Yes, Lord, AlwaysY es Yes, Lord, AlwaysY es A Life of Cornelia Connelly 1809 - 1879 Founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus by Elizabeth Mary Strub, shcj Casa Cornelia Publications San Diego, CA, USA © Society of the Holy Child Jesus Via Francesco Nullo, 6 00152 Rome - Italy All rights reserved. First published, January 2003 Fourth printing, March 2021 Contents Preface ................................................................................. v Dedication ......................................................................... vii Background .........................................................................1 At the Montgomery’s ............................................................4 The Minister Takes a Wife....................................................6 More About Pierce .............................................................11 Several Months in Suspense ...............................................15 From New Orleans to Rome ..............................................17 Journey to the Center ........................................................20 The Cosmopolitan Life ......................................................24 Beginning Again ................................................................31 Together in Grand Coteau ..................................................33 A Crucial Year ....................................................................37 Apart Together ...................................................................43 Two Continents, Two Lives ................................................47 Europe Again .....................................................................51 Inside ................................................................................56 Man Proposes ... ................................................................61 Between Two Worlds .........................................................64 “Here Beginneth a New Life” ..............................................68 “Obstacles Exist …” ...........................................................72 Connelly Against Connelly ................................................75 The End of the Beginning ..................................................80 All Souls, St Leonards on Sea .............................................84 Mister Jones’ Will...............................................................89 i Connelly Against Connelly: The End of the Case ...............92 Crisis at All Souls ...............................................................96 Enter: Thomas Grant .......................................................100 Actions: Emily, Words: Cornelia .......................................105 Cornelia the Educator ......................................................109 Cornelia and God ............................................................113 Cornelia, Who Do They Say You Are? ..............................117 Ten Years of Ups and Downs and a Duchess ....................121 The Ever-evolving Rule ....................................................131 An Uncivil War ................................................................137 Enter Bishop Danell .........................................................141 The First General Chapter and After ................................146 Onward to Eternal Life ....................................................151 What Happened Afterwards ............................................155 Acknowledgements and Afterwords .................................157 Who’s Who in Cornelia’s Story .........................................187 ii Reflections Background .....................................................................159 At the Montgomerys ........................................................160 The Minister Takes a Wife................................................160 More About Pierce ...........................................................161 Several Months in Suspense .............................................162 From New Orleans to Rome ............................................162 Journey to the Center ......................................................163 The Cosmopolitan Life ....................................................164 Beginning Again ..............................................................164 Together in Grand Coteau ................................................165 A Crucial Year ..................................................................165 Apart Together .................................................................166 Two Continents, Two Lives ..............................................167 Europe Again ...................................................................167 Inside ..............................................................................168 Man Proposes ... ..............................................................168 Between Two Worlds .......................................................169 “Here Beginneth a New Life” ............................................170 “Obstacles Exist …” .........................................................171 Connelly Against Connelly ..............................................171 The End of the Beginning ................................................172 All Souls, St Leonards on Sea ...........................................173 Mister Jones’ Will.............................................................173 Connelly Against Connelly: The End of the Case .............174 Crisis at All Souls .............................................................175 iii Enter: Thomas Grant .......................................................176 Actions: Emily, Words: Cornelia .......................................177 Cornelia the Educator ......................................................178 Cornelia and God ............................................................178 Cornelia, Who Do They Say You Are? ..............................179 Ten Years of Ups and Downs and a Duchess ....................180 The Ever-evolving Rule ....................................................181 An Uncivil War ................................................................182 Enter Bishop Danell .........................................................183 The First General Chapter and After ................................184 Onward to Eternal Life ....................................................185 iv Preface SISTER ELIZABETH MARY STRUB’S STORY of Cornelia Connelly, Yes, Lord, Always Yes joins the list of Cornelian biographies, but with a difference. It is the first one written with our SHCJ associates par- ticularly in mind. The 1998 General Chapter of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, recognizing that our associates too are rooted in the charism of Cornelia, asked that: “The extended Society leadership team … commission a simple, illustrated life, in print or video, of Cornelia Connelly in different languages”. When considering this request, we discovered that Elizabeth Mary was already developing a Spanish text, using sections of Cornelia’s life for reflection with our SHCJ associates in Santiago, Chile. We were delighted when she accepted to write this version for our English-speaking associates. At the end of the book there are reflection questions on each of the chapters. These are intended to help the reader deepen under- standing and appreciation of Cornelia, this remarkable nineteenth century woman who was called to be wife, mother, and foundress of our Society. Although this book is addressed in the first place to our associates, I am sure that others who read it will find Cornelia a source of inspiration for their lives too. I acknowledge with gratitude the many people who assisted in the realisation of this short life of Cornelia. I would, however, like to thank most especially, Elizabeth Mary Strub, shcj, who worked through an unusually hot Roman June to complete the book; Rade- gunde Flaxman, shcj, a Cornelian scholar and author of A Woman Styled Bold who ably assisted with research; Judith Lancaster, shcj, v for reviewing the text with editorial skill and Wayne Gradon, shcj, for designing an attractive book that many will want to pick up and read. It is their scholarship, determination, and care which brings to our associates and to all of us this new, shorter and reflective version of Cornelia’s life. Geraldine MacCarthy, shcj Society Leader Society of the Holy Child Jesus Rome 15 January 2003 vi Dedication THE STORY OF CORNELIA CONNELLY is the story of many people like you. Although she lived in a different time and place and spent the second half of her life as a religious and founder of a new reli- gious congregation in the Church, Cornelia will reflect something of your own experience as a lay person. Like many of you she knew the joys and sorrows of being spouse and parent. Sometimes she was rich and sometimes poor. She had the same desire you have to place yourself and those you love in the divine care and to belong wholly to God. You are Cornelia’s associates as truly as those of us who are religious. Your state in life is the same as hers in the first half of her life. Ours is like hers in the second half. Our different callings are mutually enriching. From our different perspectives, we bring each other the privileged insights of our different Christian vocations. You are an associate because something in Cornelia’s story at- tracted you. You recognized an affinity with her and with those whose lives she influenced and you wanted to relate