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•+BWL!f?£' 1 '#iti!.£#% 1 "'%tbb&AA·;zp.•"'£§P 8M+i· 1 ¥~"i46 '43-WUo*?iS$¥*#3?%·E* h•WW'"* 04!1¥ unst5·-"rl'Pi"3Silih,-t'N r 1ilbW"4 2\G#b W#t£irS!.i5·'M·\i1 Bh-ftkM4£Zi%#'4tiY'rt' WHMtiil:lffil Volume 10 -Number 3 October 1997

CONFERENCE '98 agenda. Criteria for archive selection are an existing collection strong in related fields, accessibility, Florence Deacon, OSF, program chair for the next physical capacity to house the HWR collection, and H\VR Conference scheduled for Loyola University standard policies governing access. Formal expres­ Chicago, June 21-24, reminds us that it's time to sions of interest in housing the HWR archives may finalize panels for the Conference. While complete be sent to News and Notes editor, Karen M. interdisciplinary panels are encouraged, individual Kennelly, CSJ, at the newsletter address. To date, papers will also be considered. Remember that interest has been expressed by the Marquette Univer­ history is an essential perspective with which to sity archives and by the Ann Ida Gannon, BVM, view our past-to date, proposals from social Center for Women and Leadership Archives at sciences other than history have dominated. The Loyola Chicago. Conference theme, "Through Multiple Lenses: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the History of PUBLICATIONS, TALKS Women Religious," invites papers dealing with the same topic from different disciplines or perspec­ PaschalaNoonan, OP, Signadou: A History of the tives, or papers incorporating the theories or meth­ Kentucky Dominican Sisters (Charles Roth Publish­ ods of ~ore than one discipline. ers, 1997), traces the history of the oldest foundation of Dominican sisters in the U.S. (1822-), pioneers Please submit five copies of your proposal (includ­ on a frontier with its western edge in Kentucky. To ing paper or panel title, one-page abstract of each order contact Eleanor Tierney, OP, 1900 Bashford paper, and a one-page vita for each participant Manor Ln., A-17, Louisville, KY 40218. including current address, e-mail, and phone number; and a stamped self addressed postcard which will be An earlier dissertation by Mary Patricia Green, OP, returned to you on receipt of your packet) by No­ Third Order Dominican Sisters - Kentucky ( 1978) vember 15, 1997 to Florence Deacon, OSF, Cardi­ has been reprinted by Charles Roth Publishers nal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI 53217. (1997). It focuses on the life and constitutions of the Kentucky Dominicans. To order contact Judy Mor­ Program and registration information may be ob­ ris, OP, 2645 Bardstown Rd, St. Catharine, KY tained from Ann M. Harrington, BVM at Loyola 4006. Telephone or FAX inquiries regarding this University Chicago, Gannon Center for Women and and the Noonan publication may be directed to Leadership, 6525 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL Morris at (606) 336-9303, and FAX (606) 336- 60626 (phone 773-508-8430). 9306.

Conference business will be highlighted in the next Jeryldene M. Wood, Women, Art. and Spirituality: issue of News and Notes, including changes in The Poor Clares ofEarlv Modem Italy (Cambridge, Conference structure being recommended by the 1996), uses perspectives drawn from sociology and committee which met between conferences to review the history of spirituality to critique the art and this matter. Selection of an archival depository for architecture found in early Italian Clarissan con­ HWR records and documents will also be on the vents. Patricia Ranft, Women and the Religious Life in RESEARCHINPROGRESS Premodern Europe (St. Martin's Press, 1996), offers a brief survey, intentionally analagous to that pro­ Kathleen M. Joyce, Professor, Department of Reli­ vided a century past by Lina Eckenstein (Women gion, Duke.University, is working on a social history Under Monasticism. 500-1500. Cambridge University of Catholic hospitals in the U.S. Collections con­ Press, 1896). The volume extends the survey to 1700, taining administrative and financial documents, as but falls very much short of the Eckenstein volume in well as information on the medical staffing of Catho­ substance. For a helpful review see Jo Ann Kay lic hospitals between 1840 and 1940 are of particu­ McNamara, The Catholic Historical Review (April, lar interest. Joyce can be contacted at Duke, Box 1997), pp.298f. 90964, Durham, NC 27708; or by phone (919) 660- 3513, or e-mail [email protected]. NatalieZemonDayis, Women on the Margins: Three Seventeenth-Centurv Lives (Harvard University Preparatory work continues for a nine-volume Press, 1995), has as a pervasive motif the powerless­ documentary series on U.S. Catholic history under ness of females in a male-dominated Europe, a thesis the general editorship of Christopher Kauffman. that must be questioned in the case of the French Publication dates with Orbis Press are paced out Ursuline nun, Marie de l'Incarnation, whose power over the coming three years. If your research has as head of a religious community dealing with colo­ uncovered primary documents -e.g. diaries, letters, nial officials was remarkable in its day. This flaw memoirs-by women religious resident in the U.S. does not detract, however, from Davis' brilliance in fro~ ·colonial times to the present, please forward developing a triadic history (the other women studied information on such documentation to Karen M. are biologist Marie Sibyll Merian and Jewish Ger­ Kennelly, CSJ, at the newsletter address, or contact manic mother a..'ld dealer in precious stones, Glikl Bas her at (310) 954-4011; or e-mail kkennelly. Judah Leib) that offers unusual insights into gendered msmc.la.edu. acculturation in early modem Europe. Gloria Ricci Lothrop, holder of the W. P. Whitset I Chair of California History at California State Joanna Chan, MM, has had an English version of her ! 1985 drama, Before the Dawn-Wind Rises, included i University, Northridge, is preparing a directory to in An Oxford Anthology of Contemporarv Chinese I archival collections pertaining to notable Southern i California women. Discussion is underway with the · Drama (Oxford Press, Hong Kong, 1997). I I Society of California Archivists and Mellen Publica­ A Call to Care, a 57-minute companion video docu­ I tions, an international publisher of library reference mentary to the publication with the same title (see ! materials, regarding publication. The purpose of the News and N ates February, 1997) focuses on a se­ guide is to lead researchers to the archives of women lected number of the over 150 sisters featured in the i whose achievements have been notable but whose print version, using historical photos, diaries, letters, I contributions have often been unrepresented. The and eye witness accounts of the women's activities in personal papers of religious such as Magdalen developing the Catholic healthcare system in the U.S. I Coughlin, CSJ (1930-1994) will be referenced in the . I guide . JoAnn Kay McNamara participated in a symposium at ! Duke University on Mainstreaming Catholic History. Her interventions emphasized the importance of ELECTRONIC NEWS mainstreaming nuns (and women in general) into Catholic history. Benedictine Distance Learning initiatives begun in 1994 is offering two new courses, on the Rule of St. Benedict, and on Art and Monasticism; other courses include Early Monastic Sources; American Benedictine History; and History of American Benedictine Women. For information, suggestions, registrations, write Hugh Feiss, OSB, Registrar,

ci)tistottj (!O Q Oomen dl?.eligious 2 'P / .

(1) enedictine Consortiwn for Distance Education, · Ifyou're a member ofHWR, you'd probably find Ascension Priory, 540 East-I 00 South, Jerome, IN this list to your liking. It's relatively unbusy, so you /:3338. Many monastic communities are making use won't be inundated with a flood of messages, but the f the Internet; the primary clearinghouse for messages you would receive are substantive and to Benedictines is the homepage administered by the topic. Brother Richard Oliver, OSB, of St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, MN 56321. One of the outcomes of a Regina is doing most ofthe moderating at this point, recent gathering of abbots and prioresses at St. so if you want to add your name to the list, e-mail Meinrad's in Indiana on the subject of"Monasticism her, and she' 11 add your name to the list and forward in an Age of Technology: The Challenge to Shape or the welcoming message to you. Her address is: Be Shaped" was a philosophy statement and proposal [email protected]. Ifyou have any ques­ on the order's future use of technology. HWRmem­ tions before joining, she' 11 be happy to answer them. ber, Judith Sutera, OSB, is another source of further information on this subject. She can be reached at NOTICES 801 S. 8th St., Atchison, KS 66002 (we regret we don't have a current e-mail address!) Radcliffe College announces programs ofhonorary visiting appointments, research support grants, and You can now email the Baltimore Carmelite monas­ dissertation grants at its Arthur and Elizabeth tery at [email protected] while you're on­ Schlesinger Library on the History ofWomen in line, you may want to check out the Carmelite web America. These programs are intended for visiting page currently being developed at http:// faculty from other colleges and universities, indepen­ www.geocities.com/Wellesley/l 561. dent scholars, and graduate students writing Ph.D. dissertations, who are actively conducting research The National Women's History Project has estab­ that requires or will benefit from access to the lished a listserv for persons planning programs holdings ofthe Library. Dissertation grants can only around the 1soth anniversary of the organized be awarded to U.S. citizens. For complete informa­ women's rights movement begun by a small group of tion, write Grants Administrator, Schlesinger Li­ women in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. To brary, Radcliffe College, 10 Garden St., Cambridge, subscribe to the listserv: send an e-mail message to MA 02138. [email protected]; leave the subject line blank; the message should read: subscribe legacy98 The Organization ofAmerican Historians announces firstname lastname (substituting your 0\\>11 first and the Lerner-Scott Prize for the best doctoral disserta­ last names). To send a message to everyone using the tions in U.S. women's history. The dissertation must listserv, the address is: [email protected]. be completed during the period July 1, 1996 through June 3 0, 1997 to be eligible for the 1998 Lerner­ The Schlesinger Library on the History of Women Scott Prize. One copy of each entry (letter of support Religious places on the Radcliffe web site informa­ from a faculty member at the degree-granting univer­ tion on collections, services, events, grants, and sity, along with an abstract, table of contents, and programs. To tap into this source, use: http:// sample chapter from the dissertation) must be re­ www.radcliffe.edu/schles. ceived by each member of the prize committee by November 1, 1997. Committee member~ are: Prof. Flo Deacon, OSF and Regina Siegfried, ASC have Lois W. Banner (Committee Chair), Dept. ofHistory, begun Sistory, an e-mail listed devoted to scholarly University, of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA discussion about religious women. Sistory is a fully 90089; Prof. Joan E. Cashin, Dept. of History, Dulles moderated e-mail list dedicated to scholarly discus­ Hall, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210; sion on the topic ofreligious life as lived in commu­ and Prof. Glenna Matthews, 2112 C McKinley Ave., nity by vowed Catholic women. Sistory seeks to Berkeley, CA 94703. All entries must be mailed create a community of scholars who \vill help to directly to each committee member, clearly labeled integrate the story of women religious into the main­ "1998 Lerner-Scott Prize Entry." stream of academic history--hence the name "Sistory" for the Ji d}tistoi:y (lo 0/IJamen Gl?eli1Jio11s 3 IU

" "...!-<..c: ·-"" ..... announces the Joseph H. Fichter Research Award of vicariates as of 1940; and 42 congregations, many $5,000 for promising research on women and with multiple off-shoots, as of the same period. Hers religion. The Award is not normally given for was a research task undertaken with few guideposts dissertation research; persons must be members of in the form of scholarly monographs or reliable the ASR at the time of application. For more infor­ congregational histories, but one for which her own mation, contact Paula D. Nesbitt, Iliff School of prior studies prepared the way, specifically, masters Theology, 2201 So. University Blvd., Denver, CO and doctoral theses at the University of Queensland, 80210; phone (304) 744-1287, x252; e-mail "A Study ofirish Migration to, and Settlement in, [email protected]. Queensland, 1885-1912" (1972); and "Catholicism . ~ ..: in Queensland, 1910-1935: A Social History" The American Catholic Historical Association has (1982); a history of her own congregation, A Place issued a call for papers for its spring meeting, March of Springs: Queensland Presentation Sisters 1900- 27-28, 1998, in Indianapolis, IN. Proposals, due by 1960 (Brisbane, 1977); a history of Presentation October 1, 1997, may take the form of brief summa­ sisters, Roads to Sion: Presentation Sisters in Aus­ ries indicating the nature and depth of the research on tralia 1866-1980 (Brisbane, 1983); and most re- which they rest. All materials and inquiries should cently, with T. Kelly, The Church's Mission in be sent to Prof. James J. Divita, Dept. of History, Australia (Melbourne, 1988). · Marian College, 3200 Cold Spring Rd., Indianapo­ lis, IN 46222. Office phone is (317) 955-6228; As indicated by these titles, MacGinley' s strengths FAX (317) 955-6448. lie in being able to situate often obscure elements of individual community stories within the context of The Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Australian social and ecclesiastical developments. Association has issued a call for papers for its She demonstrates throughout a firm grasp of second­ annual meeting, August 6-9, 1998, in San Diego, ary literature, substantial archival work, and a California. Full-panel proposals are especially mastery ofrelevant socio-economic data. Tables encouraged, on all aspects of history and historical listing Catholic Women's Institutes in Australia, , writing; proposals by individual presenters are also 183 8-1944; Communities and Personnel in Religious welcome. Four copies of each proposal consisting Institutes, 1940; New Women's Institutes in Australia of a one-page synopsis of prospective papers, a short Since 1940; and Australian Catholic Dioceses and, vitae on each presenter, and a list of all panelist Vicariates and Principal Women's Communities, names, addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail 1940 (listing and accompanying map), enhance the addresses should be sent by October 31, 1997 to book's value for general reader and scholar alike, as program committee chair Prof. Leonard Dinnerstein, do also the note on Monetary Values, and the com­ Judaic Studies, Franklin Bldg, Rm 308, University of plete scholarly apparatus. Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. FAX (520) 621-7841, or email [email protected]. While the scope of the volume is construed as encompassing the history of women's religious BOOK REVIEW institutes from the early centuries ofthe church through the early modem and contemporary periods, A Dynamic of Hope: Institutes of Women Religious two-thirds of the text is devoted to Australian sister­ in Australia by Mary Rosa MacGinley (Sydney: hoods from their beginnings in Australia in 183 8 to Crossing Press, 1996), 440 pp. 1940. Several brief, but valuable chapters recount the evolution of religious rules up to and following The author presents this first attempt at a comprehen­ the Council of Trent with special attention to the sive history of women's religious congregations in roots of Australian congregations, while an excellent Australia as "merely an introduction" to a subject concluding chapter assesses developments since spanning over 150 years; a continent rivaling the 1940. U.S. in size and demographic complexity; an ecclesi- ciJtiston,1 (JO O!Jo:men dlbishops for carrying out the reform ofreligious Rome's insistence); the formation of unions bringing communities-makingthem in essence "guardians of into formal relationship autonomous units of congre­ the cloister" for women's groups-; and the invita­ gations following the same rule, e.g. Ursulines, tion to engage in the counter-Reformationapostolate, Mercies, Presentations (carried out in a manner very are sharply delineated by MacGinley in themes she like that in the U.S.); and the formation of national carries forward into the Australian experience of conferences of men and women religious, a move­ rel~f?ious communities. ment that diverged from that in the U.S. when the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Ireland, where so many Australian congregations Institutes was formed to encompass both men and originated, is shoWI1 to have had a unique experience women. of European religious, political and socio-economic movements with significant consequences for gover­ Response to the Vatican II call for renewal appears, nance structures adopted by communities, their on the whole, to have taken place "with little overt approach to ministry, and their relationships with polarization," although the very minimal reaction of bishops and clergy once settled in Australia. Analo­ Australian communities to Pope Pius XII's adviso­ gies with the United.States experience of communi­ ries in the 1940s and 50s regarding greater flexibility ties in the nineteenth and early twentieth century are in the daily timetable for prayer, meals, and recre­ numerous, from the canonical ambiguities affecting ation; elimination of outmoded ascetical practices; many communities, to the authoritarian behavior of better provision for sisters' professional training; more than a few bishops vis a vis women's congre­ and modification of religious dress, had not augured gations, and the determination of many to ma,intain well for a smooth acceptance of change. MacGinley diocesan control over groups aspiring to centralized offers some interesting speculation on the reasons government. behind the contrasting reaction of Australian com­ munities to renewal imperatives before and after the Added to these ever-present sources of tension the Council, as well as for the declining membership colorful personalities drawn to the mission fields of trends apparent among communities in Europe by the Australia from among predominantly Irish clerical 1950s and in Australia and the U.S. following and religious groups, and we have the ingredients for Vatican II. the fascinating amalgam constituting Australian ecclesiastical history from the date of the arrival of Her narrative is enriched throughout by vignettes of its first women's community, the Irish Sisters of the women-leaders and followers-who composed Charity, in 1838, through to the episcopacy of Patrick the congregations that implanted religious life in the Moran, archbishop of Sydney 1885-1910. Moran's country: Josephites, Sisters of Charity, Good Samari­ tenure was a time of"regularization and consolida­ tan Sisters, Mercies, Presentations, Brigandines, tion" for women's congregations in the country, Mary Ward's Institute (Sisters of Loreto), Domini­ during which he brought resolution to a thorny cans, Poor Clares, Ursulines, Benedictines, Sisters situation involving the Sisters of St. Joseph and that of Perpetual Adoration, Sisters of St. Joseph of the community's saintly founder, Mary McK.illop; and Apparition, Sisters of the Good Shepherd;the accommodated the church to the evolving centraliza­ Society of the Sacred Heart, Faithful Companions of tion of communities and ari ever-intensified commit­ Jesus, and the Little Sisters of the Poor-to riame ment on their part to educational ministries, trends those present by Moran's time. New arrivals during which continued throughout the inter-war period. his tenure included the Carmelites, Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, the Little Community of Intriguing parallels with developments elsewhere are Mary, The Poor Sisters of Nazareth, Sisters of St. brought out, including the slow pace with which the John of God, Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, lay-choir sister distinction was phased out (wearing The Company of St. Teresa, and the Marist Sisters. of an apron as an outward sign oflay-sister status

@tistm:y 0'0 OlJonzen dl?.eliqious 5 The missionary outreach of these and later communities faculties, a medical doctor-university director of""-~~ brought religious life into many Pacific-rim countries, bioethics education and research, and an ecologist- ::C particularly in the wake of the collapse of the colonial founder of the Genesis Farm and Ecological Learning system following World War II. Center-receive somewhat more extended attention in a volume that focuses on both the group and the indi- In sum, MacGinley has given us a sound synthesis from vidual. which to build research on specific facets of this vast subject. Credit is due to the Institute of Religious The author, a Sister of Charity of Halifax, brings the Studies at Strathfield, New South Wales, and its spon­ special talents of a an English professor and dramatist soring congregations which supported many phases of as well as hands-on experience of ministry in many the.author's research. We look to more publications of capacities to this biographical-historical task. A this caliber in the future. founder of Sisters Concerned for Senior Citizens, she was awarded in 1992 the Commemorative Medal of KarenM. Kennelly, CSJ Canada for community service and leadership. Mount St. Mary's College Los Angeles KarenM. Kennelly, CSJ BRIEF NOTICE Mount St. Mary's College Los Angeles A Vision of Service: Celebrating the Sisters of Charity by Geraldine Antony, SC (Sheed and Ward, 1997), 304 pp. I

Undertaken to mark the celebration ofthe fiftieth jubilee II (1947-1997) of the Federation ofNorth American NEWSLETTER DEADLINE Sisters and Daughters of Charity, A Vision of Service i describes the contemporary women who express the I vision and spirit of St. Vincent de Paul, Louise de Please have copy for the Febrary 1998 issue to Marillac, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, in the thirteen the editor by January 1, 1998. congregations composing the Federation. THE HWR NEWSLETTER The women's diverse stories exemplify empowerment Published by the Conference on History of of ministry within the Roman Catholic Church today in Women Religio:us the United States and Canada. Among the 7,000 current Chalon Road members of the various congregations are to be found 12001 lawyers, doctors, theologians, educators and health care Los Angeles, CA 90049 professionals in a wide array of settings; chief execu­ e-mail: [email protected] tive officers for large hospitals and social work centers such as Covenant House (NY); activists for peace and ISSN: social justice; scientists and ecologists; members of 1504-545X labor relations boards, marriage tribunals, and ecu­ Annual Subscription: menical and interfaith relations boards. They work to $5.00 alleviate the sufferings of AIDS victims, battered Editor: Karen M. Kennelly, CSJ wives, and abused and handicapped children, to name Book Review editor: Mary Hayes, SND but a sampling of ministries carried out by today's Ad hoc Conference Committee: Sisters and Daughters of Charity. Kaye Ashe, OP; Florence Deacon, OSF; Mary Ewens, OP; McNamara; The persons and ministries of those who have earned JoAnn Mary Oates, CSJ; Judith Sutera, OSB; distinction-a founder of a school of nuclear medicine, J. a coordinator of global institutes for Lutheran college Margaret Susan Thompson

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