Sisters of Christian Charity celebrate 175th anniversary of founding

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on Aug. 21 presided over Mass at Mallinckrodt Convent in Mendham to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Christian Charity and the jubilees of 11 of its sisters.

Jubilarians celebrating major anniversaries in religious life are Sister Theresa DiNunzio, 75 years; Sister Rosamund Eibach and Sister John Marie Hickl, 70 years; Sister Mary Andrea Curran, Sister Mary Leonard Cooke, Sister Mary Margaret Miller, and Sister De Sales Tonero, 60 years; Sister Mary Kim Tran, Sister Teresa Ann Jacobs, and Sister Joann Marie Aumand, 50 years; and Sister Annelyth Pandi, 25 years.

The Mass was part of the 175th anniversary celebrations the Sisters of Christian Charity are holding. The day included a meal, music by the younger sisters, and a prayer service.

Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt and three other women joined together as the first Sisters of Christian Charity on Aug. 21, 1849, in Germany.

By 1871, the congregation numbered 244 sisters and served in more than 19 missions. Then, the motherhouse was moved to Belgium because of religious oppression. Later, they were able to return to Germany.

The sisters also responded to requests from North America and South America for them to teach German immigrant children. They started sending sisters in 1873.

Their first motherhouse in the U.S. was built in 1878 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Due to its westward and southward expansion, the community moved the motherhouse to the Chicago area in 1911. Growth continued, and in 1927, the community established a second province with a motherhouse and novitiate in Mendham, N.J.

— MICHAEL WOJCIK