Neighbors and Missionaries

Margaret M. McGuinness is Professor of American Catholicism at La Salle University. She is the author of Neighbors and Missionaries: A History of the Sisters of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine and Called to Serve: A History of Nuns in America.

• Introduction American Women Religious and the Sisters of Christian Doctrine The Catholic Church, the Poor and Catholic Social Settlements The Sisters of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine Writing the History of the Sisters of Christian Doctrine 1. From Wellesley College to the Lower East Side Education for Service A Church Settlement A Catholic Settlement in New York City A Training School for Catechists A New Community 2. Fighting to Save the City of New York A Catholic Social Settlement on the Lower East Side Madonna House Conflict with Clerical Authority Forming Faithful Citizens Ministering to Veterans Not Just Italians 3. Neighbors and Teachers Growing Pains A Motherhouse and a Second Settlement Hard Times Settlement Work and the Second World War The Closing of the Settlement Houses 4. Settlements Go South A New Foundation Staying Connected A Southern Settlement Growing Friendships Valley Catholics Maintaining the Mission A Problem of Numbers 5. More than Settlement Houses Parish Ministry in the South Northern Apostolates Changes in Ministry 6. Changes and Continuities Adjusting to the Loss of Mother Marianne Moving Forward Responding to Transformations Challenging Times Coming toward the End of a Century Epilogue Notes Selected Bibliography Index

"McGuinness explores how the Sisters of Christian Doctrine were affected and how they adapted their own lives and work to reflect the transformations taking place in the church and society." -American Catholic Studies Newsletter "Illuminates our understanding of the history of American women religious by examining the unique apostolate of a particular community that blended concern for the spiritual and material wellbeing of the Catholic poor." -- -Christine Anderson Xavier University "Professor McGuinness provides a magisterial account of the Sisters of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine who instilled Catholic values among poor immigrants in New York City, promoted ecumenism in the American South, and remained steadfast to the core values of their mission. McGuinness is an accomplished scholar and her use of sources and sound analytical structure provides a marvelous model for others exploring the history of women religious. Neighbors and Missionaries makes an important and timely contribution to the history of American Catholicism." -- -James T. Carroll Iona College "In bringing to light the history of the Sisters of Christian Doctrine, and documenting the evolution of the community from a foundation in settlement work in New York City in the early twentieth century through post war efforts in child care, religious education and social work in the south, Margaret McGuiness reveals an innovative community of women religious continually engaged in responsive ministry. Neighbors and Missionaries enriches our understanding of the development of American sisterhoods and their work, and is an important contribution to the historiography of American Catholic efforts in social welfare in the twentieth century." -- -Bernadette McCauley Hunter College of the City University of New York "In this important book, Margaret M. McGuinness shows that the Sisters of Our Lady of Christian Charity, fueled by personal faith and ideals of the settlement house era, shaped a social service ministry that touched modern America's urban and rural poor. McGuinness adds a significant chapter to the narrative of Catholic womanhood, documenting that religious sisters, with slim institutional support, immersed themselves in the communities of the indigent, where they labored tirelessly for social justice. Drawing on an impressive array of fresh sources, the author illuminates the guiding principles of these sisters, who reached across national barriers and economic divides, using practical programs, steady friendships, and spiritual assistance to combat poverty. Neighbors and Missionaries is a major historical contribution, central to understanding the powerful gender issues that influenced women's religious congregations in the growth of an American Catholic church." -- -Anne M. Butler Utah State University