Sisters of Holy Cross
The Sisters of Holy Cross, (Soeurs de Sainte-Croix) headquartered in
History
The congregation of the Sisters of Holy Cross developed from the Marianites of Holy Cross, founded in Le Mans, France in 1841 by Moreau and Léocadie Gascoin. The Congregation of Holy Cross is under the patronage of Our Lady of the Seven Dolors.
Canada
In 1841,
In 1847 four sisters with some companions from the motherhouse in France opened the Couvent Notre-Dame-des-Anges at St. Laurent, Canada, which formed the nucleus of the subsequently erected province. Holy Cross priests and brothers ran the Collège Saint-Laurent, the sisters taught girls at the nearby Collège Basile-Moreau. In 1970, the Collège Basile-Moreau was purchased by the government of Quebec and became Vanier College.[2]
In 1849 four sisters took charge of the boys' orphan asylum in New Orleans, and from there a house was opened in 1854 in New York with the sanction of Father Moreau. Sisters were sent to this establishment from Canada, and New Orleans.[3] Misunderstandings due to orders issued from France and the American foundation in Notre Dame, Indiana led in 1867 to the withdrawal of the American sisters as a separate congregation, the "Sisters of the Holy Cross". Two years later, due to the difficulty posed by long distance and slow communications with Le Mans, the Canadian community became separate as the "Sisters of Holy Cross and of the Seven Dolors" (since 1981, the Sisters of Holy Cross).[4] The revised constitutions were approved in 1910. The houses of New Orleans and New York remained subject to France.
In 1856, at the request of Reverend John MacLaughlin, Pastor of St. Finnan's Parish, four sisters left Montreal to teach at St. Margaret's School in
In 1902, Our Lady of Sorrows Province was established composed of the French-speaking houses in Quebec; St. Joseph Province of the English-speaking houses of Ontario and Quebec; and most of the New England houses as Sacred Heart Province. The provincial house for Sacred Heart Province was later established at St. George Manor in Manchester, New Hampshire.
United States
By the 1880s, many French-Canadian had emigrated to New England in search of employment. pastors of parishes in mill towns began to ask
In 1945 the sisters established the Teacher Training Institute in Manchester; it developed into Notre Dame College which was in operation from 1950 to 2002.
Present day
The Generalate is located in Saint-Laurent, Quebec. As of 2015, there were about 450 Sisters of Holy Cross serving in: Canada (1847), United States Region: (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida);[8] Haiti, Peru, Chile, Rome, Mali, Burkina Faso and Vietnam.[9] In Canada, there are two sections: the English Canadian Region is based in Ontario, while the French Region is out of Quebec.[10] In 1962, the sisters started to wear lay clothes and also changed their religious names back to their baptismal names.
Since 1984, the Sisters of the Holy Cross have directed their apostolate more toward pastoral and social activities. In Manchester, New Hampshire, Holy Cross Family Learning Center offers English as a Second Language (ESL) for beginners and intermediates for the growing immigrant and refugee population of the Greater Manchester.[11] They also sponsor Holy Cross Health Center and St. George Manor in Manchester. HCHC is a forty-bed skilled nursing facility for women religious.[12]
References
- ^ Bruchési, Paul. "Ignace Bourget." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 29 May 2020 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Bratulic, Anna. "HolyCross Treasures Come Home", Saint-Laurent News, September 17, 2006
- ^ Antoine, Sister Mary. "Sisters of the Holy Cross." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 20 February 2020 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "About the Congregation of Holy Cross", Notre Dame College Prep
- ^ Holland C.S.C, Gertrude. "Sisters of Holy Cross in the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall (English Section)", Archdiocese of Ottawa–Cornwall
- ^ Kunguavi, Thadiwe. "Sisters of Holy Cross dedicated to educating the whole person", Western Catholic Reporter, September 28, 2015
- ^ Parent C.S.C., Louise. "The Mission of the Sisters of Holy Cross in the New England States", Conference on the History of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 1962
- ^ "Where We Are", Sisters of Holy Cross, US Region
- ^ Holy Cross International Justice Office
- ^ Soeurs de Sainte-Croix
- ^ Holy Cross Family Learning Center, Manchester, New Hampshire
- ^ Holy Cross Health Center/St. George Manor, Manchester, NH
External links
- Gift of the Cross Lenten Reflections in the Holy Cross Tradition