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ters to join him later in his work. He writes that they
should come prepared for teaching, establishing an
academy, and for the Indian missions. Four sisters
left France with Father Cointet on 6 June, 1S43. A
second story had been added to the log chapel at Notre
Dame for their convent. Upon their arrival, they
took charge of the sacristy, infirmary, clothes room,
etc. Before long the need of an American novitiate
was apparent as it was out of the question to send
candidates to Le Mans from Indiana. Father Sorin
asked the ordinary's permission to estabUsh one, but
the bishop refused because he thought his diocese
could not support two educational institutions, and
the Sisters of Providence were already there by his
invitation. Finally, in 1844 the novitiate was opened
with the sanction of the Bishop of Detroit at Ber-
trand, Michigan, six miles from Notre Dame. This
mission was attended by the Holy Cross priests. The
first American postulants received the habit from
Father Sorin on 8 September, 1844. The sisters
taught the children of the neighbourhood, and cared
for several orphans. In 1845 the inhabitants gave
them a large tract of land; and this with five thou-
sand francs from the Society of the Propagation of the
Faith made it possible for the sisters to extend their
work. The French sisters had already mastered the
English tongue, while their American companions were
studying the dialect of the Pottawattomies. Those
destined for music and painting attended Loretta
Convent, Kentucky; others went to France to special-
ize in the instruction of deaf-mutes.
The first school for Indians was opened at Pokagon, Michigan, in 1845. This was followed by other foundations at St. John's, Mackinac, Louisville, Lowell (Indiana), Laporte, Michigan City, and Mis- hawaka. In 1847 four sisters with some companions from the mother-house in France opened a convent at St. Laurent, Canada, which formed the nucleus of the subsequently erected province. In 1849 four sisters took charge of the boys' orphan asylum in New Or- leans, and from there a house was opened in New York with the sanction of Father Moreau (1854). Sisters were sent to this establishment from Notre Dame, Canada, and New Orleans. Misunderstandings due to orders issued from France and Notre Dame led to the withdrawal of the American sisters from the new foundations, the houses of New Orleans and New York remaining subject to France. The year 1856 saw the sisters well-established in Chicago and Phila- delphia. They had charge of the cathedral parochial school, St. Joseph's German school, and an industrial school in Chicago, and were installed in St. Paul's and St. Augustine's schools in Philadelphia. Later they opened a select school for boarders and day-pupils in West Philadelphia. These foundations all promised success, but the strained relations between the mo- ther-house at Le Mans under Father Moreau and the Provincial House at Notre Dame under Father Sorin led to the recall of the sisters. Meanwhile the work at St. Mary's, Bertrand, was recognized by the state authorities who granted its charter in 1851. New buildings were added to accommodate their fifty boarders. In 1853, Eliza Gillespie received the habit from Father Sorin, and sailed for France to make her novitiate as Sister Angela. After profession, she re- turned to Bertrand and took charge of the academy, 1854. From that time until her death (1SS7), Mother Angela laboured indefatigably to develop the highest intellectual and religious qualities in both teachers and students, and must be regariled as the virtual found- ress of the order in the United States.
On 15 August, 1855, the convent and academy were moved from Bertrand to the present site on the banks of the St. Joseph. This institution, "St. Mary's of the Immaculate Conception", was incorporated under the laws of Indiana. In the early days of the community, property was held in common by the three branches of
the Holy Cross. When Father Moreau visited the prov-
inces of Canada, Louisiana, and Notre Dame in 1857,
he promulgated the Decree of Separation of the sisters
from the priests and brothers. In 1802 the property
was divided. Difficulties again arising with the
mother-hou.se. Bishop Luers of Fort \\'ayne .sent a
petition to Rome askmg the approval of the .\meiican
province, and in 1809 the Sisters of the Holy Cross
in the United States were recognized as a distinct
Congregation. Father Sorin, who had on the resigna-
tion of Father Moreau become superior general, was
named their ecclesiastical superior, which ofiioe he
held until the community was placed directly imder
the Propaganda. The new constitutions were ap-
proved, and Father Sorin was appointed to write the
rules. Twenty years later, the apostolic approbation
of the rules was given for seven years, at the end of
which time the final approbation was received (1890).
While the work of the Holy Cross Sisters is princi- pally educational, they also devote themselves to the care of orphanages and hospitals for the sick. During the Civil War Mother Angela with seventy sisters took charge of hospitals in Mound City and Cairo; the military hospitals at Paducah and Louisville; the naval hospital and "The Overton" at Memphis; and St. Aloysius at Washington.
The community is governed by the mother general and her four assistants who form the council at the mother-house. All the missions are dependent upon the mother-house for their subjects, as there is only one novitiate, and the novices return there from all parts of the country to make their final vows after five years' probation. There are one thousand sisters working in the archdioceses of Baltimore, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, and in the various dioceses. They conduct over 60 institutions, includ- ing 1 college, 2 normal schools, 10 boarding schools, 40 academies and parish schools, hospitals, and 4 orphan asylums.
,4 Stonj of Fifty Years (Notre Dame, 1905): Cavanaugh, The Priesls of Holy Cross (Notre Dame, 1904); Trahey, The Broth- ers of Holy Cross (Notre Dame. 1905); Liv-ermore, My Story of the War (Hartford, 1SS9); t5HEA, IJisl. of the Cath. Church in the U. S. (New York. 1S92); Community Archives of tlie Sisters of Holy Cross (1843-1909); Sorin, Circular Letters; Starr, In Memoriam Mother Mary of SI. Angela (Notre Dame, 1887); Sullivan, ibid.; Moreau, Le Tris Rh-irentl Fire Basile- Anioine Moreau du Mans et ses (ruvres (Paris. 1900); WiLTZIUS, Cath. Directory (Milwaukee, 1900); Life of Reverend F. Cointet (Cincinnati, 1855); Starr, in Calh. World (1893).
Sister M. Antoine.
Holy Cross Abbey. — The picturesque ruins of this monastery are situated on the right bank of the Hiver Suir, about three miles south-west of the cathedral town of Thurles, Co. Tipperary. While not one of the largest Irish Cistercian houses, it was the most beautiful in point of architectural details, as may be realized from the fine proportions and delicacy of treatment in the stone-carving, peculiar to the main portions of the building. This abbey was founded in the year 1109 by Donald O'Brien, King of Thomond, and in the order of dates was the eleventh of the forty- two houses estal)lished in Ireland previous to the Reformation by the disciples of St. Bernard, the monks of the Reformed Order of Citeaux. As its <lesignation indicates, the fame of the establishment was mainly due to the fact that the church was enriched with a shrine of the Holy Cross, the relic being one of the most considerable in Christendom, and for over three and a half centuries the abbey was one of the most frequented pilgrimage places in Ireland. The church of the Holy Cross is cruciform in plan, consisting of chancel, nave, and transepts, with double side-chapels. Between two of the latter in the north transept the pillared shrine, wherein the relic was wont to be ex- posed for public veneration, still stands. This is a fine specimen of thirteenth-century carving and style, showing decided traces of French influence in its beautiful Gothic details. Among the more remark-
