History of Women Religious, Is Religion, and Politics in Italy, Northeastern Global in Scope

HISTORY OF WOMEN RELi IOUS NEWS AND NOTES

Volume 6, Number 1 February 1993 istituti di perfezione, via Domenico Fontana, 12-00185, Rome, Italy.

CONFERENCE Another recent publication on feminism and religion in Italy, for an earlier period and with The conference begins its sixth year with more tangential implications for the history this issue of News and Notes. Its purpose, of religious life, is Lucia Chiavola to facilitate networking among those inter Birnbaum's BLACK MADONNAS: Feminism, ested in the history of women religious, is Religion, and Politics in Italy, Northeastern global in scope. The predominance of University Press, 1992. Ordering is from the members from Canada and the United Press, 360 Huntington Avenue, 272HN, States has meant that both the triennial Boston, MA, 02115. Birnbaum, an Affiliated conferences and the newsletter have Scholar at the Institute for Research on featured research relating to religious Women and Gender at Stanford University, congregations in the United States and is the author of LIBERAZ!ONE DELLA Canada. Subscriptions to the newsletter DONNA: FEMINISM IN ITALY, winner of the now number nearly 500. A note on sub American Book Award from the Before scription trends: the IHM congregation from Columbus Foundation. Monroe, Michigan, has the largest number of subscribers, 15. This is very much in The Sisters of Mercy in Kentucky are the keeping with the grassroots approach focus of Mary Prisca Pfeffer, RSM, IN LOVE being taken by that congregation to the AND MERCY, A History of the Sisters of researching and writing of its history. Mercy, Louisville, Kentucky, 1869-1989, Newsletter content depends on subscrib privately printed, 1992. Ordering is from ers' communications! Please be sure to let Sisters of Mercy of Louisville, Ky., Inc., 1176. us know what you are doing by way of East Broadway, Louisville, KY 40204. The current research, programs, and publica 630-page account sells for $28 incl. ship tions when you renew your subscription or ping and handling. by letter between times. Margaret Rose O'Neill, CSJP, has given us in THE LIFE OF MOTHER CLARE, Out PUBLICATIONS From the Shadow of the Upas Tree (1992), a lively, well researched biography of Marg Giancarlo Rocca's DONNE RELIGIOSE: aret Anna Cusack, nineteenth century Contribute a una storia della condizione promoter of women's rights, advocate for femmenile in Italia nei secoli XIX-XX, the poor and disenfranchised of all faiths, Edizioni Paoline, 1992, places the develop pioneer in the struggle for social justice, and ment of women's religious congregations founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of within the context of the women's move Peace. Ordering is from the author, Box ment. Ordering of the 400-page volume, 1763, Bellevue, WA 98009. Lire 40.000, is through the Dizionario degli

History of Women Religious Page 1 Linda Sharman, A MEASURE OF Karen M. Kennelly, CSJ, "Women Reli LEA VEN: THE DOMINICAN SISTERS OF gious in the Americas: 1492-1992," SIS SPOKANE {1991 ), is a 26-page photo TERS TODAY 64:6 (Nov. 1992), 431-441, essay, indexed, on the history of the draws some broad comparisons between Dominican women who came from the evolution of religious life for women in Speyer, Germany in 1925 to Montana. North and South America. Ordering is from the Dominican Sisters of Spokane, 3102 West Fort Wright Drive, Miriam Ukeritis, CSJ, and David Nygren, Spokane, WA 99204. CM, have completed a comprehensive study,. entitled the "Future of Religious MOTHER CABRINI, "ITAL/AN IMMI Orders in the United States" (FORUS). GRANT OF THE CENTURY'' (1992), Mary The first such study to investigate the Louise Sullivan, MSC, the first well- opinions, beliefs, attitudes and practices of , documented account of Mother Cabrini both men and women who belong to and her work among Italian immigrants in religious congregations, it is available in a the U.S. from 1889 to 1917, is available media kit version, from Sheila King Public from the Center for Migration Studies, 209 Relations, Inc., 20 West Hubbard 3W, Flagg Place, Staten Island, NY 10304. Chicago, IL 60610.

Maria M. Lannon, RESPONSE TO LOVE: THE STORY OF MOTHER MARY ELIZA ARCHIVES BETH LANGE, OSP (1992) recounts the life of the founder of the Oblate Sisters of Sally A. Witt, CSJ, and Anthony P. Jo Providence, the first religious order of seph, Jr., have compiled a bibliography of Black women to be founded in the U.S. references on communities of men and Ordering is from the Josephite Pastoral women in the Pittsburgh, PA, diocese, . Center, 1200 Varnum St. N.E., Washing entitled "A Beginning Reference on Religious ton, D.C. 20017. Communities in the Diocese of Pittsburgh." Available for $3.00 as a fall, 1992 Occa SISTERS OF MERCY SPIRITUALITY IN sional Paper from the Cushwa Center for AMERICA, ed. by Kathleen Healy, RSM, the Study of American Catholicism, 614 1843-1900, (Paulist Press, 1992), is now Hesburgh Library, University of Notre off the press (see HWR News and Notes, Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556. June, 1992). Barbara Miles, archivist for the North Susan Carol Peterson and Courtney Ann American Sector of the Medical Mission~ Vaughn-Roberson, WOMEN WITH VI ary Sisters, announces completion of a SION; THE PRESENTATION SISTERS published guide to the Medical Mission OF SOUTH DAKOTA, 1880-1895, Univer Sisters Archives, Sector North America. sity of Illinois, 1988, document the pioneer Sub-titled "A Testimony to the Historical work of another of the handful of women's Influence of the Feminine,,, the guide is congregations which put down roots in available ~rom Miles at 8400 Pine Road, South Dakota in the nineteenth century. Philadelphia, PA 19111.

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TALKS AND SEMINARS June 18-27, 1993. For more information on the 1993 seminar, which will explore Gerda Lerner, Professor Emerita of His the Carmelite Tradition of Prayer, contact tory, University of Wisconsin, Madison, will the Center for Spirituality at St. Mary's give a lecture entitled "Women's Creativity College, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5027. Across the Centuries: From Hildegard of Bingen to Emily Dickinson," at Occidental P. Renee Baernstein, Harvard University, College, Los Angeles, February 18, 1993. presented a paper, "The Fortunes of the Female Apostolate: New Orders for Mary Oates, CSJ, opened the 1992 lec Women in Sixteenth-Century Italy," at the ture series co-sponsored by the Cam annual meeting of the American Catholic bridge Center and The Pilot (Boston) with Historical Association, Dec. 28-30, in a talk, "The Evolution of Catholic Giving in Washington, D.C. Several papers on America," based on the study she has parish history given at the same confer been doing on Catholic philanthropy in the ence by Mary Elizabeth Brown, Kutztown U.S. Results of her research, supported University ("Our Lady of Pompeii, New by a grant from the Lilly Foundation, York, 1892-1992"), Dorothy Ann Blatnica, indicate among other major findings, that VSC, Ursuline College, Ohio ("Our Lady of "By the 1850s women religious were the Blessed Sacrament, Cleveland, Ohio, undoubtedly the most distinctive and 1922-1961"), and Sandra Y. Mize, Univer visible feature of the Church's charity sity of Dayton ("Little Flower, South Bend, system, and indeed, represented an Indiana, 1937-1987") contained significant original development in American religious allusions to women's religious congrega philanthropy." tions.

Major presentations given at the confer ence, "Elizabeth Seton in Dialogue with WORK IN PROGRESS Her Times and Ours" (October, Bergamo Center, Dayton Ohio; November, Xavier Ann Harrington, BVM, Associate Professor Center, Convent Station, New Jersey), will of History at Loyola University Chicago, is appear in the Fall, 1993 issue qf doing research on the work of women VINCENT/AN HERITAGE, a publication of religious in Japan before World War II. If the Vincentian Studies Institute. The two anyone has any information about sources sessions of the conference, sponsored by she might tap, please contact her at the 11 congregations which form the Loyola, 6525 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, Elizabeth Seton Federation, drew over IL 60626. Phone number (312) 508-8486; 500 religious and lay participants. For FAX (312) 508-8492. further information on the published pa pers, contact Regina Bechtle, SC, 6301 Sue Schrems continues work on her Riverdale Ave., Bronx, NY 10471. dissertation at the University of Oklahoma. The study, "Lady Black Robes: Establish The seventh summer seminar on ment of Indian Mission Schools in Mon Carmelite spirituality will convene at tana, 1860-1900," focuses particularly on StMary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, the Sisters of Providence and the Ursulines.

History of Women Religous Page3 Debra Campbell is concentrating during a Until the eighties, Los Angeles was a cow sabbatical year on the centennial history of the town -- with 1600 inhabitants in 1860, 5700 in College of Notre Dame of Maryland, first 1870, 11,000 in 1880, but 50,000 in 1890. Catholic women's college to award the bacca The dramatic increase has continued until laureate degree. now. In the beginning most of the people were Hispanic Catholics, Mexicans conquered by the US invasion of 1846. In the next de MISCELLANY cade, Jews, Chinese, and African-American members arrived, joining a population which Religious life continues to evolve: the Sisters had Asian and African-American members of the Living Word gathered at their Center in from the beginning in 1781. Arlington Heights, Illinois, last August to cel ebrate their official recognition by the Roman Engh consulted many archives to round out Catholic Church as a new religious congrega the story of the different denominations. He tion of diocesan right. The older congregation also obtained interesting illustrations for the from which they separated in 1975, the Sisters book, which help make some of his points. of Christian Charity, were on hand to wish Besides chronicling the histories of different them well, a sure sign of sisterly love and dominations, Engh has sections on the fate of unity. Congratulations to this newest member Hispanic Catholics and the Daughters of of the family of vowed religious in the Roman Charity, the only sisters in town until the Catholic tradition. 1880s.

The first bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles, BOOK REVIEW Thaddeus Amat, CM, a native of Catalonia, Spain, brought the Daughters of Charity to FRONTIER FAITHS: CHURCH, TEMPLE AND Los Angeles in 1856. Led by the intrepid SYNAGOGUE IN LOS ANGELES, 1846-1888, Sister Scholastica Logsdon, the six sisters, by Michael E. Engh, SJ, (Albuquerque: Uni three from Emmitsburg and three from Spain, versity of New Mexico Press, 1992). 352 pp. set up a combined boarding school and or $32.50 phanage and the first hospital in town, prede cessor of today's St. Vincent's. Engh points Michael Engh's Frontier Faiths sets an impor out that the sisters, more numerous than the tant pattern for writers of religious bistory and priests, had more contact with the populace also for HWA writers, for it examines religious because of their ministries in health care and history of a place in its complete setting. Many education both in Spanish and English. (Al works isolate one denomination (or religious though not mentioned in the book, Amat order) or at best treat all Protestants with no brought the Immaculate Heart Sisters from reference to movements within Catholicism or Catalonia in 1871 to the extreme northern vice versa. This work not only refers to Catho part of the diocese. They did not come to Los lic, Protestant and Jewish developments but . Angeles until 1886.) even includes something on Chinese religion, as well as Christian efforts to evangelize the Engh remarks that A.mat and most American Chinese in Los Angeles. One of Engh's impor bishops opposed the· public schools. How tant themes is that religious people in early ever, Archbishop Joseph S. Alemany of San Los Angeles worked together, but when the · Francisco urged the three orders of sisters town became a city after the boom of the there to join the public system, which they all eighties, religious cooperation turned into refused to do. Alemany was also a Catalan. competition.

History of Women Religious Page4 A sad chapter in the book is the story of not exclude any ethnic group, but writes Hispanic Catholics in the diocese. Although sympathetically about them. As a former Amat was of Spanish birth, he had spent resident of Los Angeles, I especially most of his adult life in the U.S., most re enjoyed this book, and as a historian, I cently in anti-Catholic Philadelphia. He hope it sets the pattern for many future followed the agenda of the American bishops books. in regard to uniformity of customs throughout the country. The Angelenos were shocked Catherine Ann Curry, PBVM when Amat criticized the beloved Mexican San Francisco priests and brought in priests from Spain and Ireland, but not Mexico. Amat also sup pressed many of the people's devotional customs, developed over the years when priests were few.

This was especially hard at a time when the Mexicans were becoming strangers in their own land, their numbers overcome by immi grants from the Midwest and other parts of the U.S. They became strangers in their own church, too, at the very time when religion should have been a comfort to them. Bishop Francis Mora became coadjutor to Amat in 1871. Another Catalan, he was ordained in California in 1856. Engh doesn't NEWSLETTER DEADLINE tell much about him. Presumably, he carried on the same policies established by Amat. Please have copy for the June The diocese today has undergone a re issue to the editor by May 1, 1993. Hispanization anrj many old customs are quite alive. THE HWR NEWSLETTER Engh believes, along with many other histori Published by the Conference on ans, that the nineteenth century History of Women Religious bishops ghettoized Catholics. Perhaps they 12001 Chalan Road are reading back into history the present-day Los Angeles, CA 90049 American Catholic church, rather than the nineteenth century church of ISSN: 1054-545X the immigrant and the poor. Bishops then Annual Subscription: $5.00 were looking for survival in a. hostile setting of anti-Catholicism. Editor: Karen Kennelly, CSJ Ad hoc Conference Committee: I thought his book excellent. Engh situated Kaye Ashe, OP; Barbara religious history in its social and cultural Brumleve, SSND; Florence setting, mentioning the religious activities of Deacon, OSF; Mary Ewens, OP; women of other denominations. Many books JoAnn McNamara; Mary J. Oates, are written as if the subject religious order CSJ; Judith Sutera, OSB; Peg existed in some kind of vacuum. He does Thompson

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