Aloysia Lowe
Mother Aloysia Lowe was a founder of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill.
Maria Lowe was born on November 21, 1835 in Brooklyn, New York. From July 10, 1849 until 1852, when she was released to a Mrs Marsh, she was cared for by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati at the St. Joseph Orphanage. She was among the first postulants of the newly established Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati when she entered the community on April 12, 1852.
In response to a request in 1869 by Bishop Michael Domenec of Pittsburgh, Sister Lowe traveled by with three other Sisters of Charity and two novices to Pittsburgh and arrived in Altoona, Pennsylvania on August 20, 1870. Immediately the sisters began establishing schools.
Sister Lowe was appointed superior of the new community in November, 1870. Under her leadership, the community acquired the 200 acre Jennings farm in Greensburg; the property was renamed Seton Hill. Construction of the motherhouse began in 1886 and sisters were able to move into the new motherhouse in Spring, 1889.
Mother Lowe's interest in seeing a "chapel wing" in the motherhouse resulted in two fundraising initiatives. She recommended that the names of principal donors be inscribed on marble tablets at the entrance to the chapel and she also proposed a raffle.
Mother Lowe's term as superior ended on July 19, 1889. She died on December 25, 1889.
