The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-04-27

There are fifty-siX thousand devoted
Catholic women in the United states en-
gagged in that beautiful work which flnds
expression in the labOrs of such OrganiZa-
tons as the Sisters of Charity. Sisters Of
Mercy and Little Sisters of the Poor
Ihey have over six hundred colleges anc
academies for women, seven hundred IN
| SutuuonS of charity ana three Thousand
parochiai schools; they have a million or
| phans, patients, strayS. waits and aged
people to care for. seventy thousand girls
| in their colleges and academies, and eight
hundred thousand children in their pa
rochial schools.
Some idea Of the immense value of the
property owned by the us orders of sister
hood in America may be CLEANED from tbs
| fact that the property Of the Sisters OF
| Charity Of St Vincent de Paul alone has
been estimated to be worth over SbJ,UUJ,OOO
| They have thirtv-seven hospitals. twenty
! eight orphan asylums, fourteen infant
| asylums and some twenty other large IN
| stitutions, besides thirty-three parOchial
| schools. This order is sometimes known
| as the White Corvette Sisters, because OF
the large and Immediately white head
| covering they wear in public. They are
| but a branch Of a worldwide order. and
| contribute to the support of the mother
| house in France.
Notwithstanding the large number OF
| women enga ged in the work, there are
! thousands of applications from others TO
| enter it. Indeed, 1t is said that one of the
difficulties that confront the church IS
/ to keep the number within bounds. IL IS
sought to prevent any mushroom growth
/ of any of the orders. and to keep out that
class Of women and girls who would be
ornamental rather than valuable to the
work Especially has there been ten
dency toward expansion since the French
government has taken steps that are hos
! tile to the work and existence of the sis
/ terhoods- Many of the French orders are
sending workers to America.
From mother superior down to the hum
blest nOvitiate. the salaries of the sisters
OF all the orders the same board.
| clothes, necessary spending money. at
tendance in sickness and burial in death.
Those who engage in teaching IN the
church schools get salaries of from 500
TO 500 a year, but never more than that.
This does not 90 direct to them. but TO the
order Of which they are members 1t is
through the low salaries paid that the
church is able to maintain such splendid
schools at such small OUTLAWS of money.
The Sisters of Charity of St Vincent de
Paul had their real beginning in America
at Emmittshurg, Maryland, in 1853. At
that time Elizabeth Seton. daughter of an
Episcopal clergyman. and wife of a New
York society leader who had recently died,
embraced the Catholic faith and went to
Emmittsburg, where she founded the
mOtherhOuse OF the American branch of
the order The Emmittsburg mOtherhOuse
was at first only a humble log cabin. The
founder was n talented woman. and
threw her whole soul into the work before
her. As long as she lived the SiSteThOOd
continued under one head But later there
arose a difference of opinion over the
care of male orphans. The New York
branch had hundreds of male orphans.
They cOntended that IL was not right for
them to turn these boys adTift at the age
of twelve. while the Emmittsburg moth
eThOuse declared that il was not proper
to keep them beyond that age. The church
of New York agreed with the sisters of
the New York branch, while the Balti-
more church upheld the mOtherhOuse.
They finally agreed to disagree, and all
Ill 80, -11a he cid
they would take in the separation. In
this the New York community claimed
to have followed the principles of the
foundress-to do what their hands found
to do.
The sisters Of this organization were
never intended TO constitute a religious
community in the European sense Of per-
petual vows and clustered life, but only
a charity organization of devout women.
They take only simple VOW, and that
for only one year at a time. The mother
superior is assisted in the government Of
the community by three officers; the as
sistant superior, treasurer and procura-
trix The four Of them. together with the
ecclesiastical superior, whose office is by
appointment Of the bishop OF archbishop
in whose diocese the motherhouse is 10
Gated. constitute the council of the COM
munfty The other officers are chosen by
the suffrages Of the sisters. To be eligi-
bic to vote sister must have passed
novitiate of from two to five years, and
have taken the vows and habits of a pro
fessed" Only at elections OF q mother
superior are sisters summoned from the
outlying missions to sit in council.
The Sisters Of Mercy have about five
thousand members. and they are scat
tered all over the United States. The Lit
tie Sisters Of the Poor now have instttu-
tons in nearly every large city OF the
country. and their ministratiOns to the
poor constitute one Of the most beauti
full examples of Christian charity. With
out reference to creed, their sympathy
goes out to the ill-fOTtuned humanity
The hotels OF the country have always
rendered them much service by giving