Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill is an international congregation with provinces in the United States and Korea. Its headquarters are in Chicago.
In 1869, Bishop Michael Domenec of Pittsburgh asked the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati to send personnel to serve the increasing Catholic population in the area. On August 20, 1870 a group led by Sister Aloysia Lowe -- three other Sisters of Charity and two novices -- arrived in Altoona, Pennsylvania to begin work as teachers. The Sisters were able to establish six schools in a short period.
Property for larger motherhouse was purchased in 1882. The Sisters were granted a charter of incorporation in 1885. Construction of the motherhouse began in 1886 and was completed in 1889.
By the year that the motherhouse was completed, the Sisters staffed 20 parochial schools and had also opened Saint Mary School for Boys and Saint Joseph Academy for Girls. Roselia Foundling and Maternity Asylum was opened in 1891 and Charity Hospital (later Pittsburgh Hospital) opened in 1897. In 1905 the Sisters established the Pittsburgh Hospital School of Nursing; three years later, a class of five Sisters of Charity and five lay women became its first graduates.
At the invitation of Archbishop John Francis Regis Canevin, fifth bishop of Pittsburgh, in 1908 the sisters founded DePaul Institute for the Deaf (later to become DePaul School for Hearing and Speech). Seton Junior College was started in 1914. In 1918 it became Seton Hill College (now Seton Hill University), a four-year liberal arts college for women.
Ministries of the Sisters include:
- DePaul School for Hearing and Speech
- Elizabeth Seton Center, a network of services for childcare, education, and senior services
- Mercy Jeannette Hospital, a 148 bed community hospital
- Rendu Services, coordinated social services
- Seton Arts Service Corps, an outreach program for children and adults in inner-cities to provide opportunities to engage in visual and performing artis
- Seton Hill University
Sisters of Charity became a Pontifical Congregation in 1948; their Constitutions received final approval in 1957.
External Links
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Web site
DePaul School for Hearing and Speech
| Mother Aloysia Lowe | |
|---|---|
 Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill | |
| Birth | 1836 |
| Death | 1889 |
