The Catholic Standard & Times - Three Sisters of Charity establish the first women’s religious community in Philadelphia

Three Sisters of Charity establish the first women’s religious community in Philadelphia

By Barbara Fitzgerald
Special to the CS&T

They arrived in Philadelphia without a clue as to where they were going. The three had taken vows as Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph and carried few personal effects, but had great trust in God and a burning desire to help orphaned, destitute children.

Just weeks earlier, in August 1814, a letter had been sent from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Md., asking for three sisters to run the St. Joseph’s Orphan Asylum, which had been opened during the outbreak of the Yellow Fever epidemic in the late 1700s. The orphanage had only a single matron managing the effort and it became clear to the Catholic clerics and lay trustees that women religious would be better suited for the task.

As the three Sisters of Charity rode into Philadelphia in a carriage with the shades drawn, on that day in late September 1814, they marked the establishment of the first women’s religious community in the city. ...

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