A Monument of Charity: St. Vincent’s Hospital and Catholic Health Care in New York City (NYU Press, 2026) by Thomas F. Rzeznik provides the first comprehensive history of this remarkable institution, from its humble beginnings to its abrupt closure. What follows is a Q & A with the author: [Read more…] about Manhattan’s St. Vincent’s Hospital: A Deeper Dive
Sisters of Charity
St. Vincent’s Hospital: New York City’s Other ‘Ground Zero’
St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village began in 1849 with a simple, but radical mission: to care for all those in need regardless of race, creed, or financial means. For more than 160 years, the hospital carried out that work, serving notables and the nameless alike, from impoverished immigrants and those stricken by devastating nineteenth-century epidemics to AIDS patients and the victims of the attacks of 9/11.
Part of the former Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers healthcare system in New York City, St. Vincent’s closed on April 30, 2010, was demolished two years later and has become luxury condos. [Read more…] about St. Vincent’s Hospital: New York City’s Other ‘Ground Zero’
Catherine O’Donnell Discusses ‘Elizabeth Seton: American Saint’
Episode two of “Empire State Engagements” features a conversation with Dr. Catherine O’Donnell of Arizona State University exploring her book Elizabeth Seton, American Saint (Ithaca, NY: Three Hills/Cornell University Press, 2018).
O’Donnell discussed young Elizabeth Seton’s formative years in New York City, the intellectual forces and family tragedies that informed her spiritual journey, the evolution of American Catholicism, and Mother Seton’s remarkable journey from despair to serenity and, ultimately, sainthood. [Read more…] about Catherine O’Donnell Discusses ‘Elizabeth Seton: American Saint’
Elizabeth Seton, An Early American Life
What was it like to live as a woman of faith in early republic America? What was it like to live as a Catholic in the early United States?
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Catherine O’Donnell, an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University and author of Elizabeth Seton: American Saint (Cornell University Press, 2018), helps us investigate answers to these questions by taking us through the life of the United States’ first saint: Elizabeth Ann Seton [Read more…] about Elizabeth Seton, An Early American Life
Convent Life 50 Years Ago
This week on “The Historians” podcast, Mary Lou Reid takes a look at life in the convent fifty years ago when she was a novice in the order of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Reid, who left the religious order for a career in media and financial planning, discusses this topic in the context of her self-help program, The Convent Diet. Listen to the podcast here. [Read more…] about Convent Life 50 Years Ago
Memorial to Civil War Nurses Dedicated
The Tompkins County Civil War Commission has dedicated a memorial to Civil War Nurses. Located on the Tompkins Cortland Community College campus, off of Route 13 in Dryden, New York, the memorial honors the sacrifice and bravery of those women who went to war: from the very first nurse, Susan Hall from the Town of Ulysses, who served through out the war, to those who served in camp and hospital at a time when it was believed that “war was no place for a woman.” The sculptures were created by artist Rob Licht. [Read more…] about Memorial to Civil War Nurses Dedicated
Magdalen: New Views of Girls in Trouble
Every kind of bad name was pasted on them: delinquents, hussies, misfits, fallen, flirts, incorrigibles.
For much of the 20th century institutions run by various religious orders such as the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Good Shepherd housed and disciplined young women who had – possibly – transgressed society’s rules. [Read more…] about Magdalen: New Views of Girls in Trouble