity minibus will be provided for those unable to walk, as well as a hop-on, hop-off bus for those who need breaks.
• Parade route is approximately one mile.
• Parking is difficult. We will hire buses to transport people from the Motherhouse at $5 per person; to reserve a place on the bus, e-mail judith.metz@srcharitycinti.org or leave a message at (513) 347-4058 by Sunday, March 1.
• More details will follow.

At 4 p.m., on this same day, we will celebrate with our families a special anniversary Mass followed by a reception. Each Sister and Associate is welcome and is asked to invite her or his family members. RSVP by calling the main desk at the Motherhouse (347-5300) with the number that will be attending – yourself included - by Sunday, March 1.       

February 5, 2009
The following note to the Sisters of Charity is from the Delhi Township fire chief congratulating us on our anniversary:

 Dear S. Barbara and all the Sisters of Charity,

Congratulations on celebrating your bicentennial anniversary. This city, and more specifically the community of

Delhi, have been perpetually blessed by having the Sisters as part of our lives. Through your work and prayers we all are comforted with the thought that life on earth is better because of the Sisters. I don’t know that any one organization has had a larger and more positive impact on the world as the Sisters of Charity. From educating young minds, to helping the needy and caring for the elderly, to being God’s steward in supporting the communities in which you work and live, the Sisters truly are angels on earth. On behalf of myself, the staff and all of our firefighters, happy anniversary and many more for the Sisters of Charity.

Yours in Christ and service,
William J. Zoz

 Other anniversary information:

• As our anniversary year unfolds, don’t forget Elizabeth Seton postage stamps are available for purchase from S. Georgia Kitt for $10 per sheet of 20 stamps.

• We are counting on you to invite your family members to the special anniversary Mass to be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 14 in the Motherhouse chapel.

• The Cincinnati St. Patrick’s Day parade also is scheduled for March 14. This year’s parade is dedicated to Elizabeth Seton and the Sisters of Charity. Its theme is “Inspiration through Leadership and Charity.” We have been invited to lead the first division of the parade, and are planning a float. We are inviting historically Sisters of Charity schools in the area to send delegations, and are hoping that others (Sisters, Associates, families, friends) will walk with us in the parade.

• There were very nice articles in the New York and Baltimore Catholic papers regarding Elizabeth Seton celebrations. To view the New York article, visit http://www.cny.org/; click on “Archives”; under columnists click on “John Woods”; and select January 15, 2009, “A Place for Seton.”

To read the Baltimore article, visit http://www.catholicreview.org/; in the upper-right corner of the page, click on “Click here for current and past issues”; under date enter “January 8, 2008”; the article appears on pages A1, A3 and A18.

January 22, 2009
Elizabeth Seton celebrations occurred around the country earlier this month. Visit the 200th anniversary section of the Sisters of Charity Web site at www.srcharitycinti.org for photos, prayer services and descriptions of the events. Around the Motherhouse, banners are hung; the Sisters of Charity timeline is posted in the first floor hallway; and there is a new display commemorating our 200 years in the McCann Room. To commemorate Catholic Schools Week, the 200th Anniversary Committee compiled printed materials and a DVD containing activities about Elizabeth Seton for elementary-age students. These were mailed earlier this month to pastors, principals and directors of religious education in parishes where Sisters of Charity have had a historical presence. If your parish did not receive one, please let us know and we will send one. Also, if anyone knows of parishes named for St. Elizabeth Seton that would like this mailing we would be happy to send one. Beginning Wednesday, Jan. 21, there will be a display with information about the 200th anniversary of the Sisters of Charity in the window at the Cincinnati Archdiocesan Offices.

January 8, 2009
As we begin our year of celebration, check out the new features on our Sisters of Charity Web site relating to the 200th anniversary. You will find historical pieces, press materials and news of anniversary events and photos, among other things. We will keep these pages continually updated throughout our anniversary year. If there is coverage in your local paper, church bulletin or newsletter, please send it to us so we can share the news with others. We also invite you to direct your family and friends to this feature on our Web site, www.srcharitycinti.org.  

 The Charity Associates will celebrate the 200th anniversary at their Sixth Family Reunion to be held Oct. 16-18, 2009, at Emmitsburg, Md. Contact Mary Jo Mersmann in the Associate Office for details of this event. A deposit is required by Sunday, Feb. 15 if you plan to attend.

Besides Sisters of Charity celebrations on Jan. 4, the Shrine of Elizabeth Seton on State Street in Manhattan, N.Y., held a special event, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Staten Island, N.Y., honored Elizabeth Seton on her feast day. S. Betty Ann McNeil, archivist at Emmitsburg, reported their “One of a Kind” collage is a 5-foot-long by 4-foot-tall fan-shaped collage honoring 200 years of Charity history. It has been placed in the lobby of the St. Elizabeth Seton Shrine at St. Joseph’s in Emmitsburg.

December 22, 2008
As we draw near to the opening of our 200th anniversary on Sunday, Jan. 4, reminders of our celebration will begin to appear. Our anniversary logo will be featured on banners along the front avenue of the Motherhouse, the college and Bayley Place, as well as at the main entrance of the Motherhouse. Our Community history timeline will be installed on the wall outside the Motherhouse dining room, and a new display in the McCann Room will celebrate our history.    

All of the Seton Sisters of Charity Communities will be opening their year-long celebrations with a Feast Day Mass. The Daughters of Charity of the Emmitsburg, Md., Province will hold a lighting ceremony and unveil their “One of a Kind” collage. The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill (Greenburg, Pa.) will host a dinner for the Sisters following their Mass, and the Sisters of Charity of New York, of St. Elizabeth (Convent Station), of Halifax, and the Daughters of Charity of the Albany Province, are joining together for a celebration at the Convent Station motherhouse. Let’s pray that all our communities receive many special blessings during this year of jubilee.

December 11, 2008
As part of the celebration of the 200 th anniversary of the founding of the American Sisters of Charity, the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Md., is creating the Seton Legacy Garden. The garden, which will be behind the Stone House, will include beautiful pathways and reflection areas. An engraved bench will honor each Sister of Charity congregation that traces its roots to Elizabeth Seton’s foundation. Ours will read:

Sister Margaret Farrell George
Founding Mother
Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
25 March 1852
“Caritas Christi Urget Nos”

Commemorative bricks (6”x9”) and granite pavers (12”x12”) also are available. For information about the Seton Legacy Garden go to www.setonlegacy.org.

2008 marked the 175 th anniversary of the founding of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Frédéric Ozanam and a group of six students from the University of Paris-Sorbonne set about responding to the needs of the poor in Paris. From here the Society, organized through local conferences, has spread throughout the world answering the specific needs of each locale. It now offers services in 130 countries and has nearly 900,000 members. The first conference in the United States was founded in St. Louis, Mo., in 1845. Associate Carol Herbert is very active in the Cincinnati Conference.

S. Mary Dolores Schneider presented “Hazard Yet Forward, Elizabeth Seton’s Faith” as the second Sunday of Reflection in this year’s series. When the series is completed in March, all of the presentations will be available on CD.

November 27, 2008
For those who receive the monthly missalette, Living With Christ, look for the feature on Elizabeth Seton in the “Guides for the Journey” section in your January issue. To commemorate the 200 th anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Charity, S. Regina Bechtle, SC (New York), contacted the editors who agreed to highlight the spirituality of Elizabeth Seton in this issue.

The movie “ Doubt,” starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, opens in mid-December. The story, based on the Pulitzer-Prize winning play by John Patrick Shanley, is set in a Sisters of Charity parochial school in the Bronx, N.Y. Many of you will recall that this play, after a successful run on Broadway, was presented at Playhouse in the Park in Cincinnati as well as in many other theaters around the country.   

November 13, 2008
The first in the Elizabeth Seton Reflection Sunday Series was held Nov. 2 at Mount St. Joseph. Director of Associates Mary Jo Mersmann presented a beautiful meditation on “Elizabeth Seton, Wife and Mother.”

St. Dominic parish will be celebrating its 75th anniversary with participation in the Saturday, Dec. 6 Delhi Parade. Part of its float will feature members of the parish dressed as the first Sisters of Charity and the first priests to serve the parish. The Sisters of Charity and Associates are invited to be part of their delegation that will be walking in the parade.

October 30, 2008
Director of Associates Mary Jo Mersmann will present the first of the Sundays of Reflection series for our 200 th anniversary. Her topic is “Elizabeth Seton: Wife and Mother.” It will be held at 10:45 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 at the Motherhouse. We will video her presentation, which will be available from the Communications Office. We also will tape the entire series, which will be available on CD after the last presentation is completed. 

The four Charity communities in the New York area have launched a new Web site: www.setonbicentennial.org. A collaborative effort of the Sisters of Charity of New York, the Sisters of Charity of Halifax, the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth and the Daughters of Charity (Northeast Province), it will list bicentennial events being planned in the New York-New Jersey area, background information on Elizabeth Seton and the Sisters of Charity, links to the four congregations’ Web sites, the Emmitsburg events sponsored by the Daughters of Charity (www.setonlegacy.org), and the Sisters of Charity Federation Web site (www.sisters-of-charity-federation.org).

October 16, 2008
Women and Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America, the LCWR exhibit, will open Friday, May 15, 2009, at the Cincinnati Museum Center. After a three-month engagement there, it will tour throughout the country for three years. S. Barbara Hagedorn has been invited to chair the opening of the exhibit in Cincinnati, and local communities will be provided with a space to highlight events from their histories. The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati will have four items in the main exhibit: S. Anthony O’Connell’s Civil War medical bag, S. Mary de Sales Leheney’s medical license from the New Mexico Territory, S. Justina’s Segale’s Santa Maria Journals, and the model of EarthConnection. The Web site for the exhibit is www.womenandspirit.org.

The Sisters of Charity of New York have received official word that the 2009 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York will be dedicated to the Sisters of Charity in recognition of the 200 th anniversary. Sisters and Associates from all Federation communities, our partners in mission, students, alumna/alumni, family and friends are invited to join them on this historic day.

October 2, 2008
The parish of Santa Elisabetta Anna Seton in Livorno, Italy, is well engrossed in anniversary events celebrating Elizabeth Seton.

• April 20, 2008, the parish celebrated its 40 th anniversary. For the occasion the pastor, Don Gino Franchi, wrote a book collecting all the most important events in the history of the parish.
• May 4, 2008, the parish joined with 500 people from all over Italy belonging to the Vincentian Family. They celebrated the “Day of Mary” and presented a new version of the musical “I sentieri di Elisabeth,” based on the script of “Elizabeth of New York,” written by Francis Maria Cassidy, SCNJ.
• Don Gino Franci has arranged to have a mosaic of the image of the Madonna of Montenero installed in the Chapel of St. Louise de Marillac in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The placement of the mosaic will occur June 21, 2009.

September 18, 2008
As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul next week (Saturday, Sept. 27) we can recall how Elizabeth Seton and her first companions looked to him as their founder. This first group of American Sisters of Charity (including Margaret George) completed their retreat and professed their first vows on the Feast of St. Vincent (July 19). Included in Elizabeth’s reflections for this day, she wrote:

“Dear exceedingly dear to us, O my God, the day of our blessed father. In his presence, after our blessed retreat, our heart is pleased to renew its consecration to thee. O my God, exceedingly dear to us through thy grace is that blessed feast of our father which must seal for a whole year the resolutions of our retreat … O second father, O St. Vincent, most precious to every heart here, take among us thy blessed day and permit us thy latest daughters and the least of all, ah, permit us to be thine also forever.” 

September 4, 2008
September 1808 marks two anniversaries worth noting. On Sept. 5, 1808, Elizabeth Seton wrote to her sister-in-law Cecilia of the opening of her school in Baltimore, Md. Elizabeth recounted her schedule: “Everything you wish to know of your own sister is said in two words – in the chapel at 6 a.m. until 8 a.m. School at 9 a.m.; dine at 1 p.m.; school at 3 p.m.; chapel at 6:30 p.m., examination of conscience and rosary, sometimes before that hour a visit to someone in our limits or a walk … and so it goes day-after-day without variation.”

A second event worth note is the 33rd anniversary of the canonization of Elizabeth Seton on Monday, Sept. 15. Let’s take a moment to pause and remember this event which was so momentous for our Community.

August 21, 2008
America magazine (Sept. 1 issue) will include an article by Regina Bechtle, SCNY, entitled “‘An Immensity of Future Good’: Elizabeth Ann Seton and the American Church.” In this article S. Regina explores Elizabeth Seton’s connection with each of the five United States dioceses that are celebrating 200 th anniversaries this year. In 1808 Baltimore, Md., was named the first archdiocese in the United States. At the same time four new dioceses were created: Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y., Philadelphia, Pa., and Bardstown, Ky. In addition S. Regina will be interviewed about her article. The interview can be found at americamagazine.org after Monday, Aug. 25. Go to this Web site and click on “podcasts” to access it.  

Those who have visited the White House at Emmitsburg will recall the sculpture of the Calvary scene that the Filicchis gave Elizabeth Seton. It has hung for years over the mantle in the room where Elizabeth died that is adjacent to the chapel. S. Betty Ann McNeil, DC, archivist, announces that this piece of art has been restored to its original condition. Several layers of backing from the last 200 years have been removed and the background is now red. The sculpture has been preserved and encapsulated in its original form and returned to its former location for visitors to enjoy.

August 7, 2008
The Seton Way, the newsletter of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, reports: “Spring, an especially beautiful season in Saint Joseph’s Valley, provided a gorgeous backdrop for the filming of a new DVD, ‘Seton Legacy,’ that will be released in conjunction with the upcoming bicentennial in 2009. The local fire company, the Emmitsburg Vigilant Hose Company, supplied a crane from which some great aerial shots of the Basilica, Stone House and Shrine grounds were taken.”

Elizabeth Seton was honored at the recent 15 th anniversary celebration of the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) located at the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Ind.) A candle bearing her image was blessed and will be used at all ACE liturgies during the coming year to commemorate the 200-year legacy of her contribution to Catholic education. They also distributed prayer cards bearing her picture. The mission of ACE is to sustain and strengthen elementary and secondary Catholic education by giving priority to under-resourced schools that educate the needy, who are frequently minority students and families. You can learn more about the organization at http://ace.nd.edu.

July 24, 2008
An article entitled “Church and Saints of Lower Manhattan” in the June 13 issue of the National Catholic Reporter reminds residents and visitors of the city, “ The sidewalks of New York -- especially those in Lower Manhattan -- hold the footprints of scores of saintly Americans.”

The Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton , located at Our Lady of the Rosary parish, is featured. The article goes on to say: “ Although Seton moved to Maryland with her children in 1808 and died there in 1821, her charitable influence continued in Manhattan where in 1883 the New York archdiocese secured a permanent site at State Street. Known as the Mission of Our Lady of the Rosary, the former Watson Mansion offered social services and hospitality to some 60,000 Irish women who continued to pour into the immigration center at Castle Garden, in what is today Battery Park. The present shrine was dedicated in 1963 on the day Pope John XXIII beatified Seton.”

June 26, 2008
On June 15, 1808, Elizabeth Seton and her three daughters arrived in Baltimore, Md., on the feast of Corpus Christi to begin a new life. She wrote excitedly about her arrival to her sister-in-law Cecilia Seton, who was still in New York:

“… My dear dear dear dear dear all I can tell you is a carriage conveyed us to the [St. Mary’s] Seminary -- the organ’s Solemn pause first -- then the bursting of the choir -- this was the moment of the consecration of Mr. Dubourgh’s chapel -- human nature could scarcely bear it -- your imagination can never conceive the splendor. After Mass I was in the arms of the loveliest woman you ever beheld, Mr. D’s Sister. Surrounded by so many caresses and blessings -- all my wonder is how I got thro’ it -- the Darlings confounded with wonder and delight …”

June 12, 2008
2008 marks the 300 th anniversary of the establishment of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Staten Island, N.Y. This quaint, stone-steepled church, with a rustic cemetery and meandering brook nearby, is located in Richmondtown, one of the island’s oldest settlements. As part of their celebration, the Rev. Michael Delaney chose to honor Elizabeth Bayley Seton, whose maternal grandfather served as pastor of the parish from 1747 until his death in 1777. As a pastor the Rev. Richard Charlton was known for his social concern, which included providing catechism classes for African and Caribbean blacks. During the Revolutionary War, the church was a hospital and headquarters for British soldiers.

We have beautiful oil portraits of Rev. Charlton and his wife, Mary Bayeaux Charlton, in our Art Room at Mount St. Joseph. Besides her grandparents being buried in St. Andrew’s cemetery, Elizabeth’s father, Dr. Richard Bayley, and her sister and brother-in-law Mary and Dr. Wright Post are buried there.

At a program held earlier this year called “A Time to Gather, Remember, Celebrate,” various Sisters of Charity gave presentations about Elizabeth Seton and her legacy today. In addition Rev. Delaney gave a tour of the historic church and proudly pointed out Elizabeth’s image in a contemporary All Saints icon recently commissioned by the parish.

May 29, 2008
Paying tribute to religious sisters and brothers has been part of the Archdiocese of New York’s 200 th anniversary celebration this year. The Sisters of Charity arrived in New York in 1817 to assume responsibility for the Catholic orphanage; S. Margaret George was responsible for the school there from 1819 to 1821. An exhibit at the New York Historical Society on “Cholera in New York” notes how the Sisters of Charity cared for victims of the disease when others abandoned their posts. At a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Egan, he praised the Sisters of Charity for their work, noting how they “volunteered in large numbers to replace the staff that abandoned patients in a Ward’s Island hospital during the 1866 cholera epidemic. Within six weeks the five sisters chosen from many volunteers had the hospital in ‘apple pie order.’”

One of the New York Sisters commented, “You could say we grew up with the diocese,” while another remarked the Sisters of Charity “tried to meet the needs of society. We’re very flexible; we take risks.”  

May 15, 2008
Many of you have visited the Seton Shrine at 8 State Street in Lower Manhattan, N.Y., (across the street from the Staten Island Ferry terminal). On Saturday, May 10, Pace University sponsored a symposium at this site, which also houses Our Lady of the Rosary parish. The Rev. Peter Meehan, pastor, offered the welcome, followed by an introduction by the director of Pace University’s Center for Urban Education.

The morning presentations at the symposium focused on topics related to Elizabeth Seton and the Shrine. S. Judith Metz’s paper was on Elizabeth Seton’s benevolent work in New York, while S. Regina Bechtle’s topic was “Life Through Letters: Elizabeth Seton’s Correspondence from 8 State Street.” These papers were followed by the presentation, “J. Sanford Shanley, Architect of the Shrine of Elizabeth Seton and Leader in Mid-Twentieth Century Liturgical Arts.”   

The afternoon sessions centered on the role of Our Lady of the Rosary parish’s 19 th century outreach to Irish immigrant women. The titles of the three papers were: “Charlotte Grace O’Brien and the Mission of Our Lady of the Rosary for the Protection of Irish Immigrant Girls,” “Employment for Women and the Irish Immigrant Girls’ Home,” and “Holy Rosary’s Place in the History of the Care of Immigrants Passing through New York Harbor, 1850s-1950s.”  

May 1, 2008
The Mother Seton House on Paca Street in Baltimore, Md., is beginning its celebration of Elizabeth Seton’s arrival in Baltimore and taking up residence at Paca Street. It proudly states: “Two hundred years ago this coming June, Elizabeth Ann Seton walked through the doors of St. Mary’s Seminary Chapel and our beautiful house to start her sanctifying work for the Catholic Church in the United States. Our bicentennial is the first time in history that a U.S. saint has been so honored.”

The Paca Street house and St. Mary’s Chapel are now part of St. Mary’s Spiritual Center and Historic Site on Paca Street. The members of the Mother Seton House on Paca Street have a full year of activities planned to commemorate Elizabeth’s time in Baltimore. The first event on their celebration calendar is groundbreaking for a new Visitor’s Center, which will take place at an 11 a.m. Mass to be held Sunday, June 15 at St. Mary’s Chapel. Throughout the year the house is open weekends from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. and weekdays from 12:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. If you are in the Baltimore area, it is well worth a visit.

April 17, 2008
In conversations between Elizabeth Seton and Rev. William Dubourgh, who was in New York at Easter 1808, an agreement was reached that would change Elizabeth’s life forever.

In an April 25 letter to her friend Julia Scott, after describing her much diminished means, Elizabeth said, “and so sweet is the Providence that overrules us, at this very moment of solicitude for our destination when the present means fails, Mr. Dubourgh the president of St. Mary’s College in Baltimore, Md., to whom I communicated my dilemma, has offered to give me a formal grant of a lot of ground situated close to the college which is out of the town and in a very healthy situation and procure me immediately the charge of one-half dozen girls and as many more as I can manage. Added to this he will take my boys in the college, and the entire charge for them a very small consideration …”

April 3, 2008
In 1808 the Rev. William Dubourgh, S.S., the president of St. Mary’s College in Baltimore, Md., came to St. Peter’s in New York in mid-April to assist with Holy Week and Easter services. Elizabeth Seton had engaged in earlier conversations with him about the possibility of her moving to Baltimore to open a school. She was interested in pursuing this topic, since she was experiencing financial difficulties that necessitated moving her family to a smaller house.

Elizabeth also was glad to see Rev. Dubourgh because he was a dynamic liturgist and homilist. In her enthusiasm following Mass on Easter, she wrote to her sister-in-law Cecilia Seton. On hearing Rev. Dubourgh’s sermon on the Resurrection on Easter Sunday at St. Peter’s Church –

‘He is risen from the dead,’
the Great Dubourgh exclaims
in sounds seraphic and in holy strains!
‘The Saviour is risen,’
dare infidels deny,
the power omnipresent of him on high.
Go man of God -
to all the world proclaim -
the splendid glory of his act and name.
Apostles like thou’rt gifted from above
and Christians hail thee as the coming dove.
-(Collected Writings 1, 502-503)   

March 20, 2008
The Seton Legacy of Charity logo was developed by the Daughters of Charity for use during the 200th anniversary of Elizabeth Seton’s foundation of the Sisters of Charity. The Daughters are graciously sharing it with us for our celebration as well. The two curved lines of the symbol represent the Emmitsburg, Md., mountains where Elizabeth Seton founded the Sisters of Charity, and the tree sapling represents the growth of her works through many of her successors.

Our Cincinnati 200th Anniversary Committee met for the first time March 4. Members of the committee are: Sisters Carol Brenner, Lois Jean Goettke, Katie Hoelscher, Judy Metz (chair), Mary Ellen Murphy, Alice Ann O’Neill, Mary Dolores Schneider, Fran Trampiets and Associate Rita Brandewiede. We affirmed our role as a coordinating committee who will be calling on many others to assist us with specific activities and events. We will be contacting representatives from our sponsored ministries, hoping to elicit their involvement in planning events commemorating the anniversary. We will keep you informed as plans unfold.

March 6, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2009, marks the 200 th anniversary of Elizabeth Seton’s founding of the American Sisters of Charity. Important in the history of religious life, as well as to the growth of the American Catholic church, each of us has been particularly blessed by the fruits of this foundation.

Sister of Charity congregations founded by Elizabeth Seton are beginning their preparations for celebration of our 200 th anniversary, which will be commemorated throughout the 2009 calendar year. Celebratory events, liturgies, publications, public witnesses, retreats and media productions are among the activities being planned. A Cincinnati planning committee is meeting this week to begin preparations for our Cincinnati Community of Charity festivities. We will keep you informed through this regular Update feature.

 

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