THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
OF SAN FRANCISCO

COPYRIGHT, 1922
BY D. J. KAVANAGH

\~MeC/£oCy r^hnuf/y_

JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH
UNDER WHOSE PATRONAGE AND PROTECTION
THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS LABOR

wwflm&w:

wSvm.

The
Holy Family Sisters
of San Francisco

A Sketch of Their First Fifty Years
1872 — 1922
BY
REV. D. J. KAVANAGH, S. J.

WITH FOREWORD
BY HIS GRACE, THE MOST REVEREND
EDWARD J. HANNA, D. D.
Archbishop of San Francisco

San Francisco, Cal.
Gilmartin Co.
1922

Imprimi Potest Franciscus C. Dillon, S. J.
Praepositus Provincialis Californiae

Nihil Ohstat GULIELMUS J. BOLAND, S. J.
Censor Deputatus

Imprimatur ?J* Eduardus J. Hanna
Archiepiscopus Sancti Francisci

Km

»ku$wi,u

F O % E W 0 % T>
HE Sisters of the Holy Family have passed
their golden years of Jubilee and to-day send
forth to their friends and admirers this volume
which tells so eloquently the story of the toils,
of the labors, of the sacrifices of the days that are gone.
Father Kavanagh in gathering together the thousand
details of the half century has done for us a work of
great merit, and in touching the narrative with his own
fire, his own zeal, his own love has given us a book worthy
of himself and worthy of his subject. We feel always that
the work of the Sisters has been so known to all, in and
about San Francisco, that no words can add to their praise,
nor heighten the esteem in which they are held. But we
want our children to know something of the great deeds of
the great women who laid the foundations of this mighty
work and who carried it on until it has become the pride
of our City and of our State. We know full well that only
a small part of the deeds of our Sisters are recorded here ;
that many a great conquest is left unwritten, many a
mighty victory is seen by God alone. Their life is verily
"hidden with Christ," and His eye only knows their pray
ers, their vigils, their mortifications; His eye only sees
their early risings, their great fidelity to a rigid rule, their
patience in trial; His eye only has knowledge of their
victory over self, of their sacrifice of all human consola
tion, that they may give pure hearts to Him to whom they
have consecrated their love. But blind though we may

ii FOREWORD
be, we have seen the little ones of the flock made truly
Christ-like, we have witnessed thousands kneeling at the
Holy Table with a love and with a reverence that betoken
perfect training of mind and of heart. We have watched
these thousands growing into the fulness of manhood
and of womanhood, and showing forth in their everyday
Christian lives the results of the teaching of our Sisters.
We commend most heartily this volume to our children
around the City of St. Francis, yea to all who would know
the wondrous story of what a few noble women can do
when inspired by God and moved by the need of the chil
dren whom Christ loved, and for whom He shed the last
drop of His precious blood. ?}< Edward J. Hanna,
Archbishop of San Francisco
Feast pf the Immaculate Conception,
December 8, 1922.

CONTENTS
foreword  i
introduction  1
Part First
ORIGIN, AIMS, AND PURPOSES OF THE HOLY
FAMILY SISTERS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. WORKS VS. WORDS  15
II. THE HUMBLE START  27
III. THE GIRLS UPSTAIRS  37
IV. THE NOVITIATE  51
V. SPOUSES OF CHRIST  67
Part Second
HOW THEY BEGAN TO DO AND TO TEACH
I. EARLY ACTIVITIES  81
II. MORE RAPID STRIDES  91
III. TEACHING CATECHISM  103
IV. TEACHING CATECHISM (CONTINUED) . . . 117
V. THE DAY HOMES  129
VI. SPANISH WAR  143
VII. EARTHQUAKE RELIEF-WORK  151
VIII. DURING THE INFLUENZA  163
IX. SAN JOSE  1^1
X. OAKLAND  l°->
XI. LOS ANGELES  197

Part Third
THOSE THAT REST IN PEACE AFTER THE TOIL OF
THE DAY
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE RT. REV. JOHN J. PRENDERGAST . . . 211
II. SISTER M. DOLORES  23 1
III. SISTER M. TERESA  245
IV. THE ROLL OF HONOR  255
Part Fourth
SANCTIFYING THE FIFTIETH YEAR
I. SOUNDING THE NOTE OF JUBILEE .... 277
II. RES GESTAE CHRISTI  291
III. SOWING IN THE SPIRIT  307
IV. SAN FRANCISCO PAYS TRIBUTE  317
MEMORABILIA  323

INTRODUCTION
San Francisco has a history, a not inglorious history;
but — apart from some of the more prominent features
of the Mission period which, by their romantic character,
compel attention — the story of our City's past is, in
great part, unwritten and unknown. We may know
something of the lawlessness that provoked the Vigilante
activities during the 'Fifties, and something of the Vigi
lante lawlessness that was provoked; but we may not
know that, about the same time (1855), the cholera
which raged throughout the City was the occasion of
heroic self-sacrifice on the part of a small community of
Sisters of Mercy that equalled, if it did not surpass,
anything recorded in Mission annals. We may know
something of the scandals connected with the building
of the City Hall that crumbled like a toy structure under
the first shock of the earthquake of 1906; but of the
many edifying manifestations of goodness even during
those lawless days — the charity of the rich towards the
poor and the spiritual forces which counteracted fanatic
agitation and held back the flood of socialistic violence —
we are too often unmindful if not entirely unaware.
Even some very important historical associations have
been and are still ignored by many otherwise loyal San
Franciscans. Some time ago there was question of re
naming certain streets in the City. Naturally enough
the names of the Mission period suggested themselves.
When accordingly it was proposed to begin with "St.
Francis Street" some one objected saying: "I shall never

2 INTRODUCTION
consent to have any street in our fair City named after
the biggest pirate that ever sailed the seas!"
"But St. Francis was not a pirate !" it was urged.
"If I have read history aright," was the rejoinder,
"St. Francis Drake was a pirate and a very unscrupulous
one at that."
Needless to say, he had not read history aright if,
indeed, he had read it at all.
Many sketches of our City's origin and growth have
been written, some ponderous volumes have issued from
the press, stories woven from fanciful details and pro
jected against a historical or semi-historical background,
have added color to the realities of life in San Francisco ;
but a complete picture of the past, with its lights as well
as its shadows, a full narrative of the good that, in spite
of the undeniable evil, was ever predominant in the City
of St. Francis, has not, as yet, been given to the public
in all its attractive significance and universal appeal.
Gathering driftwood from the turbulent surface of
history is an interesting, though, for the most part, profit
less pastime ; exhibiting the short-comings and evil-doings
of the politicians and the political bosses of San Fran
cisco's past, censuring the crookedness of the bankers and
bond-brokers of the gold-age, condemning the greed of
the land-grabbers, the ostentatious luxury of the Nob
Hill residents and the provoked ravings oi the under-fed
sand-lot agitators — all this is simple enough and the facts
are open to any one who will consult the dust-covered
newspaper files that are still preserved; but our City's
history does not consist of these things alone. Not even
in our legitimate boasts of literary, artistic, dramatic
activities for which San Francisco, from its infancy, was
justly famed, is her whole history to be found. Literature
and Art and Drama were encouraged and flourished in

MOST REVEREND JOSEPH S. ALEMANY, O. P.
First Archbishop of San Francisco

INTRODUCTION 3
the early days, as they are encouraged and flourish at
present; but then, as now, they were the effects rather
than the causes of the City's spirit.
To discover this spirit, we must go below the surface.
Duelling and hanging in grim reality as well as in effigy,
gambling, fraudulent stock manipulation, financial depres
sion and riots, socialistic agitation, graft and political
crookedness — these were mere surface disturbances.
Beneath it all there was an undercurrent of moral good
ness, a generous spirit of hospitality and of charity, a
real fellowship that linked the successful railroad mag
nates and mine owners to the laboring classes, if not
directly each to each, at least through the medium of
those who, like the chief figure in this narrative, Miss
Elizabeth Armer, Foundress of the Holy Family Sister
hood, stretched out their hands in both directions — to
the wealthy, to receive; to the poor, to give. '
There is a story told of one of the leaders in San
Francisco's social life. While devoting a considerable
amount of her time to the activities of society, she was
not altogether unmindful of works of mercy. In her last
sickness the Sisters of the Holy Family called and the
dear old lady asked for her check-book, saying: "When
ever these good Sisters call I know that they want to
help the poor." It is, in fact, quite true; their calls are
always prompted by charity. But, in the judgment of
the Sisters, there are different kinds of poor and some
times the poor rich need help of a more urgent nature
than that which they are called upon to dole out to
those who are hungry today or in fear of hunger tomor
row. And so, on the occasion referred to, one of the
Sisters smiled as she told the sick lady's daughter that
this time they had come not to beg but to give an alms,
in the form of prayer, to their faithful benefactress.

4 INTRODUCTION
These generous helpers of the spiritually poor as well
as of the materially poor, unostentatiously and, it might
be said, unconsciously, bridge over the gulf that exists
between the favored worldlings and the struggling
masses. This is not always an agreeable task. Sometimes the
rich are haughty and disdainful of the poor and of the
Sisters who plead for them ; but its effect upon the social
order must be taken into account by the historian who
wishes to record the whole truth about the past. If there
is such a thing as salutary neglect of historical details, it
is neither wise nor salutary to neglect what is undoubtedly
good and give a harmful prominence to surface evils that
in San Francisco, no less than in other seaboard towns,
have marred the records of the past.
It is not within the province of this book to set before
the reader all the neglected phases of San Francisco's
history. Such a task would be colossal. We are to deal
with but one of these phases. We shall bring out, in as
bold relief as possible, one great force which operated in
the moral and social order for the purification and better
ment of the- citizens of San Francisco. To study that
force in all its manifold operations is equally beyond the
reach of this volume; we shall have to content ourselves
with one class of San Francisco's women-workers, or,
rather, with one particular group within that class.
The women of San Francisco! Consult any of the
contemporary records of society doings, and you will find
that Mrs. X is giving a luncheon at the Hotel St. Francis
to Mrs. Y and her friends who have just returned from
Paris, or that Burlingame society has been shocked by
the reported scandal that caused Mr. So and So to begin
divorce proceedings. Go down through the shopping
district and you will see many a piteously painted woman

INTRODUCTION 5
flitting to and fro in a vain endeavor to attract attention
or in a fruitless effort to while away the burdensome hours
of idleness. "Poor creatures," you are tempted to say of
the former, "if they only knew the happiness there is in
working for others" ; while for the latter you feel some
thing strangely mixed of pity and contempt. Had they
any intelligence at all, they would know that, if God
intended their faces to be painted, He would have covered
them with canvas instead of delicate tissues of living flesh.
In neither case have you a true picture of San Fran
cisco's women. You will come nearer the reality if you
study their activities during the stress of the late war
when they realized their duties to serve, or, during the
influenza epidemic, when they volunteered for hospital
service or for service in the homes of the poor, or in
the countless charitable works which some of them do
unheralded even while they are vainly endeavoring to
beguile the time with card parties and afternoon teas.
Woman becomes heroic when the occasion demands hero
ism, but for constant, uninterrupted, self-sacrificing, and
unobtrusive service, you will have to look elsewhere; you
will have to look even into the cloister.
All glory to the secular lady-workers of recent years,
especially to those of the Red Cross, "the greatest mother
of them all," but the spasmodic effulgence of noble
womanhood ought not to outshine the continued bright
ness of the lives of those who are consecrated to social
activity in all its difficult phases and who are as active in
the never ending war against poverty, sickness, and moral
misery as their secular sisters are in times of public
disaster. Dr. J. D. Bloom — a prominent physician of New
Orleans, still living and still as active as he was when,
during the last visitation of the yellow fever, he distin-

6 INTRODUCTION
guished himself for heroic devotedness to duty — has for
many years been Superintendent of the Charity Hospital
in the Crescent City. This hospital, though a public
institution, is cared for by the Sisters of Charity, and,
naturally enough, there arises from time to time a certain
amount of prejudice against the Sisters. The presence of
Catholic Nuns seems to make the hospital sectarian, and
sectarianism, even in appearance, and even when it is
unjustly so regarded, is unacceptable to some Americans.
On a recent occasion, when an effort was made to replace
the Sisters of Charity, Doctor Bloom, though a non-
Catholic, delivered a most eloquent address in favor of
their retention. He concluded with some such words as
these : "You can no more hope to conduct the Charity
Hospital without the Sisters of Charity than you could
hope to conduct Heaven without Almighty God."
It cannot be doubted that the doctor indulged in a
more than mild exaggeration. Certain it is that Sisters
are not essential to charity hospitals; but, be this as it
may, it is an undeniable fact that you can no more write
the history of San Francisco without recording the activity
of the Sisterhoods than you can write the history of
California without glorifying the Franciscan Padres. All
that is romantic in the distant past revolves around the
Sons of St. Francis; much of what is socially elevating
in the history of San Francisco has had its origin in the
work of Catholic Sisterhoods and is continued by them
in times of peace and quiet no less than in times of war
and stress. Into the cloister therefore the reader of
this book is to be introduced.
The world knows little and, for the most part, cares
less about the cloister and about Sisters and Sisterhoods.
Interested in its growing industries and its globe encircling
commerce, intent on marrying and giving in marriage,

MOST REVEREND P. W. RIORDAN, D. D.
Whose First Public Appearance in San Francisco Was For
the Benefit of the Holy Family Sisters

INTRODUCTION 7
bent, with fruitless endeavor, on avoiding pain and every
thing that is calculated to cause pain, or, with equally
fruitless endeavor, on extracting some sweetness out of
externally attractive Dead Sea apples, the world — a
scriptural expression for human nature struggling through
life without thought of God — has no time to think about
the self-sacrificing service and unquestionable heroism of
those that consecrate themselves — all that they have and
all that they are — to promote the glory of God and the
temporal as well as the eternal salvation of souls.
Indeed there is an element in the world, fortunately of
neither deep nor lasting influence, that delights in reviling
the unoffending and devoted Sisters. Sensual and sordid
of mind and heart, these revilers seem unable to rise to
the thought that purity and goodness are within the
reach of mortals. They imagine that the consecrated
religious women are, under the guise of piety, bent upon
worldly pleasures no less persistently than their admittedly
worldly sisters.
Of either attitude, that of cold indifference or that of
unwarranted hostility, the Sisters take no thought. They
care not for the opinion of the world, because they are
not in the service of the world. Their lives 'hidden with
Christ in God' are marked by one only ambition, to
become humble instruments in God's hand for the uplift
of humanity; they work and pray and trust that God,
Who in His goodness called them to His service, will
keep them faithful in it to the end of their lives.
If they were of the world, the world would know its
own, and, in its own little way, would try to honor them ;
would put their pictures in the newspapers, write long
accounts of their devotedness to good works and tell, in
glowing terms, the story of their families, their wealth,
their talents, their difficulties, their successes. Because

8 INTRODUCTION
they are not of the world, the world either hates them or
heeds them not, except, as has been said, in times of stress
when their ministrations are in demand. Then they
become "Angels of the Battlefield," or "Heroines of the
Sickroom," or "Benefactresses of Humanity," but as such
they are not long remembered.
In San Francisco it should be otherwise. Catholic
Sisterhoods form part of our history. When the City
was emerging from a wild, lawless mining camp of '49
into the disorderly confusion of the 'Fifties, the cholera
of great virulence threatened to wipe out the entire popu
lation. The dread plague spread through the City at
a time when sanitary precautions were impossible and
when little care was taken to avoid contagion. The
public authorities were helpless until five- Sisters of Mercy,
recently arrived from Ireland, offered to take upon them
selves the difficult task of nursing the stricken and of
preventing the further spread of the frightful scourge.
The County Hospital was, accordingly, handed over to
the. Sisters of Mercy and there they served day and night
until, in great measure, through their devotedness to the
sick and their precautionary efforts to protect others from
infection, the plague was conquered. Their services were
publicly recognized and publicly proclaimed.
Again, in 1868, San Francisco was visited by a fearful
epidemic of smallpox. Thousands of victims succumbed,
hundreds were hurried to the Pest House, which they
dreaded more than death itself. The City was in a state
of consternation and of gloom until, for a second time,
the Sisters of Mercy begged leave to take charge of the
plague-stricken. Under their services, which were gladly
accepted by the Health authorities, the Pest House
became less formidable and thousands attributed their
recovery to the skill and care of the Sisters.

INTRODUCTION 9
These are but instances of heroic goodness that receive
little or no mention in published annals of the City's past.
It is not however, our intention to place on record all
that the Sisters of Mercy and the Sisters of Charity did
in the early days of San Francisco. Our narrative will
take us back over a period of but fifty years and will have
to do with another Sisterhood, — the Sisters of the Holy
Family. Our purpose, in presenting these special cases,
is to plead for recognition, in San Francisco's history, of
heroic social service, and, incidentally to supply an incen
tive to the reader to go through our entire story. While
contemporary records, and the records of the past revel,
almost exclusively, in crime and criminals, in the doings
and undoings of society, in scandals and divorce suits, in
political corruption and financial crookedness, there have
been and are "miracles of noble womanhood" in our
midst. If most of our space is devoted to one group, it
is not to be implied that we are unmindful of the generous
work of others, non-Catholics as well as Catholics, women
of the world as well as women of the cloister.
The unheralded courage of faithful women in every
walk of life is often of such sublimity that nothing in the
life of a man can serve even the purposes of comparative
study. We cannot compare it with the bravery of great
generals on the battlefield, because a dutiful woman will,
in a single year, go through trouble enough to drive a
score of men to despair. We cannot compare it with the
fame of renowned statesmen, because the domestic prob
lems of the faithful woman outclass the problems of
state and oftentimes must be faced alone. How these
forgotten heroines of the home bear up amid the priva
tions of poverty, the anxieties of sickness, and the coldness
of neglect on the part of those that ought to love them,
how they keep smiling, when untold misery clutches at

10 INTRODUCTION
their delicate hearts, and go on with the drama of the
fireside often grim with horror, no one knows but God
and no one seems to care but the blessed Lord. The
heroines of the cloister have not the same daily struggle,
but their devotedness to others, their generosity and love,
bring to the surface the nobility of the womanly character
which oftentimes flowers in heroic deeds that, for the
glory of the race, should be recorded in the pages of
history. History records, with enthusiastic admiration,
the heroism of Father Damien. Hundreds of Catholic
Nuns are engaged in far more difficult work and nothing
is said of them. Here is a single instance — one of many.
It may serve the double purpose of showing that what
we have said of our own City's history is true of history
in general, and of arousing in the heart of the reader a
desire to learn some details of heroic social work in
San Francisco.
A Bishop in China was asked, some years ago, by
government officials to secure, if possible, twelve nurses
for a Chinese Leper Hospital. He wrote to a brother
Bishop in Montreal, Canada, and asked him to secure
the nurses. The Canadian Bishop went to a convent
where about forty Nuns lived in community, attached to
a hospital. They were all graduate nurses, vowed to
serve the sick through a spirit of love with absolutely no
recompense beyond their livelihood. They were all of
good families, some young and vigorous, others advanced
in years while not a few, on the decline of life, were await
ing the great summons of death.
The Bishop, in his prudence, sought for volunteers,
and, as he desired rational volunteers, he explained the
circumstances of his case in all their unattractiveness.
He made out a case of what, to the average woman,
would be harrowing and repellent. "It will mean," he

INTRODUCTION 11
said, in substance, "a life-long sacrifice. You will have
to leave home and your native land forever; you will
have to spend the rest of your lives among Chinamen and,
what makes this even more difficult, these Chinamen are
lepers in varying degrees of living dissolution. There
will be no human recompense, no vacations, no occasional
trips home, no visits with friends to chat over the ex
periences of the service, no guarantee of immunity from
the disease."
It was a clear presentation of the case. When the
Bishop had finished, he asked those, that wished to volun
teer for the work, to stand up. Without a moment's
hesitation all forty stood and offered themselves for the
difficult mission. Twelve were chosen, twelve went to
China and are still working for the lepers. Very little
was ever said of it. Their names were not published in
the paper; their heroism was not heralded from end to
end of the earth. Few even know of their work and,
unfortunately, few care about it.
Similar incidents could be multiplied indefinitely.
Catholic Sisters are in the most difficult foreign missions,
devoting their energies to most difficult and sometimes
repulsive work. China, Borneo, Darkest Africa know
their toils. They have penetrated into the frozen North,
and they labor beneath the torrid sun. Leprosy and
cholera, poverty and physical sordidness make no dif
ference with them. All men, pagans as well as Christians,
non-Catholics as well as Catholics, receive the blessings
of their ministrations and profit by the holiness and purity
of their lives.
It is not of such extraordinary events exclusively, that
the Sister's life is made up. Ordinary work under circum
stances little calculated to arouse the attention or the
admiration of men — routine careers in school-room or in

12 INTRODUCTION
hospital-ward, in day-nurseries or homes for the aged,
daily toils and daily exercises of devotion — make up the
average Sister's existence. She may be ready for heroic
service if the opportunity presents itself, but, for the most
part, she must be content with performing ordinary duties
in an extraordinary way.
Our narrative, however, has to do with work that even
in itself is extraordinary. Nor is it for this alone that the
Sisters of the Holy Family have a just claim to a place
in San Francisco's history; there is, as an additional title
to special tribute, the fact that it is the only Com
munity that has been founded in this City. In other Reli
gious Orders there are many native daughters of San
Francisco, but the Orders themselves did not originate
here. The Holy Family Community enjoys this unique
privilege. Their history during the past fifty years is
intimately interwoven with the City's history. Their good
works form no little part of the City's glory. They can
be neglected only by those who think that history ought
to be what, unfortunately, it sometimes is, a record of
human crimes or a picture of human misfortunes. "Happy
the people," wrote Carlyle, "whose annals are blank in
history-books!" '
If by history-books we understand the records of crime,
we must agree with him, but if history-books record vir
tues as well as crimes, we should incline more to the senti
ment that thrice happy are the people whose history pre
sents a picture of human goodness and of virtue. San
Francisco's real history, when it is written in its entirety,
will present such a picture. Our task is to supply a de
tailed study of one phase that will eventually be inter
woven in the attractive and beautiful whole.

PART FIRST
The Origin, Aims, and Principles
of the
Holy Family Sisters

"HE THAT HATH LOOKED INTO THE PERFECT
LAW OF LIBERTY, AND HATH CONTINUED THERE
IN, NOT BECOMING A FORGETFUL HEARER, BUT
A DOER OF THE WORK; THIS MAN SHALL BE
BLESSED IN HIS DEED. * * * RELIGION CLEAN
AND UNDEFILED BEFORE GOD AND THE FATHER
IS THIS: TO VISIT THE FATHERLESS AND WIDOWS
IN THEIR TRIBULATION, AND TO KEEP ONE'S SELF
UNSPOTTED FROM THIS WORLD." JAMES I, 25,27.

pp>

CHAPTER I
Works vs. Words
USTICE OF THE PHARISAICAL KIND, THAT
is limited to words and noisy agitation,
contributes as little to temporal salvation
as it does to that which is eternal; and
towards eternal salvation it contributes
nothing: "Unless your justice abound
more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees you shall
not enter into the kingdom of Heaven." Unfortunately
we have too much hypocritical pretense, not always con
scious perhaps, but none the less ruinous in nearly every
line of human activity and particularly in our efforts to
bring about social reform and social uplift.
Fifty years ago San Francisco was in need of reform.
The City was passing through a succession of political,
financial, and social improprieties, a brief mention of
which may serve as a background for the study of the
genuine uplift work which gave rise to the Holy Family
Sisterhood. There was, first of all, an epidemic of sordid politics.
The building of the City Hall was characterized by ex
travagance, downright graft, and out-and-out dishonesty.
From 1870 to 1873 there was such venality that the cost
of operations staggered the Board of Supervisors and
compelled them to come to the relief of the tax-payers by
refusing to appropriate the funds necessary for the com
pletion of the work. There had been boasts that the
structure would be the most imposing in the United States,

16 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
but blunder after blunder and actual looting of the City
Treasury made it a subject of ridicule to outsiders and
aroused to fiery indignation the unemployed laborers who
held their meetings in the sand lot adjoining the inchoate
structure. The word "graft" had not, at the time, acquired a con
spicuous place in the vocabulary of the people, but the
thing signified by that odious word was everywhere ram
pant. In 1874, $1,500,000.00 had been illegally depos
ited in a private bank by the Tax Collector. When, at a
public gathering, some one demanded that this money be
returned to the City Treasury, it developed that three
hundred thousand dollars had vanished, never to return.
While the people were forced to pay excessive taxes, noth
ing was done by way of improving the City. The plank
streets and sidewalks of the City were detestable. In 1875
there were numerous excavations under the sidewalks of
Kearny Street, bridged over by rotting timbers that endan
gered the lives of citizens.
A storm of criticism arose which turned into a veritable
rage when eight banks failed in quick succession, with
deposit liabilities ranging from $1,150,900.00 to $5,503,-
100.00. During this period, some of the San Francisco
banks remained true to their trust. A compilation made
by Wright discloses that up to the end of 1878 one bank
alone — The Hibernia Savings & Loan Society — had paid
in dividends $11,890,806.00, and retained its Gibraltar
like security amid all but universal disasters.
Under such tragic conditions in the financial world it
is not difficult to infer the state of affairs in the social
order. Paupers were made in a day. The chief cause of
social troubles was the stock market. It produced a class
of idlers or those that made gambling an occupation, on
the one hand, and, on the other, a class of heartless pro-

WORKS VS. WORDS 17
moters and speculators who deceived the people into
worthless investments.
The other cause or, perhaps, effect of the money-
delirium was the social unrest of the workers. The Chi
nese, who by their cheap labor displaced many willing
whites, were very numerous. Threats were made to drive
them out or, if necessary, to burn them out. There were,
at the time, about three hundred Chinese laundries in the
City. As these were wooden buildings scattered in dif
ferent parts, the situation became serious. There was
danger of the total destruction of the City if the agitated
mob were to incline towards incendiarism. Towards in
cendiarism it did, indeed, incline. Its fury was directed
against what was considered the cause of the trouble —
the Pacific Mail and Steamship Company, that had im
ported the Chinese. In 1877 threats were made to burn
the docks. An attempt to carry out these threats was
averted by the quick action of the Pick-handle Brigade.
William T. Coleman who, in 1855, had, been President of
the Vigilantes, called a meeting of citizens to form a Pro
tective Association. Not wishing to use firearms, if it
could be avoided, he had six thousand pick-handles dis
tributed among his followers, and when the rioters had
congregated at the docks, July 25, 1877, they were met by
the Police and the Colemanites. A battle of two hours
ensued, a few of the rioters were killed and many were
severely bruised before quiet was restored.
The Pacific Mail docks were preserved, but discontent
and agitation continued. It was at this time that Denis
Kearney became a conspicuous figure in the life of San
Francisco. He had been a member of the Pick-handle
Brigade, but in September, 1877, he took his position in
the sand lots as an agitator against capitalism and the
Chinese. Kearney's associates were, for the most part,

18 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
English socialists who, during all that decade, had been
preaching dissatisfaction in San Francisco.
He held daily meetings and used all kind of invective
against the Chinese and capitalists. "The Chinese must
go !" was his uncompromising slogan with regard to the
former, while abusive epithets were hurled against the
latter. He urged the workingmen to take matters in their own
hands and to use fire and hemp if necessary — fire for the
Chinese and hemp (or rope) for the capitalists. Nor
was he satisfied with words; he led 3000 men in demon
stration against the millionaires on Nob Hill. He talked
freely of lynching the magnates and destroying their prop
erty. When he heard that the State Legislature was likely
to interfere, he said, in one of his tirades: "If the Legis
lature oversteps the bounds of decency, then I say Hemp !
Hemp ! Hemp !"
One of his followers, a sort of evangelist, fond of
quoting the Bible, made the threat more definite : "What
are we to do with these people that are starving our poor,
and degrading our wives and daughters and sisters?
And the Lord said unto Moses : Take all the heads of
the people and hang them before the Lord.' "
Such was the threefold tragedy, political, financial,
social, that characterized the 'Seventies. Reform was,
undoubtedly, necessary. Social relief work was in de
mand and social relief work came not in words and agi
tation, but in work and in a spirit of love. Strange as it
will seem to some, it came not from the sand lot, but
from a home on Nob Hill.
We have just seen that during the financial difficulties
of the period there was one unshakable "Gibraltar" in the
banking activities of San Francisco. The Hibernia Sav
ings & Loan Society saved the City from disaster. It

WORKS VS. WORDS 19
was in very truth the Hibernia Bank, founded and con
ducted by Hibernians and built up on the savings of
Hibernians. Among its founders were Robert and Rich
ard Tobin, brothers, natives of Ireland. Loyal to the
principles of honesty that they had learned in their
native land, they believed that they were custodians of
the savings of the working people, and not reckless specu
lators with their deposits. By conservative banking they
protected their clients and acquired for themselves a com
petency and a comfort that entitled them to a place
among the City's capitalists.
In the home of Richard Tobin, on California Street,
there was a young girl, Elizabeth Armer. Adopted by
Mrs. Richard Tobin, she was looked upon as one of the
family — as the eldest daughter by Mr. and Mrs. Tobin
and as big sister "Lizzie" by the Tobin children. Eliza
beth Armer — whose name should be on the lips and in
the hearts of the thousands to whom she reached the
hand of generous beneficence, and whose memory should
be enshrined in the annals of San Francisco, for the social
benefit of which she labored and suffered from 1872 till
full of merits she was summoned to her reward in 1905 —
was destined by Almighty God to found the Holy Family
Sisterhood. She was born in Sydney, Australia, April
30, 1850, and while still a child accompanied her parents
to San Francisco. Soon after their arrival, her mother
died and her father remarried. Of her parents we know
little; but of her foster-parents, the Tobins, we know
enough to say that Lizzie Armer was fortunate when
they took her into their home and — it may be added —
they were fortunate when this destined Foundress of a
religious community accepted their hospitality.
It was a genuine Christian family, and Miss Armer
had the additional advantage of being educated by the

20 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Presentation Sisters. Her home training, enhanced by
the example of a strong, practical, Irish faith and a sin
cere and earnest piety, was all that could be desired by a
young girl of her religious temperament. Her social life
brought her into touch with exclusive society and she
listened with eagerness to the plans and purposes of her
wealthy companions and elders. Her convent training
brought out in striking contrast the need there was to
labor for the betterment of others not so fortunate, in
the estimation of men, as those with whom she associated
at home. For one of her keenness of observation it was
not difficult to distinguish the different forces that were
at work in moulding the lives of San Franciscans. Nor
was it difficult to recognize what influences promoted the
betterment of the City. They were to be found chiefly
in the educational and charitable works of the Catholic
Church. Statistics of the 'Sixties are not easily obtainable, but
in 1875, when Miss Armer had already begun her own
special work, the Catholic Institutions in San Francisco
were many and in a flourishing condition.
St. Mary's College, under the direction of the Chris
tian Brothers, counted over 250 students, while St.
Ignatius College, on Market Street, had over 600. There
were other schools that did much for the training of the
young; the Sacred Heart College on Eddy and Larkin
Streets with over 700 pupils, St. Joseph's School for
boys with 400 pupils, St. Mary's Cathedral School for
boys with 100 pupils, St. Francis School for boys on Val-
lejo Street with 150 pupils, and St. Patrick's School for
boys with 300 pupils.
The education of young girls was even more sedulously
cared for. The Sisters of the Presentation had two Con
vents, one on Taylor and Eddy Streets, the other on

WORKS VS. WORDS 21
Powell Street, with a total of 1600 girl pupils. The
Sisters of Notre Dame on Dolores Street educated about
400; the Sisters of Mercy, St. Joseph's School, 350; the
Sisters of St. Dominic, St. Rose's School on Fourth and
Brannan Streets, 200 ; the Sisters of the Holy Names, on
Tenth Street, 300; making a sum total of about 3000
girl pupils in the Convents of San Francisco.
Besides this educational work there was much done of
a charitable nature. The Catholic Orphan Asylum near
St. Patrick's Church, on the site of the present Palace
Hotel, had the unique honor of being the finest building
in San Francisco. There was a girls' Orphanage at South
San Francisco in charge of the Sisters of Charity. They
had in 1875 over 400 orphans and at St. Joseph's 215
more. The orphanage at San Rafael was chiefly for the
homeless boys of San Francisco, and at the time of which
we are writing, housed and educated about 300 orphans.
The Sisters of Mercy conducted a large and commodious
hospital on Bryant and First Streets and the Magdalen
Asylum on the old San Bruno Road.
On the other hand there were the agitators and dis
contented laborers, there was the luxurious and riotous
living of the successful devotees of Mammon, and, above
all, the sordid politics and venal politicians that neglected
the schools, and the streets and sidewalks of the City,
and permitted the grafters and unscrupulous favorites to
batten on the budget voted for the benefit of the sick poor.
Such was the double aspect of San Francisco — sordid
selfishness, on the one hand, and helpfully constructive
activities, on the other — during the girlhood days of Miss
Elizabeth Armer. She had to choose, not between the
evident good and evil, but between the good and greater
good. She was not one of those that are content with
mere words — words of commendation for the good that

22 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
is done, or words of condemnation for the evil. She would
work, devote her whole life and all its energies to work,
for those that were most in need of assistance. But the
time was not yet ripe. When she completed her studies at
the Presentation Convent, she conformed to the wishes
of her foster-parents and in their company attended the
theaters and social functions, adopting the style of dress
that prevailed among the society ladies of those days.
Still her heart beat to other transports than those of
worldly pleasures. At home she assisted the boys of the
family in their amateur theatricals, and to do so with
greater effect she sought inspiration in the downtown
theaters. It was a time when theatricals were in flower,
when art and literature flourished. The Bohemian Club,
eventually founded in 1872, was in the making. The
California Theater was in its glory; Great artists were
received with open arms and thundering applause.
Miss Armer's love for theatricals did not interfere
with her love for children. She had formed a habit, in
early life, of stopping on the street to speak to little tots,
those especially who seemed to be neglected. Her con
versation with them was not of the ordinary kindliness in
which grown-up people sometimes indulge in their talks
with children; she spoke of God and of the Catechism.
Did they know and love God? Did they study their
Catechism? Did they say their prayers? These were
the thoughts uppermost in her mind. Whenever she
found some who were in need of instruction she invited
them to her home, where she formed a Catechism class.
Her pupils grew to such proportions that, on one occasion,
Mr. Tobin gently remonstrated with his wife for allow
ing "Lizzie" to turn their home into a kindergarten.
But Miss Armer's ambitions were higher. She wished
to plunge herself into social work in every possible way.

THE MOST REVEREND E. J. HANNA, D. D.
Archbishop of San Francisco

WORKS VS. WORDS 23
She discussed her plans with Mrs. Tobin. "How admir
able a thing it would be," we can fancy her saying to her
foster-mother, "to devote one's whole life to others, to
live for them, to work for them, to die in their service!"
Mrs. Tobin not only agreed with these lofty sentiments
but actually assisted Miss Armer in her labors. They
were both familiar with the needs of the day; they knew
of the misery and the poverty that prevailed in the City,
the wickedness and the crime that manifested itself in
lowly as well as in exalted places, among bankers and
politicians, the railroad magnates, the poor unfortunate
gamblers in the stock market, and the improvident work
ing classes. Their knowledge was born of observation
and they determined to labor while others talked; to sub
stitute action for diction — works for words.
Miss Armer began her great spiritual work by instruct
ing the ignorant, the children of neglectful parents, but
even while she was still at the home of her foster-parents
she engaged in visits to the poor, and did not hesitate to
ask her foster-parents for money to relieve their wants.
Still she was not altogether certain of her vocation. At
times she longed to enter a convent where she could devote
all her time to prayer and penance and thus help the needy
indirectly and perhaps more effectively.
While she and Mrs. Tobin made their plans and
dreamed their dreams of social service, there was in an
other part of the City a zealously active priest who, in
turn, was forming plans and praying Almighty God to
send the means necessary for their accomplishment. It
was Father John J. Prendergast.
We shall see in a subsequent chapter how Miss Armer
became acquainted with Father Prendergast and how the
zealous priest found in her a Divinely sent assistant in
his own long-thought-out plans and purposes.

24 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Father Prendergast prayed as ardently as he planned
and enlisted the prayers of his friends and penitents. One
of these latter, Mrs. Elizabeth Adair Brenham, is held in
the memory of the Sisters of the Holy Family with more
than ordinary reverence. She was typical of others who
might be regarded as the forerunners of the Sisters. Un
able to devote themselves to the work planned by Father
Prendergast, they united their prayers with his that God
would send suitable workers. :
Shortly after Mrs. Brenham's death, Harriet A. Skid-
more wrote for the "Ave Maria" of March, 1889, the
following glowing tribute to her memory. It will give
the reader an idea of the women whom Father Prender
gast enlisted in the formation of his plans and whose
prayers he sought for their successful issue.
"Not alone on the illumined altars of the Church,
where with loving hand she hath proudly twined them,
nor even amid the sacred calm of her Eden-like cloister
gardens, are her saintly soul-flowers to be found. Cease
lessly, yet often unnoticed, they are blossoming on the
'world's broad field of battle,' or beside the beaten path
of everyday life.
"One of these, though lately transplanted to heaven,
still sheds the violet-like fragrance of its virtues upon the
heavy, sin-poisoned atmosphere of a busy metropolis.
'San Francisco enjoys the blessed privilege of being the
home of a Christian heroine.' Thus, not many years
ago, spoke a learned and holy ecclesiastic of this chosen
spirit-bloom, and well she deserved the title he thus be
stowed upon her.
"Elizabeth Adair Brenham was brought twenty-three
years ago, by divine grace, from the arid desert of Protes
tantism, to dwell in and adorn the paradise-garden of the
Catholic Faith. At the time of her conversion she was

WORKS VS. WORDS 25
in the full enjoyment of every temporal blessing. Edu
cated and refined, endowed with rare personal and mental
attractions, the beloved wife of a prominent, wealthy and
honorable citizen, and the 'joyful mother' of charming
children, Mrs. Brenham seemed, in the eyes of worldlings,
an exceptionally favored mortal.
"But the cold and dreary tenets of the sect to which
she belonged could not satisfy the cravings of that earnest,
tender and generous heart; and, therefore, she was un
happy and tormented with harassing doubts even while
basking in the sunshine of earthly joys and prosperity.
The words of the Divine Teacher, as she read them in
her own Bible, 'This is my Body, this is my blood,'
haunted her continually. Surely, she thought, this is not
the language of mere metaphor. These emphatic words
must have a literal signification.
"Fervently, unceasingly, she prayed for light; and at
last (as it ever shall and must when perseveringly sought)
the blissful, unfading light of Truth flooded her happy
soul. Nay, one cloud yet dimmed even the brightness of
those celestial beams, — her idolized husband still groped
in the shadows of error. For his conversion she unhesi
tatingly offered to God all she possessed, — fortune, lux
ury, comfort, health and even her cherished children who
had all been baptized with her.
"The heroic sacrifice was accepted. Her wealth van
ished as by magic, her health gradually became impaired,
and two of her beautiful and pure-souled daughters died
in the lovely dawn of girlhood. Finally, he, for whom
she gave so much, received the dearly purchased gift of
Faith and a few years after calmly and blissfully expired,
strengthened and consoled by the Sacraments of that
Church within whose sacred portals his noble wife had
led him.

26 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
"But her trials daily, hourly, multiplied. Utter poverty
became her portion, and she lay for years a helpless in
valid, racked in every nerve and muscle by agonizing and
incessant pain. No amount or intensity of suffering, how
ever, could disturb the serenity of her spirit. She prac
ticed, as her saintly director testified, every virtue in
seemingly heroic degree. Far, far above mere resigna
tion she soared ; for so completely was her will absorbed
in the Divine Will that she yielded herself with almost
rapturous joy to the trials whereby Our Lord moulded
her heart into the more and more perfect image of His
own. At last that mystic likeness was complete, and a
few weeks since Elizabeth Brenham passed from earth,
not merely in calm and peaceful hope, but triumphantly,
exultingly, as the successful victor ascends his bravely-won
throne. A religious, who assisted at the death scene,
says: 'All Heaven seemed to enter the room and fill it
with light.'
"Remembering, however, that the faintest shadow of
a stain must be cleansed from the snowy petals of Love's
transplanted flowers, the pious readers of the 'Ave Maria'
(which Mrs. Brenham loved so well) are earnestly en
treated to hold her in prayerful remembrance."
The prayers of Christian heroines, such as Mrs. Bren
ham, could not but bring God's blessing upon the pro
jected work of Father Prendergast. This blessing took
form in the home of Mrs. Tobin, when Miss Elizabeth
Armer heard the call and heeded it, splendidly resolving
to devote her whole life to works, while others engaged
in words. What these works were we shall see in the
course of this narrative.

CHAPTER II
The Humble Start

VEN AS THE MIGHTY OAK, THE SYMBOL
of enduring strength, has its beginning
in an insignificant dust-trodden acorn, so
the Holy Family Community — spreading
its influence over the entire City of San
Francisco and its environs, reaching out
into Oakland and San Jose and as far south as Los An
geles, doing good to rich and poor alike, caring for the
children of working women, instructing many unto justice,
edifying all by the example of its members — had a very
humble beginning. For a period of two or three years, it
was actually trampled under the scornful heel of ridicule.
On November 6, 1872, a small house on Pine Street,
near Jones, was rented by Mrs. Richard Tobin and given
over to Miss Elizabeth Armer and her first companion.
Both of these young ladies had, to all appearances, a clear
and definite notion of the life upon which they were enter
ing; both seemed to understand the difficulties and the
sacrifices that were to be demanded of them. They were
to devote themselves unselfishly to the service of the poor
and, eventually, to consecrate their services by the vows
of religion — Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience — until
death. Father John J. Prendergast, a zealous and efficient
priest, recognized the need there was of well organized
social relief-work, but he had experienced great difficulty
in obtaining willing and able workers, as he himself ex-

28 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
plained in an address, given to the Holy Family Com
munity some years after its establishment. He told of the
difficulties he had to solve, and how in solving them he
had to bring into being a community of women devoted
exclusively to the poor and to little children.
"A few words will explain the purpose of this Sister
hood," he said. "Its purpose may, indeed, be found in its
name — 'The Holy Family.' The charities of the Cath
olic Church are manifold. They are co-extensive with the
needs of human society. But for lack of workers, some
who are in need of sympathy and assistance are, for a
while, at least, overlooked. I refer especially to poor
families and neglected children. In large cities there is
always much poverty and San Francisco has been no ex
ception to the general rule. One of the most disastrous
effects of this poverty and neglect is the fact that children,
even in their tender years, when they are susceptible to
good influences, are not taught to know and love God.
Assistance must be brought to the homes — material assist
ance first, and then an opening will be made for spiritual
assistance." To visit the homes of the poor, to bring relief to the
sick, to seek out the neglected children, these are ideals in
social work that cannot be too much insisted upon. There
is a danger in our modern methods — providing recreation
grounds and community clubs and hiking expeditions — to
neglect the home. Father Prendergast began with the
home. "But who could be prevailed upon to do the work?"
asked the zealous priest. "Secular ladies, however pious
and charitably disposed they may be, have their own do
mestic duties to attend to or they allow the allurements
of pleasure to interfere with their possible desire to be of

THE HUMBLE START 29
"But could not one of the existing communities be of
service in the contemplated work?" Father Prendergast's
zeal would have led him to excessive remonstrances with
the existing communities had it not been regulated by pru
dence and foresight. He knew that there was not one of
the many individual members of these communities who
would not gladly have abandoned class-room or sick-room
to visit the poor, if bid to do so by obedience ; but he also
knew that in the Lord's vineyard there are so many things
to do, so many dangers to guard against, that it is not for
the individual to choose.i Zeal for good works, like any
other virtue, is apt to be intemperate. The vision of a
man whose heart beats for the poor is apt to become lim
ited and his enthusiasm excessive, but Father Prendergast
was zealous without being immoderate, foreseeing without
being blinded to the realities in which he lived.
The charity of the Catholic Church is, indeed, as he
said, "as broad as the sufferings of humanity" ; but it has
become seasoned by centuries of experience and is slow
to jump from one need to another, however crying that
new need may be. At the time when the devoted Pastor
looked for those that would be willing to work among the
poor, the various Sisterhoods of San Francisco were al
ready overburdened with other educational or charitable
work that had been assigned to them by their superiors.
The Sisters of Charity had their schools and their orphan
asylums ; the Sisters of Notre Dame and of the Presenta
tion had their academies for young ladies of the middle
class or of the wealthier class ; the Sisters of Mercy were
devoted to hospital work and to the care of fallen girls.
In emergencies, they would willingly drop their regular
work, as the Sisters of Mercy did during the cholera and
smallpox epidemics, but if there were poor in the City,
there were also the sick, there were orphans who had no

30 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
homes, and there were girls that had abandoned their
homes and others who needed the higher education af
forded in the convent schools. Miss Armer herself was
a product of the Presentation Convent, and until her
dying day retained a deep affection for her early teachers.
The difficulty experienced by Father Prendergast was,
therefore, of such a nature that nobody could be criti
cised. The 'Seventies gave birth to a new problem and a
new need, and the rise of a new order was but a proof of
the inexhaustible resources of Catholic charity. Father
Prendergast's temporary disappointment in not finding
laborers was rewarded by God's goodness that called into
being a new religious community, and gave to San Fran
cisco a select body of social relief workers.
As soon as the two young ladies had taken up their
abode in the little rented house on Pine Street, they re
ceived definite rules of conduct and a definite plan of
campaign in their charitable work. Social work at the
present time is scientifically organized. There are com
mittees for investigation, committees for registration,
committees for distribution of money or provisions, sani
tary committees, and preventive committees, all organized
to make sure that no unworthy person shall ever benefit by
the generosity of others.' When we read of the activities
of these committees — how by means of a card-system all
cases are checked and classified for investigation and how
after close and intimate scrutiny which, at times, is imper
tinent enough, some little relief is doled out — we can
see how the salaried investigators discover and preclude
the undeserving from the benefits of charity; but it is not
always easy to see how the deserving are actually helped.
Nor is it any easier to understand how the standards
which are employed to distinguish between the deserving
and the undeserving poor are formulated and applied.

THE HUMBLE START 31
Scrutiny, when it is not too personal, as, unfortunately,
it often is, investigation that does not go too deeply into
moral shortcomings with which social-workers have noth
ing to do, are, on occasions, both necessary and helpful and,
therefore, desirable; but in some cases the positive charity
does not keep pace with the expense of the investigation.
Father Prendergast was not, in this sense, scientific;
but he was practical. He may have violated all the rules
of scientific sociology, as it is now understood, when he
wrote to Miss Armer that it is "far better to be deceived
ten times than to refuse need once when the recipient is
worthy" ; but if this is unscientific, it is not un-Christian.
Moreover it is sometimes presumptuous to distin
guish the worthy from the unworthy poor. There is not,
nor can there be a universally applicable standard. In a
family of five, the father may be unworthy; he may
drink or he may squander his earnings in some other way ;
but the mother and the little children may be worthy and
surely they cannot, in justice, be penalized for the sins of
the husband and father.
In Father Prendergast's time, as in our own, there were
many poor through foolish speculation, through lack of
foresight and providence, through excessive greed and
anxiety to reach a state in life where there would be no
more worry and no more work. The causes of poverty
and need are manifold. True Christian workers may
speculate about the causes in a desire to remove them, but
Christian charity rushes into the breach whenever and
wherever it is found and brings the oil and the wine.
Lazarus, for all we know, may have been poor through
his own fault, and perhaps the man that fell among rob
bers had no business in that infested part of the country.
We are not told to inquire into the causes which led to
misery : we are exhorted to help and to help at once.

32 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Father Prendergast's idea of assistance covered the
whole field of need. If the thought of unworthiness were
in his mind, it took form somewhat like this : "The un
worthy we shall, by spiritual help, endeavor to make
worthy." Helping others to help themselves was the prin
ciple of his life.
The following letter will give a better idea of his
method and principles :
Thursday, May 1, 1873.
Dear Sister Mary :
As far as I am able to judge, Mrs. X is a worthy object
of your kind interest. In cases like this, I think it would
be well for you to proceed in the following way :
If they seem to be in need, to give them some help
on their first application. Then to take the first favorable
opportunity to visit the family and ascertain three points :
1st: If the house is clean and warm, and the bedding
sufficient. This you can learn partly with your eyes and
partly by inquiry.
2nd : If the family have food and clothing.
3rd: If all, who should, go to Mass and to the Holy
Sacraments. Now, if you find that the accommodations are not good
for the friends of our Lord, it would be proper to provide
better, if at all possible. If they need bedding or cooking
utensils, etc., or clothing, they should have them. If they
need food, they should have it in sufficient quantity. If
they do not attend Mass, etc., they should be encouraged
to do so. (
In order to fulfill your charitable mission, it would be
necessary to give the poor as much as they actually need —
whatever their needs may be. To give them only a portion
of what they want would leave them in misery still. There-

THE HUMBLE START 33
fore, be not afraid. Give enough to take them out of
suffering, even though you may have to give them all, for
the end of your mission, as regards the poor, is to give
them decent homes, sufficient food and clothing, and the
grace of the Sacraments.
Please, therefore, inquire minutely into all particulars
and give rather too much than too little.
It would be also necessary to visit the poor from time to
time — the sick poor, often.
I offer these suggestions in the hope that they may be
of some service to you, now that you are beginning, as it
were, anew.
I am anxious that you would have the prayers and
benedictions of all the poor. Do not be afraid of your
treasury. God will provide.
I always make a memento in Mass for the Holy Family.
May our Blessed Lord be good to you and prosper your
work and give you a bright crown hereafter !
Yours in the Sacred Heart,
J. J. Prendergast
The sick poor were plentiful in San Francisco when
Miss Elizabeth Armer and her companion began their
career of social service. Such a career is never attractive;
in San Francisco in the early 'Seventies it was most unat
tractive and even, in many instances, repulsive. The two
young women visited the poor as directed by the parish
priests. These latter found pitiable cases of human misery
on their daily rounds, and in the evening gave a list of
homes where the blessing of charitable womanly hands
was needed. On the following day the two Sisters made
their visits. Passing from one home to another, they
were frequently called upon to visit cases that were not
on their list.

34 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
There is some human comfort in caring for the sick
when the results become visible in the form of cleanliness
and a grateful appreciation, but these ardent workers
rarely enjoyed the consoling fruits of toil. Their work
was invariably of the repulsive kind. It was to real mis
ery that they were called, and not infrequently their
patients proved ingrates.
Cancer cases, the last stages of consumption, lingering
fevers, diseases that baffle medical skill were daily brought
to their notice, and day by day they attended the victims.
Sometimes they found themselves in morally sordid sur
roundings. Drink had wrought havoc in many a family,
impurity was frequently to blame for disease; but as the
two workers aided physically so as to be able to assist
spiritually, they faced the moral cases with even more
heroism and certainly with more ardor than they did those
of a physical nature.
Thus for several months Miss Armer and her compan
ion toiled. Forgetful of self, they devoted their energies
through the day and often into the night to the unfortu
nate victims of disease and of sin. At home, during the
little time they had, they made bed-clothes for the poor
and shrouds for the dead.
The inevitable happened. Take two young earnest
women and let them work for the poor and they will
overwork. Heroism grows by what it feeds on. To the
generous worker, time is all too short ; sleep is neglected,
proper nourishment is spurned and sometimes there comes
a breakdown. Miss Armer's first companion suffered such
a misfortune. She became a nervous wreck and a victim
of hysteria. Long-distance diagnosis is not a secure
process but, considering the solitude of their lives, the
difficulty of their toils, the constant drudgery entailed,
the loathsome sights of disease, it does not seem too

THE HUMBLE START 35
much to say that it was nothing more than a case of nerv
ous hysteria.
The Sisters of the Holy Family do not like to have the
matter referred to, but there is no discredit to them or to
their Foundress in the story of Miss Collins' "hallucina
tion." On the contrary, from whatever angle it is viewed
it redounds to their credit. Was it a diabolical interfer
ence with the work of Miss Armer? If so, the work must
have been of God. The spirit of wickedness cannot tol
erate good works, and he endeavors directly or indirectly
to kill them in the bud. Or was it due to sinful vanity?
If such were the case we can see in it an admirable exam
ple of Miss Armer's unsuspecting simplicity. She had no
doubts about her companion's sincerity and goodness.
Finally, if it were, as it seems1 to have been, a case of
hysteria brought on by overwork, it ought to be a warn
ing to those whose zeal is intemperate and who destroy,
by excessive ardor, the very good they are striving to
accomplish. No matter how interpreted, this is what happened:
One morning Miss Collins did not report for work at
the usual hour. When Miss Armer visited her room to
ascertain the cause of the delay, she found her companion
confined to her bed. Her hands and feet bore wounds,
self-inflicted as was afterwards learned, resembling the
wounds of the Savior. When, after some weeks, the
truth was discovered, the young woman was sent to her
home, but the scandal caused by the occurrence endured
for a long time. For months afterwards Miss Armer
was looked upon with suspicion and had to bear with
opprobrious remarks from otherwise well-meaning peo
ple. It is difficult to determine which was for her the
greater trial, the unfortunate occurrence itself or the
attitude of the people. The spirit with which she bore

36 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
up under it all, clearly indicates two things : her indom
itable courage in remaining faithful to her purpose and
her loyalty to one who, apparently, tried to deceive her.
While condemning the fraud or folly, she could not see
in it any conscious guilt. "She knew not what she did,"
was her way of expressing leniency.
Still her heart went out in love and in prayer. "O,
Sacred Heart," she prayed (and the prayer is still pre
served) "let me suffer and die for one who was dearer
than a thousand lives.1 O, save her! I am willing to
bear all, only save her dear, dear soul, that I may meet
her at Thy Sacred Feet never more to be separated. Give
her every blessing, while on earth, and Heaven at her
departure. I will suffer all with a cheerful heart if you
only grant my prayers, for 'she knew not what she did.' '
This beautiful prayer was signed "Lizzie."
Another young lady joined Miss Armer in her work,
but she did not remain long. It was too difficult, too
wearisome, too lonely a life for any one but a brave and
valiant woman influenced by the highest of supernatural
motives. Disappointed in one, abandoned by another, Miss
Armer retained the same evenness of temper, the same
zeal for works of charity, the same devotedness to the
poor and to the children of the Sunday Schools. She did
not for a moment relax. Her visits to the sick poor con
tinued as before, and when she needed a companion she
always knew where to find one. Mrs. Richard Tobin was
at the service of her foster-daughter and often accom
panied her on her errands of charity. Indeed, it may be
said that Mrs. Tobin deserves to be named as, the co-
foundress of the Holy Family Sisterhood, as she was until
her death its most devoted friend and benefactress.

CHAPTER III
"The Girls Upstairs"
OME CRITICS CLAIM THAT THE WRITING
of history, particularly the history of
religious people, has undergone a change
in modern times and that we should no
longer indulge in mere laudatory com
ments on the work and the workers, but
study and endeavor to "portray a process." If this be
properly understood there is something more than usually
fascinating in our present narrative. It is an undeniable
process or growth with which we are confronted, not,
however, a growth in ideas and aspirations — these were
mature from the very start — but a development of the
work to be performed. New and greater avenues of suc
cessful activity opened themselves before the ardent Miss
Armer and her companions and accompanying the increas
ing demand for work there was a slow but wholesome
increase in the number of workers and in the ardor of
spirit which characterized their efforts.
The so-called psychology of the saints has no place in
the history of the Holy Family Community. Sister Do
lores at fifty-five was the same, single-minded, laborious
and fervent character as she was, when as a girl of twenty,
she began her life's work. Filled with enthusiasm she
was capable of rising superior to all difficulties and ob
stacles that came between her and her definite purpose in
life. The other Sisters, notably Sister Teresa, are dis
tinguished for a like evenness of temperament rather than

38 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
for anything that strikes the mind with wonder. It is a
case where nothing is more extraordinary than the ordi
nary, where our minds can find choice food for thought,
not so much in the exotics of mystic conservatories as in
the attractive naturalness of the wayside wild flowers.
The first two years were years of difficulties and dis
couragement. Miss Armer's purpose could not be shaken
by the defection of her first two companions. She had a
work to do which demanded heroism, and she felt confi
dent that, in God's own time, she would be joined by those
who would stay with her until death. She knew that noth
ing worth while can be done quickly. A moment was
enough to give her a glimpse of the ideal towards the
realization of which she intended to work; but years of
patient waiting were necessary before even the promise of
success cheered her expectant soul.
In 1874, after nearly two years of struggle, fruitful
of good, it is true, but barren as far as a religious com
munity was concerned, Miss Armer found herself alone.
Her secular friends were, for reasons already explained,
suspicious of her. Some went so far as to chide her for
her folly and to point out the hopelessness of her efforts.
Mrs. Tobin remained loyal and Father Prendergast still
maintained his confidence. "The charity of the Catholic
Church is as broad as the needs of humanity," was his
guiding principle, and never, for a single moment, did
he falter or, having put his hands to the plow, look back.
Miss Elizabeth Armer continued to walk bravely and
generously in the path of humiliation and of service. Her
virtue called down the blessing of God on her labors. It
was not long before He rewarded her fidelity by sending
a life-long companion in the person of Miss Ellen O'Con
nor. She was a native of Boston and came to California
when she was but three years of age. Her parents settled

THE GIRLS UPSTAIRS 39
in El Dorado County, where her father had some mining
interests. Reared amid the rude wildness of a mining-
camp, she received the benefits of religious instruction
from a devout and prudent mother and a sturdy Catholic
father. Many a time she accompanied them down the
mountain roads to the nearest Church to assist at the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. When in the 'Fifties, they
moved to San Francisco, she attended the parochial school
attached to St. Patrick's Church, and, after receiving her
first Holy Communion, she became a Child of Mary.
In 1860 she was transferred to St. Rose's Academy which
had just been opened on Brannan Street by the Dominican
Sisters. Later she moved to St. Joseph's Parish and
had the good fortune of becoming a penitent of Father
Andrew Cullen.
Such is a brief suggestion of the early life of Miss
Ellen O'Connor who afterwards, as Sister Teresa of
Jesus, was to become one of the chief glories of the Holy
Family Convent. She told her confessor that she wished
to become a religious, that this desire had been in her
heart constantly and, with ever-increasing ardor, for
many years. She had studied with the Sisters of Charity
and with the Dominican Sisters. She knew and admired
their life and the opportunities they had to serve God
in working for others. She was familiar, too, with the
Sisters of Mercy and the Sisters of Notre Dame but, in
the final choice, she wished to be guided by her confessor.
"Well," said Father Cullen, "if I were you I should
try this new work which Father Prendergast is starting."
Miss O'Connor had been observing the work of Miss
Armer. She accompanied her mother to the "convent"
when the sickness of Miss Armer's companion was attract
ing the notice of the people of San Francisco. She knew
of the many difficulties that were being encountered and

40 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
was fully aware of the discouraging situation in which
Miss Armer was at the time placed. Still she determined
to investigate. She called at the rented house in Pine
Street but found no one at home. She called again and
was again disappointed. On April 30, 1874, she paid her
third visit and this time was more fortunate.
"I have heard of you," said Miss Armer, earnestly;
"have you come to stay?"
"I hope so!" was the confident answer of the young
Ellen O'Connor, — and she meant it.
Taking her hand, Miss Armer exclaimed: "You are
my birthday gift! At Holy Mass I asked the Blessed
Mother for a birthday present. You have been sent
to aid me to labor for souls. Come, let us praise God
for His goodness in having granted me a companion."
On the Feast of SS. Peter and Paul, June 29, 1874,
Miss Ellen O'Connor took up her abode with Miss
Armer, and from that day forward, united intimately
in piety, will, and fervent purpose, these two noble young
women, whom God chose to inaugurate a new work, had
but one thought and one heart in God. It was a happy
day for the Religious of the Holy Family and a glorious
event in their history — this coming of Ellen O'Connor.
But still there were difficulties, — difficulties of the most
discouraging kind. Miss Armer and Miss O'Connor
started joyously enough and with great religious fervor;
but the former became seriously ill and was urged by the
Archbishop to accept the invitation to rest, for a while,
at the Fruitvale residence of one of her loyal friends,
Mrs. Hugh Dimond.
The Archbishop sent for her companion, Miss O'Con
nor, and smilingly asked her : "Are you afraid of ghosts?"
"No, Archbishop," she answered bravely. "Then," he
said, "Miss Armer will go away for a few weeks and you

THE GIRLS UPSTAIRS 41
will remain alone." During this time Miss O'Connor
mentioned to no one, not even her mother, that she was
alone: It was a very serious trial and nothing but a
genuinely true vocation could have enabled her to bear
with it so heroically. Later in life she often told how
lonesome she was during the long hours of the day and
how desolate she felt when night approached. From
her window she used to look across the bay and try to
distinguish the dim lights of Fruitvale, wondering just
where her companion might be. Thence she would turn
her eyes towards God's lights, the stars, and pray that
Miss Armer would soon be restored to health and to her.
Her prayers were heard. Miss Armer returned, much
improved by her rest and anxious to take up her work
again. Until January 14, 1875, the two worked alone.
On that day they were joined by Mrs. Ellen Javet who
came with the following letter from the Archbishop.
January 14, 1875.
Dear Miss Mary Armer :
The bearer, Mrs. Ellen Javet, is the good widow lady
who will join you in the way I proposed to you and to
Father Prendergast. For the present she will be one of
your congregation to all intents and purposes now, with
the exception of the care she has yet to retain to herself
for her two boys, which would require her to go home
at 6 o'clock P. M. or a little after; and remain from you
till about 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning. I feel hopeful
that you will find in her a good, charitable, pious and use
ful member of the Holy Family. Then as soon as the
Church can declare her free from the care of her two
children, she may make her novitiate and profession.
Yours truly in Christ,
?J* J. S. Alemany

42 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
On March 8, Miss Catharine Kelly joined the Com
munity, which was now beginning to take definite shape
after the trials and disappointments of three years. In
1874 a new home was secured, a two-story flat on the
corner of Pine and Stockton Streets. Mr. Richard Tobin
paid the rent for the entire house. As Miss Armer and
her companions needed but one floor, they sub-rented the
lower story to a Methodist family. These good tenants
would not allow themselves to be outdone in religious
fervor by the "girls upstairs."
When, in the evening, the Sisters sang their hymns
according to season, they noted a response from the floor
below. The music of airs from the Methodist hymn
books mingled with the Sisters' hymns and floated har
moniously heavenward. The best of feelings ever existed
between this family and, as they called the Sisters, the
"girls upstairs." Many years later when two of the
Sisters were in a large downtown store, they were startled
by an exclamation and a warm embrace : "Why, I haven't
seen you girls for a long time !" Turning, they recognized
the good Methodist lady who had been their tenant on
Pine Street.
On August 7, 1876, Miss Mary Anne McKeon joined
the Community. She was afterwards known as Sister
Augustine. In November, 1876, the Sisters moved to
the north side of Pine Street, between Stockton and
Powell. On May 13, 1877, Miss Catharine Block
became a member of the little Community.
As yet no religious habit was adopted. The dress
worn by the Sisters was the ordinary dress of the day,
only simplified as much as possible. The hats which
the Sisters now wear were the shape then in vogue, dif
fering only in color from those worn by other young
ladies, who combined the gayer shades in straw and

CONVENT ON CORNER OF STOCKTON AND PINE STREETS
From 1874 to 1876 the Sisters Lived in Upper Flat of House Marked by Cross

THE GIRLS UPSTAIRS 43
trimmings, whilst those of the Sisters were of unadorned
black. As there was no chapel in this home, the Sisters wore
no head covering. One Sunday afternoon one of the
Sisters playfully picked up a piece of red ribbon and tied
it around her head with a large bow at the back. Time
for vespers came, and, forgetting all about her adorn
ment, she put on her hat and went out with the rest.
No one noticed it until all were in their pews at the
Cathedral, and the future Sisters of the Holy Family,
who know what it means to keep children quiet in church,
were themselves scarcely able to preserve gravity that
evening. The only one who prayed without distraction
was the unconscious wearer of the red bow.
At this time the Sisters always assisted at the six
o'clock Mass which was said by Archbishop Alemany.
They would reach the Cathedral about a quarter to six
and often on dark winter mornings, when the sexton hap
pened to be late, the Archbishop himself came down the
steps, holding a little candle to light the way, and opened
the gate for them. Their way to the old Cathedral led
through that part of Dupont Street which was not of
good repute, and though they could take a longer way
around, Miss Armer never feared, even on the darkest
mornings, to go along Dupont Street. She used to say:
"Our prayers for these poor people, as we pass through,
may help them."
The Sisters used to take week-about, doing the house
work, one staying at home in the forenoon for this
purpose, whilst the others went out on their errands of
charity through the City. They were not known to out
siders as Sisters, but among themselves the title was used
and, what is more notable, they had the names which they
were privileged to take later on, when they pronounced

44 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
their vows. The following order of a week's work has
come down to us in the handwriting of Sister Dolores :
Sister Joseph — Dining-room and kitchen;
Sister Agnes — Sitting-room and halls;
Sister Teresa — Housekeeper and sewing-room;
Sister Magdalen — Marketing and attending to
door. When Sister Magdalen is not at home the
Sister in charge of the halls will attend, when
necessary, to the door;
Sister Dolores will attend to her accounts in the
morning and receive accounts of the day at 8
o'clock in the evening.
Miss Armer, however, was not immune from meeting
with domestic mishaps. One week it was her turn to
be housekeeper. After two of the Sisters had scrubbed
the kitchen floor until it was snow-white, she accidentally
overturned a pan of hot drippings. A few drops spat
tered on her wrist and the spotless floor was besmeared
with the rest. Knowing that the Sisters would be dis
turbed, she thought of a stratagem to turn their attention
from the unsightly spots. Taking a long strip of cloth,
she bound up her whole arm and when the Sisters returned
and found their beloved companion thus bandaged, they
were so full of solicitude for her that there was no
concern for the state of the kitchen. Resisting their
entreaties to be allowed to dress her "wounds," she
maintained her expression of patient suffering until the
floor was thoroughly cleaned, then laughingly removed
the bandage and displayed one tiny red spot on her wrist.
We should not expect to find anything like a horse
and carriage among the equipments of a religious com
munity in its first years of struggle and privation. These
Sisters, however, had both. The carriage was an old
discarded one, rickety in wheel and innocent of paint,

THE GIRLS UPSTAIRS 45
which was offered to the Sisters, if they could make use
of it, and the horse, called "Charlie," having passed its
age of usefulness, was donated to spend its few remain
ing years in the cause of charity. The Sisters were glad
to accept this equipage. It was a great help in the work
and an additional means of daily mortification. "We
were ashamed to be seen getting into it," relates one of
the Sisters, "and then we were more ashamed to be seen
getting out of it."
"Charlie" had acquired the habit of many wise old
horses, on the watch for opportunities to take forty winks,
that of stopping in front of large buildings where car
riages are wont to halt. Nothing would induce him to go
on until one of the occupants would get out and then, get
ting in again, give the door a heavy slam to make
"Charlie" understand that he was to continue on the
journey. The carriage was driven by a boy named Frank, who
was proud to work for the Sisters, but at times unmindful
of the dignity of his calling. One day when Miss Armer
and a companion were out on some calls, they noticed
that their carriage was moving very slowly along Kearny
Street and wondered at the cause. Looking out, they
discovered that their dilapidated carriage was forming
part of a circus procession. Frank had driven up in the
rear in order to get a full view of the parade and was
enjoying his experience to the full, when to his chagrin he
was ordered to turn at the next block.
In these early days there were no such secular organiza
tions as the Associated Charities nor religious societies
as St. Vincent de Paul's. Hence many and various were
the calls that came to Miss Armer's companions in their
little home in Pine Street. It became quite the usual
thing even for the city officials to send children, whose

46 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
parents had come under the jurisdiction of the courts "up
to Miss Armer's to be looked after." The work of the
Sisters consisted in washing, and clothing, and provid
ing food and shelter for these children until some per
manent place was found for them. As a rule when they
were properly prepared they were taken to Mount St.
Joseph's Orphan Asylum, where the Sisters of Charity
received them and gave them a home.
As an instance of this kind, it is related that, on one
occasion, when the Sisters had given their little home a
particularly thorough cleaning, and were commenting with
complacency on the neatness of the rooms and the white
ness of the bed linen, three children, whose mother was
detained in the city prison, were sent out to the Sisters.
The poor children, woefully neglected, had all the accom
paniments of direst poverty. They were, indeed, objects
of repugnance to any one unfamiliar with the sweet words
of Christ: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least
of these, ye have done it unto Me."
When the children were washed and supplied with clean
clothes Sister Dolores told one of the Sisters to give them
her bed. The poor Sister's love of cleanliness was a
prominent characteristic and it was on this account that
Sister Dolores gave her this opportunity to practice heroic
mortification. She betrayed by a change of countenance
her repugnance to having the children occupy her bed,
but was further mortified when Sister Dolores sweetly
added: "And you may sleep with them, Sister."
Another case which has come down in community tra
ditions, because it has been related whenever a "mouse
alarm" occurs in the Convent, is that of a woman dying
in a room over the Bella Union Theater on Kearny Street,
a place not resorted to by people of good name. The
poor girl, who, at one time in her life had practiced her

THE GIRLS UPSTAIRS 47
religion, was very low and had no one around her but
the companions of her evil life. These poor women felt
that something should be done for her, but they did not
know how to do it. They accordingly sent for the "Miss
Armers," as the Sisters were then often called. The
"Miss Armers" could not refuse a call of distress and
accordingly two of them started out to this house of evil
name. A strange place in which to find religious women,
but an immortal soul was in danger and the Sisters
remained with the dying girl until the end. They took
turns by day and by night, not only to nurse and give
her nourishment, but to protect her from the evil influences
of the place, and assist her in making her peace with God.
She was prepared for and received the Sacraments of Pen
ance, Holy Eucharist and Extreme Unction. If no place
is too wretched for the King of Heaven to enter in the
Sacrament of His love, can it be too vile for any of his
creatures who go there to help gain a soul for his
Kingdom? The Sisters often wonder how these first
companions of Miss Armer had courage to remain alone
all night in such a place, with the sound of the vulgar
songs and music coming up from the theater below; but
the case was extraordinary and extraordinary means were
used to save a soul.
One night, when the sounds from the theater below
had subsided, a hideous rat emerged from the darkness
and made its appearance in the dimly lighted room. The
Sister on duty was one of those who become terror-stricken
at the very mention of mouse or rat, and now, confronted
by what was, to her, a monster, she lost the calm courage
that sustained her through graver dangers and did what
a woman invariably does in such emergency — screamed
and mounted a chair. Then her patient asked for assist
ance. It was a dilemma; she must either neglect her

48 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
patient or overcome her lifelong fears. Duty and charity
prevailed and she descended into the "lion-haunted arena"
only to find that the monsters disappeared in the dark
ness. When the long night with its horrors were over,
Sister fervently thanked God for the strength given in
what she calls the greatest test of her vocation and the
greatest trial of her life.
To understand the circumstances which led the Sisters
to such disreputable places, the reader must bear in mind
that, in the early 'Seventies, there were no emergency
hospitals, equipped as now with their doctors and nurses.
Pioneering in more senses than one characterized the early
days of the Holy Family Community.
In these charitable works the Sisters were often assisted
by young ladies of the world who, on account of home
duties, could not join the community. One of these
deserves special mention — Miss Annie Wellington or
"Sister Annie" as she was familiarly called. Miss Annie
Wellington did not live to become a Sister of the Holy
Family on earth, but she was so united with these first
Sisters in spirit and in work that she is regarded as one
of the Community. She taught catechism and often
accompanied the Sisters on their visits of charity. She
intended to join the Community as soon as home affairs
permitted. One day she came to see Miss O'Connor and
told her that a sick person whom she had been visiting
and caring for had developed smallpox. Miss O'Connor
advised her to take precautions, but it was too late.
Shortly afterwards she herself was taken to the Pest
House. Her face, once so beautiful, became greatly dis
figured. She bore her illness heroically with one only
desire — that she might live to enter the Community. God
willed otherwise and those who were with her in her
last days told the Sisters of her sweet and holy death.

THE GIRLS UPSTAIRS 49
In her burning fever they brought ice to be put on her
head, but she would not have it, saying that our Lord,
in His sufferings, had no ice on His head.
The virtues practiced by the companions of Miss
Armer during these early days made up in part for what
else might be regarded as inadequate religious training.
For, it must be noted, that these ardent women plunged
into exterior work at once. Catherine Kelly entered the
Community in the morning and in the afternoon of the
same day, as she tells us, was at work visiting the poor.
Sometimes, it is true, Almighty God takes a hand in
the training of His willing servants even when unmindful
of the principle of St. Ignatius, — "to do everything as if
its whole success depended on one's own efforts," — they
act as if the other part of the saying were alone true:
"to do everything as if it entirely depended upon God."
In the early years of the Holy Family Community there
was this weakness: the workers were not sufficiently
trained in spiritual things. They were, of course, good
Catholic young women who understood their vocation and
were earnest in its prosecution but, on account of the
pressing nature of the work, they had little or no oppor
tunity to make sure that something deeper and more
lasting than sentiment was guiding their efforts.
The difficulty was overcome partly by what seems to
be the direct care and guidance of God Himself and
partly by the earnest efforts of the workers themselves.
At all events the virtues of a religious life flourished
during these early days. Poverty, a characteristic virtue
of religion, was practiced with great rigor. Although
Miss Armer had left a home filled with every joy and
comfort and the kind motherly heart of Mrs. Mary Tobin
would leave her in want of nothing, still Miss Armer
managed to practice poverty in an eminent degree. The

50 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
clothing and other supplies which generous benefactors
provided were often given to the poor. No call for
assistance was ever refused. Father Prendergast's prin
ciple: "Far better to be deceived ten times than to refuse
need once when the recipient is worthy," was adhered to
with fidelity. Consequently, it was no unusual thing
for the Sisters to be in want of food, bedding or clothing,
and they were careful to conceal this fact from Mrs.
Tobin and other kind friends in order that they might
suffer real privations and live, not only in poverty of
spirit, but in actual poverty as well. The first Christmas
after Miss O'Connor entered, a friend sent five dollars
to buy a turkey for their Christmas dinner. Miss Armer
gave the money to a poor family and the Sisters' Christ
mas joy consisted chiefly in having been in a position to
make other people happy.
Thus did the "Girls Upstairs" work for the poor
and for their own sanctification, recognizing always how
the two efforts are distinct and yet intimately united, that
one cannot long enjoy the happiness of making other
people happy without having the secret of charity so
admirably explained by St. John: "My dearest, if God
hath so loved us, we also ought to love one another." To
impress the thought of God's love for us on our minds and
to cultivate in our hearts a desire to return that love, by
loving His children, is the work of personal sanctification.
This was accomplished sweetly and quietly in the solitude
of the convent — to flow out, later, and enrich those in
need of assistance and encouragement.

FIRST CHILDREN'S DAY HOME, 525 POST STREET

CHAPTER IV
The Novitiate

NTIL AFFAIRS WERE IN A MORE OR LESS
settled condition it was impossible for
the Sisters to make a regular religious
novitiate. Archbishop Alemany, how
ever, had from the beginning urged the
necessity of this formal religious training
for all the companions of Miss Armer. In 1875 he
wrote to Mother Louisa of the Dominican Convent of
Benicia asking for accommodations for those whom Miss
Armer could spare. There were, however, two difficul
ties. Mother Louisa, could accommodate but one at
a time and Miss Armer could not spare even one, for
the space of an entire year. Miss Ellen O'Connor and
Miss Catharine Kelly were sent at different times during
the year 1876, to spend several months in the Benicia
Convent and had returned to their work in San Francisco
with some knowledge of the spirit and practices of
religious life. But the Archbishop was not satisfied with
a few months; he insisted, according to the requirements
of the Church in so important a matter, on an entire year
of novitiate: Accordingly when in 1877, Miss Kate
Block, afterwards known and beloved as Sister Agnes,
joined the Community, Miss Ellen O'Connor was sent
for a second time to Benicia to make a regular novitiate
of one year.
She entered upon the year's work with much alacrity,
retained her spirit of devotion to spiritual things during

52 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
its progress, and when the end of the novitiate drew near,
she longed to return to her companions in San Francisco.
But she had to face a singular situation which, in after
years, she described as one of the greatest temptations of
her life. Towards the end of her novitiate, she was urged
to stay with the Dominican Sisters. It was a natural
request and under the circumstances, easy to understand.
That she would make a very desirable daughter of St.
Dominic, was quite evident, and then there was so much
uncertainty about the new Order of the Holy Family.
Was it not extraordinarily slow of growth? Six years
had passed and there were but six members. Was it not
a risk to return to the world and associate herself with
secular ladies, however pious they might be? Up to this
time Miss Armer and her companions were regarded as
mere secular ladies. Did not the uncertainty of the past
indicate very clearly that the new Community had no
certain future ? How could a religious congregation with
no convent other than the upper flat of a rented house
have any hope to flourish?
These and similar considerations were brought forcibly
to the attention of Miss O'Connor by those whom she
loved and revered. The appeal was strong, but she rose
superior to what in the light of subsequent events can be
regarded as an unintentional attack on the new Com
munity's existence. Had she yielded to it, she might have
disrupted the struggling Community or, at least, she
would have given it a blow from which it would have
been hard to recover. Perhaps her companions in San
Francisco feared that just some such temptation would
attack their beloved Sister Ellen, for on the very day
which marked the completion of the Novitiate year, Miss
Armer and Miss Kelly were in Benicia. They had come
to accompany Miss O'Connor home.

THE NOVITIATE 53
To remove all scruples or hesitation on her part, the
Archbishop wrote the following letter authorizing her to
leave the Dominican Convent and to join her companions
in San Francisco. San Francisco, August 13, 1878.
Dear Sister in Christ:
After my journey to Petaluma, Sonoma, etc., I hasten
to say that Father Prendergast thinks that you may make
your profession here in San Francisco just as well as in
Benicia. So as soon as Sister Alicia puts you in holy
retreat, make a good one, and then you can come down
and make the profession to the Archbishop in the holy
little chapel of the new place on Post Street. During
the retreat pray much for the Holy Family Institute,
that God may bless it so that it may be of constant benefit
to the poor, especially to poor children. Pray for
Yours truly in Christ,
?x* J. S. Alemany, O. P.
Archbishop of San Francisco.
Fortified by the Archbishop's permission the young
novice joined her companions, returned to San Francisco
and, in the little oratory of her own convent, in the
presence of her co-workers and the friends of the new
Institute, Miss Ellen O'Connor made her religious pro
fession before his Grace, Most Rev. Joseph Sadoc
Alemany, Archbishop of San Francisco, taking the vows
of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience until the feast of
Christmas, 1880, and taking for her name in religion
Sister Mary Teresa of Jesus.
This was the first pronouncement of vows in the Holy
Family Community. It was the beginning of a genuine
Religious Congregation. Her companions gathered

54 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
around the privileged one to offer their congratulations
and to ask her prayers that they too would some day be
so fortunate as to dedicate themselves by the three vows
of religion to the service of God and their neighbor.
From November 6, 1872, until September 10, 1878,
Miss Armer had directed the work and governed the
little Community. She was, by right, its Superior and
the others looked to her for guidance and instruction.
Now, a strange thing happened. Miss Armer was not
a Religious because she had not, as yet, taken her vows.
One of her companions had already reached this goal
of blessedness. It was a case analogous to that which
is told of the beginning of the Society of Jesus. When
Ignatius and his companions went to Montmartre on
August 15 to consecrate themselves to God, it would
have been but natural for the Founder of the Jesuit
Order to receive their vows. But he was not a priest
and so it fell to Peter Fabre, the only priest among them,
to officiate as Superior, to say the Mass and receive the
first vows of the companions of Ignatius and of Ignatius
himself. In our case, Sister Mary Teresa of Jesus was the
only Religious. The others were under obligations to
make their novitiate and among the others was Miss
Armer herself. And so, like the rest, she became a
novice and by appointment of His Grace, the Most
Reverend Archbishop Alemany, Sister Teresa became
Mistress of Novices and Superior of the Community.
Thus in September 1878, six years after Miss Armer
had rented her first home on Pine Street, the Holy Family
Community took shape as a regularly constituted Reli
gious Congregation. The rule which had thus far been
followed was given a more complete and permanent
form. It embodied the famous Rule of St. Augustine

SISTER MARY DOLORES AND SISTER MARY TERESA

THE NOVITIATE 55
and was modeled on the rules of the older religious insti
tutes. It was sanctioned by His Grace, the Most Rev.
Archbishop, as was the title of "Sisters of the Holy
Family," which had been chosen for the new congre
gation by Father Prendergast.
The peculiar dress of the sisterhood was adopted by
mutual consent : a plain black dress with short black cape
and a small white collar; a black veil and coif of white
linen. For outdoor work they were provided with a
cloak and plain black straw hat, with broad, drooping
rim and black veil.
Under the guidance of Sister Teresa there were the
following novices. Miss Elizabeth Armer, Mrs. Ellen
Javet, Miss Catharine Kelly, Miss Mary McKeon and
Miss Kate Block. It was a happy community and every
member of it was anxious to profit by the exercises of
the novitiate. Miss Armer hastened to communicate
the joyful news of the first profession and the beginning
of the novitiate to her friends who were not able to be
present on the occasion. The following letter will be
of interest to the reader: Feast of the Seven Dolors,
September 15, 1879.
Dearest Mrs. O'Sullivan:
Your welcome letter I received from Father yesterday.
It was such a pleasure to hear direct from you.
If I could only give you an idea of how very much we
missed you the day of Sister Teresa's profession. My
first thought, when I heard Sister was to make her pro
fession home, was that you could not be with us ; it was
the only cloud of the day, and, I am sure, Sister Teresa's
only regret, for she was so very happy. Our dear Lord
has blessed her with a grand and noble soul, and she is

56 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
worthy of her mission, — so full of charity and patience.
Sister has been appointed Superior and Mistress of
Novices. We commenced our novitiate on the 10th of Septem
ber, 1878. Pray for us, dear Mrs. O'Sullivan, that we,
too, may become true Religious. * * *
We are very busy preparing for our Lecture. The
Very Reverend J. J. Prendergast, V. G., is to give it
on November 7. The subject is "Bismarck and the
Nuncio." One word about our Day Home. Yesterday we had
fourteen children all well and happy.
The Sisters remember you daily in their prayers. * * *
The bell is about to ring, so I must be off, with many
things unsaid.
Hoping soon to see you, with much love to all,
Your ever grateful friend,
Elizabeth Armer
It will be noted that the young ladies were actively
engaged in their charitable works, but none of them
neglected the exercises of the novitiate, none was insen
sible to its need.
A novitiate, when properly understood, is a time
devoted to the cultivation of the mind as something quite
distinct from and superior to mere passing sentiment.
Emotion is a good and profitable thing, but it must be
made to proceed from, rather than precede, an intellectual
grasp of the fundamentals of religion.
The importance of a year's novitiate cannot be over
estimated. It makes no difference in what kind of work
one is engaged, spiritual formation is of absolute neces
sity. This necessity, however, is chiefly discernible in the
lives of those who devote themselves to social activity.

THE NOVITIATE 57
There is a tendency among social workers, even among
those that are influenced by religious motives, to spurn
a solid formation in religious principles. Why all the
prayers and devotions, the personal mortifications and
penances? they ask or, even if they concede to these reli
gious exercises some value in relation to eternal salvation,
they may go as far as to add, "why all the concern to
save men from perdition in a world to come while never
a helping hand is stretched out to save them from the
inferno of their present life?" To the world's way of
thinking that phase of religion which has to do with
one's personal sanctification becomes one of the selfish
influences of life, and religion which, as they say, ought
to be a stimulus goading one on to activity, degenerates
into a sedative characterized by inaction. Indeed, it is
quite true — no one can deny it — that were religion used
not as an inspiration to service, but as a substitute for it,
there would be room for the rebuke of the Master:
"Everyone that heareth these words of Mine and doeth
them not shall be likened to a foolish man who built his
house upon the sand," or for that of St. Paul: "Not the
hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers
of the law," or of St. James : "Be ye doers of the word
and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
But what the modern activists have in mind is quite
different; they plead for expressive as opposed to and
even exclusive of receptive Christianity. There are so
many ways in which the plea can be made attractively
deceptive. Thus it is said: Study is not the road to
learning; on the contrary, long continued acquisitive
study, absorbing information without expressing it, is the
surest way to paralyze the mind. He who would be a
scholar must not only study, but teach, write, lecture,
apply his knowledge to practical uses. Somehow he must

58 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
give what he gets or soon he will get no more. As with
a swamp, so with the mind; an inlet is useless without an
outlet, since he who gets to keep, can, in the end, get
nothing good. The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea have
the same water-supply; it flows clear and cool from the
heights of Hermon and the roots of the cedars of Leb
anon. The Sea of Galilee has an outlet, and so its waters
are beautiful because serviceable. The Dead Sea has no
outlet and so it is a thing of stagnant uselessness.
For reasons such as these, human nature finds specious
arguments against a long novitiate of spiritual receptive-
ness. Isolated from the world, the novices are said to be
without the power of expression. But may we not ask:
how can one express Christianity if there is none to ex
press ? How could the waters that flow over the valleys
of the Jordan fertilize the otherwise barren plains if
there were no waters to flow? Too much of the so-called
expressive Christianity is very apt to be expressive of self.
A religious novitiate is a time of receptiveness, a time
for storing up spiritual energies, a time for accumulating
forces that will find expression when opportunity is of
fered. Moreover genuine Christianity always has an
outlet. It may not always flow out in the form of tangi
ble social service. But such service is not the only kind;
there is the service of silent though eloquent rebuke. To
teach the world lessons of morality, example is more
powerful than words. Even cloistered nuns teach by
example. To help men by prayer is to be of service and
more things are wrought, even in the social order, by
prayer than the prayerless reformers of human society
dream of or have power to understand. It must not,
therefore, be conceded to the worldly minded that a period
of receptiveness, such as that of the novitiate of the Holy
Family Sisters, is fruitless of good.

*4$P

REV. CHARLES MESSEA. S. J.
Spiritual Director of the Sisters During Their Novitiate

THE NOVITIATE 59
None of these thoughts were in the minds of the Sisters
themselves; they thought of the importance of the noviti
ate as a means of personal sanctification and as an oppor
tunity to study the spirit of their Order, the purposes it
was meant to serve and, above all, the means which they
were to use to attain them.
Father Prendergast had told them that they were to
learn the purpose of the community from its name, "The
Holy Family." In their meditations under the guidance
of Father Charles Messea S.J., who had been appointed
their Spiritual Director, they often reflected on the life
and the trials, the virtues and the spirit of the Holy
Family of Nazareth. They were taught to visualize the
scenes of the long ago, to make them present and realistic.
Thus they see two saintly travelers, Mary and her chaste
spouse, St. Joseph, setting out from Nazareth to Bethle
hem in obedience to the decree of Caesar Augustus. In
spirit they accompany the wayfarers to observe whatever
there may be of benefit to their souls. No earthly grandeur
distinguishes the progress of Mary and Joseph; no reti
nue of servants accompanies them, to administer to their
wants or to herald their entrance into the city of David,
their kingly forefather. On the contrary, they are poor
in this world's goods and, in spirit, lowly. They are more
over obedient; nothing but a command of Caesar could
have made them undertake the long journey to Bethle
hem. Joseph, an humble carpenter, guides the steps of a
beast of burden whereon rides the holy Virgin. Unno
ticed and unknown or, if noticed, scorned by the gather
ing multitudes, they seek for lodging in the Inn of Beth
lehem, only to find that there is no room for them. The
Inn is crowded with guests. They go to their own and
their own receive them not. And so, out into the night,
out among the hills, they continue their weary way and

60 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
find an abandoned stable or grotto that serves the pur
pose of a stable, where they can share the straw with the
beasts. The Holy Family has none of the good things
of life.
A Virgin, espoused to a man, whose name is Joseph,
and the Virgin's name is Mary, seek rest and shelter in a
stable ! The Himalayan snows that are as white as when
God created them, would stain the holy Virgin's feet, but
those feet are weary now after a long journey and she
sorely needs rest. She finds it on a bed of straw prepared
for her by Joseph, the lowly carpenter.
In that stable, in the coldness of night, she brings forth
her first-born Son and lays Him in a manger ! That Son,
the center of the world's history, is He of whom the
Angel of the Annunciation had spoken: "Behold! thou
shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a Son,
and thou shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great
and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the
Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David, His
Father; and He shall reign in the House of Jacob forever
and of His Kingdom there shall be no end." That Son
is now in his humble cradle, with Mary on one side and
Joseph on the other.
Such, the Sisters reflected during their daily meditations,
was the Foundation of the Holy Family. Angels, it is
true, sang their songs of triumph and loud hosannas rang
through the court of Heaven and, encircling the throne of
God, found echo among the hills of Bethlehem; but, with
the exception of a few humble shepherd lads, the event
had made no impression on the world at the time. Des
tined to be the center of the history of the world, the Birth
of Christ — the beginning of the Holy Family — was hum
ble and obscure. When the shepherds went over to Beth
lehem, they found Joseph and Mary and the Infant. It

THE NOVITIATE 61
was a family group — the Holy Family. The greatest
mystery of God's dealings with the world took outward
form in this simple and familiar setting.
And so the Sisters were taught to conclude that the
family — which is the world's earliest and holiest institu
tion, the first sanctuary of human love, the first school
for the teaching of God's law, the first intelligent activity
for the realization of the Creator's designs upon His
creatures, the foundation of civilization — was peculiarly
sanctified by the Incarnation, as if God wished to teach
the world that, just as the family was first in the social
order, so is it to be first in the religious order of things.
And, indeed, where father and mother and children are
gathered in happy union, where the patience and industry
of Joseph "the just man" are supported and encouraged
by the unfailing trust and gentleness of Mary "the
espoused wife" and the hearts of fond parents are con
tinually gladdened by sons and daughters who grow "in
grace and wisdom" and are "subject to them," — there
will the family mean the home and the home is the in
spiration of the world and the cradle of all that is admir
able and all that is beneficial in our civilization.
Other things — comfort and wealth and fine clothes
and all that the modern mind sets value on — are not
essential to the home. Father, mother, child constitute
the human trinity that can be supremely happy in a hovel,
provided their hearts respond to transports of love for
one another, sanctified by love for God.
With thoughts such as these the Sisters of the Holy
Family occupied their time in the early morning. And
we may readily imagine that they reveled in their signifi
cance and practical utility. With the exception of Sister
Teresa of Jesus they had not as yet received their reli
gious names, but it was not without a purpose that they

62 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
had determined on what those names were to be. Though
Mrs. Javet was the third in order of time to join the
community, she was not actually received until, in 1878J
the Archbishop was satisfied that she had made ample
provision for her two sons. The Archbishop's permis
sion for her reception was given in the following letter
dated January 9, 1878, and addressed to Miss Armer:
Dear Sister in Christ:
His Grace desires me to say that the good widow lady,
who is stopping with you at present, can remain with you
altogether and join your community at any time. She
has sufficiently cared for her children, and there is no
obstacle now in her way to become a holy religious; but
you will as far as you can, allow her to give her children
advice and direction, as often as possible under the cir
cumstances. Very respectfully yours in Christ, J. Flood, Sec.
It is plain, then, that Miss Kelly was the third to enter,
and if we may arrange the names in the order in which
the first three Sisters took their vows, we shall find that
even in their religious names they bore the seal of the
Holy Family : Sister Teresa of Jesus, Sister Mary Do
lores and Sister Joseph. But what is of more importance
they endeavored, in their social activities to spread the
spirit of the Holy Family by devoting their youthful
energies to the families of the poor, relieving temporal
needs when occasion demanded and leading the souls
of children and parents nearer to God, and making them
dearer to Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Modern social workers observe facts and chief among
them is that adverse social conditions have practically
destroyed the poor man's home. They try to meet this

THE NOVITIATE 63
situation by making some sort of a substitution for
home, — playgrounds where boys and girls can spend their
afternoons, and neighborhood-houses where they can
spend their evenings.
The school-teacher, the social uplifter and the police
man are frequently made to take the place of parents.
Millions are spent for parks and playgrounds and swim
ming pools and social centers and manual training schools
and everything that the heart of man can conceive toward
entertaining and holding together boys and girls till they
are sixteen years of age, but comparatively nothing is
spent on the home and the building up the family.
The Sisters of the Holy Family cultivated higher ideals
during their novitiate. They were taught that the real
problem was to restore the home, that the efficient social
worker is one who spends money so that poor men and
poor women may have decent rooms, copious light and
heat, and a place in the sun. The poor were asking for
bread, and they determined to respond with bread instead
of playgrounds and swimming-pools. Instead of work
ing at the symptoms of the disease, they were taught to
go to the cause. The evils of their day and of ours fre
quently originate in bad homes. To make the homes
decent, in a moral as well as a sanitary way, is to strike at
evil in its root. A nation without good homes is a nation
without patriotism; and a nation without patriotism will
soon cease to be a nation at all.
Nor was it alone for guidance in their work for others
that these good Sisters sought inspiration in the Holy
Family. They went back in spirit to the Home of Naz
areth in search of an exemplar of those virtues with
which they were to strive to adorn their own lives.
The Hidden Life at Nazareth, they were taught, is at
once the most mysterious and the most instructive event

64 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
in our Lord's whole wonderful career on earth. It is the
most mysterious because, according to all the canons of
human wisdom, He should have shown Himself to the
world. It is the most instructive because it is made up
of events of ordinary character, of the practice of virtues,
prayerfulness and laborious attention to common duties
which may easily be imitated by those that love Him.
With superhuman wisdom, even as a child of twelve
years, he confounded the Doctors of the Law. Even as
a child He could have shaken the foundation of worldly
wisdom and established a school of philosophy towards
which the wisdom-seekers of His day would turn for
enlightenment. But to teach us that union with God is
more important than learned discourses about God, He
remained hidden.
The Sisters found comfort in this thought, for their
own lives were to be hidden with Christ in God and con
sequently their aspirations were to be quite different from
those of worldlings. The world has an insatiable thirst
for human glory; they were to cultivate a desire to spread
God's glory. The world dreams of freedom even from
necessary restraint; they were to learn the nobility of
humble obedience. In meditating on the Holy Family
they often thought of the significance of these words:
"He was subject to them," and while they found in them
a lesson for the children whom they were to instruct in
the way of God, they did not miss the lesson that affected
them personally. They were not only to teach obedience ;
they were to learn how to obey.
In the Holy Family Community, as in all religious
orders, obedience is exacted with such rigor that, from a
purely human point of view, it is difficult to obey. But
the Religious have an altogether different point of view.
They see the Eternal Son of God obeying His creatures,

THE NOVITIATE 65
they know that all authority comes from God, and they
are able to do what of itself human nature rebels against;
fortified by the example and grace of Christ they accom
plish even the least wish of their God-given superiors.
Nor is that all. If it was the intention of the founders
of religious orders to have their subjects submissively
and unmurmuringly obedient, the inspiration of their own
lives, as superiors, was to be sought in the examples of
Mary and Joseph. No one understood more thoroughly
than Sister Dolores and Sister Teresa that in the Holy
Family of Nazareth the least was chosen as superior.
Christ was subject to Mary and Joseph, and Mary was
subject to Joseph. Joseph's superiority was, therefore,
a source of humiliation rather than of pride. If the Sis
ters of the Holy Family are taught to see God in their
superiors, the superiors are taught to see Christ in their
subjects. It is not difficult to obey when the superior
commands as Joseph commanded, with humility and
meekness. Briefly in the Holy Family of Nazareth the Sisters
found a school of perfect sanctity and of that proud
obedience and dignified submission which the world needs
so much. The life of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph was a
life of peace and love, of perfect simplicity and holiness,
of penance, of work and of prayer ! They learned, too,
that, at the appointed time, Jesus was "to do and to
teach" and their zeal prompted them to long for oppor
tunities to labor for others and to teach their little chil
dren to know and love and imitate the Divine Child of
Nazareth. During the novitiate year two new members joined the
Community. On Christmas Day, 1878, Miss Ann Maria
Tully, who had waited so long and patiently, consum
mated her ardent wish to devote herself to this field of

66 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
labor and joined the little band of 'novices.' Hereafter
the postulants who entered were to be known as Sisters
and Miss Tully became Sister Baptist. She would have
entered earlier had it not been for parental opposition.
It was to her mother that the Archbishop wrote the fol
lowing letter : San Francisco, January 6, 1876.
Dear Madam :
Either the Archbishop will have to call and see you or
you will rather kindly call and see the Bishop. We will
have a ten minutes' quiet and friendly talk about this
young vocation. I wish to speak to you as a brother to
a sister. I am about the parlor from 10 o'clock to 1 o'clock in
the daytime. If you could not come in the daytime, it
will do in the evening after 6:30. Tell the porter that I
have made an appointment with you.
Now, like a good child, please come.
Yours in Christ,
?I* J. S. Alemany,
Archbishop of San Francisco
These gentle words touched the mother and so on
Christmas Day, 1878, her daughter entered the Holy
Family Sisterhood.
The second postulant received during the year of novi
tiate was Kate McGovern. She entered on June 1, 1879,
and was the last to be received in the rented house on
Post Street. While the Sisters were receiving their reli
gious training a new convent on Hayes Street was in
course of construction. To this first convent we shall be
conducted in our next chapter to assist at the ceremony of
profession.

CHAPTER V

Spouses of Christ

piritual espousals are beyond the
comprehension of the worldly-minded;
but to those that consecrate themselves
to God by the three vows of religion, the
mystic union of the Soul with its Creator,
which such espousals imply, is at once
the motive of their action and, even on earth, its super
abundant reward. The Kingdom of Heaven is likened by
our Blessed Lord to a wedding feast which the King pre
pares for His Son. In the experiences of consecrated
virgins that wedding feast has its beginnings on earth.
They do not hear the voice of the Beloved, except in the
inner sanctuary of their souls, they do not behold Him
"leaping on the mountains like a roe or a young hart,"
but they know that they are consecrated to the Beloved
and they feel that the Beloved is enamored of them. All
human loves, that are not sanctified by supernatural mo
tive, they spurn. They sever even the sacred ties of
family affection whenever these impede their absolute
abandonment to their Heavenly Spouse.
To consecrated women, this idea of spiritual espousals
is cherished with an ardor that is beyond the comprehen
sion of seculars. Oftentimes when a Sister has taken her
vows and is granted the privilege of visiting with her
friends and relatives, she speaks with such ecstacy and
exultation of spirit about her 'wedding-day' that even her
brothers and sisters are mystified. They note an unusual

68 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
joy beaming in her eyes and can make no mistake about
her unmixed happiness, but they are unable, at times, to
rise to heights, where the air is too pure for human breath,
and appreciate the sentiments of one who has heard in
the depths of her soul the words of her Heavenly Spouse :
"Arise, make haste my love, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come,"1 and who in response to that call has knelt
before the altar of God to consecrate herself, body and
soul, to His service until death.
In the archives of the Holy Family Community there
is preserved a letter written by a Trappist monk, a cousin
of Father Prendergast, to Sister Dolores on the occasion
of her first vows. It is so admirably expressive of the
idea of espousals that we quote it in part :
"Had you just been married to a royal prince with full
right of almost immediate ascension to a throne, the
world would pronounce you the most fortunate of your
sex. Your distinction would excite the jealousy of thou
sands and your exalted rank would cover your family
with glory. But now that you are wedded to the King of
kings, what mortal tongue can speak worthily of your
dignity, a dignity which few enjoy and fewer comprehend?
And yet the Saints and Angels of God, courtiers of your
Heavenly Spouse, stand amazed at it. God grant that
you may daily increase in all the gifts of grace to the end,
so that you may hear the transporting voice of your
Beloved sounding in your ears between life and death:
'Come, my fair one, my dove! Come from the desert,
and you shall be crowned.' "
Such is the mystic interpretation of religious consecra
tion. The early Sisters of the Holy Family were not
privileged to consecrate themselves to God in this manner
until nearly eight years had elapsed since the day when
Miss Armer opened the first house of the Community.

SPOUSES OF CHRIST 69
They had, of course, consecrated themselves spiritually,
but before the Church would recognize their offering,
certain conditions had to be fulfilled, chief among which
was the entire year of preparation in the novitiate.
The novitiate was completed in September, 1879, but
the Sisters deemed it advisable to wait until they were
able to hold the ceremony in their new convent which at
the time was in course of construction. It was not there
fore until the Feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 1880, that
the five young ladies, who had been prepared by Father
Messea and Sister Teresa, were admitted to the vows.
The services began at the 10 o'clock Mass, His Grace,
the Most Reverend Archbishop Alemany officiating. He
was assisted by Rev. J. J. Prendergast, Rev. Fathers
Cummings, Harrington, Lagan and De Blieck S.J.
One by one the young ladies approached the altar and
knelt before the Archbishop. First in order of course
was Miss Elizabeth Armer. With deliberate voice, ex
pressive of firm determination of mind and ardent fervor
of heart she read the formula of consecration :
I, Elizabeth Armer, called in religion Sister Mary
Dolores, having carefully examined the Rules of the So
ciety of the Sisters of the Holy Family, and informed
myself of the obligations which the Sisters assume, hav
ing also humbly invoked the light of the Holy Ghost, in
order to ascertain the will of God in my regard, do now,
of my own free will, and in the presence of Your Grace,
Most Reverend Joseph Sadoc Alemany, Archbishop of
San Francisco, promise to observe the aforesaid Rules
and to faithfully fulfill the aforesaid obligations. And in
order to devote myself the more unreservedly to the
service of God, and to the service of the children and the
poor, I now vow to Almighty God, the Father, the Son
and the Holy Ghost, Poverty, Chastity and Obedience

70 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS

*

*, and I place myself and all my labors under
the protection of the Holy Family, the Divine Child, the
Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph.
In testimony of all of which, I hereunto affix my signa
ture this 19th day of March, 1880.
After pronouncing her vows, Miss Armer was no longer
Miss Armer; henceforth she was to be known as Sister
Mary Dolores. Then her companions, one after the
other, knelt before the Archbishop, pronounced the same
formula of consecration and assumed a new name. Mrs.
Ellen Javet became Sister Mary Magdalen; Catharine
Kelly, Sister Mary Joseph; Mary McKeon, Sister Mary
Augustine; and Catharine Block, Sister Mary Agnes.
It was a memorable day in the history of San Fran
cisco — that Feast of St. Joseph, 1880. It did not mark
the beginning of the work of the Holy Family Sisters,
but it was the consolidation of the new Religious Com
munity, and the consummation of Miss Armer's ambition.
Those who had the happiness to be present on the occa
sion spent the afternoon in company with the Sisters,
rejoicing with them and thanking God for having brought
the work to so glorious a completion. Among those
present were Mr. and Mrs. Richard Tobin, Mrs. Maria
Coleman, Mr. and Mrs. C. D. O'Sullivan, Mr. D. J.
Oliver, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Tobin, Dr. and Mrs. L.
Pawlicki, Dr. Cornelius Buckley, Dr. Gibbons, Mrs. C.
O'Connor, Mrs. Edward Moffat and Miss N. Sullivan.
It was a day of special joy for Sister Teresa. Now, she
told her friends, she would be relieved of her superior-
ship. Everything pointed naturally to Sister Dolores as
superior, and though in a subsequent election she was not
chosen unanimously — the votes were evenly divided be
tween herself and Sister Teresa — she was eventually
appointed by the Archbishop.

SISTER M. BAPTIST
(Upper Left)

SISTER MAGDALEN
(Upper Right)

SISTER M. JOSEPH
(Center)

SISTER M. AUGUSTINE
(Lower Left)

SISTER M. AGNES
(Lower Right)

SPOUSES OF CHRIST 71
Sister Teresa experienced something more than joy.
It was she who had guided her companions through the
year of novitiate and she who had chosen for the day of
their consecration the Feast of St. Joseph. Like her
patroness the Seraphic Teresa of Avila, Sister Teresa had
a tender devotion to the Guardian of the Holy Family
and when, on this memorable day, she was felicitated by
her friends and her mother, who was among those pres
ent, she referred all the glory to dear St. Joseph. We
can easily imagine her repeating to her Sisters in Religion
and to her friends who joined in the celebration of the
great feast, the words of St. Teresa :
"I took for my advocate and master the glorious St.
Joseph, recommended myself much to him; and up to
this time I cannot remember having asked him for any
thing which he has not obtained for me. Would that I
could persuade all men to prove by their own experience
the advantage of devotion to this glorious Saint, and thus
receive their share of the blessings which he obtains from
God ! I have never known any one, who was truly devout
to him, fail to advance rapidly in virtue ; for he assists in
a most special manner those who recommend themselves
specially to him. Oh that I could induce all to be devout
to this glorious Saint, from the experience I have of his
great power with God! For many years past I have
asked of him some favor on his Feast which he never
failed to obtain for me; unless, perhaps, what I asked
was not for my good." Certain it is, as we shall see in
subsequent chapters, St. Joseph was very good to the
Sisters of the Holy Family in general and to Sister Teresa
in particular.
If from the quietude of this little convent on Hayes
Street we look out into the busy city and study its activ
ities and its interests we shall find a telling confirmation

72 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
of our previous contention that the service of humanity
must be matured by religion, that we cannot in reason
speak of expressive Christianity unless we have some of
the principles of Christianity to express. The year 1880
was a turbulent one in the history of San Francisco. In
April a meeting of the Board of Supervisors was held and
the judiciary committee presented a report recommend
ing that steps be taken to remove the Mayor from office.
The charges were, that he had advised discontented men
to parade the streets, that he had threatened individuals
with mob-violence, that, under pretense of counseling the
vicious and turbulent against mob-violence, he had insid
iously suggested that they hold themselves in readiness
for bloodshed and the overthrow of lawful authority.
The report concluded with the words: "We have abun
dant reason to express our regret and the public indigna
tion at his conduct in filling the position to which we be
lieve an unfortunate occurrence elevated him, and in
which position his example and influence have been and
are more heinous, prejudicial and injurious to the com
munity than those of the brutal, degraded persons who
have been arrested and convicted for the unlawful acts
which he aided and abetted."
Whatever may be the truth or the falsity of these
charges, it is quite certain that between the prayerful
Sisters in the little convent on Hayes Street and the
prayerless individuals who were at the same time conspicu
ous in the life of the City there is so telling a contrast
that one may justly wonder why in the historical studies
of the period the criminals receive such attention while
Miss Armer and her companions are utterly overlooked.
On the one hand there was absolute consecration to the
service of God and humanity; on the other, an exploita
tion of humanity and an utter disregard for God. In the

SPOUSES OF CHRIST 73
convent there was peace and quietude; outside there was
agitation and crime. From the convent there was to issue
a band of women-workers whose services were rendered
doubly necessary by the neglect of those that should have
contributed something morally and socially uplifting to
the life of the City.
But let us return to the Holy Family Convent. Six
young ladies were now consecrated to God by the three
vows of religion. We cannot understand their subsequent
work, unless we fully appreciate this oblation of them
selves. The candidate for admission into a Religious Order
begins with what is called a vocation. Somehow she
seems to hear, sounding in the depths of her soul, the
words of the Savior: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell
what thou hast, and give to the poor and come follow
Me." The words are not uttered as a command; they
impose no obligation distinct from the ordinary observ
ance of the law; they constitute, rather, an invitation to
a higher life, a counsel, an advice to those who are en
lightened sufficiently to understand them and who are
generous enough to fulfill their conditions.
"Come, follow Me!" It is an exalted vocation. To
follow Christ, the greatest among the sons of men, the
center of the world's history, the most perfect, the grand
est, the noblest character that ever graced the earth; to
follow Christ, the Eternal Son of God, of Whom it was
written : "Ask of Me and I shall give thee the Gentiles
for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth
for thy possession," Christ, whom the beloved Disciple
saw in his Apocalyptic vision, who "had on His vestments
and on His thigh written, "King of kings and Lord of
lords" — this truly is an exalted vocation and capable of
firing the human heart with enthusiastic desire. He is

74 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
our King and deserves our allegiance. He has a Kingdom
which, unlike the kingdoms of earth, is founded on an
eternal rock. "It shall not pass away, but shall break to
pieces and consume all other kingdoms and itself shall
stand forever!" It has broken and consumed all other
kingdoms when they rose in revolt against it. It van
quished the kingdom of Paganism and the world saw the
children of Christ mount the capitol of Rome and plant
upon its highest pinnacle the banner of Jesus Christ. It
blasted the kingdom of Protestant revolt and left it
broken into a thousand principalities that are slowly but
surely approaching dissolution. It is now in a final strug
gle with the kingdom of intellectual pride and it will not
be long until this bubble is shattered and reduced to noth
ingness, and the world acknowledges that there is no King
but Christ the Lord !
Who would not follow Christ? Naturally enough we
ask that question, but there are different degrees of serv
ice. "Follow Me!" We hear the call and, as we listen,
there rises before our mental vision a little home in Naz
areth. Mother and Child have dwelt there for well-nigh
thirty years. They loved as only the Virgin Mother and
the Virgin Son could love. They rejoiced together, sor
rowed together, smiled and wept together. It is their
home, humble, yes, but still their home ! We see it and
recall a day of sorrow. Mary stands at the door. Jesus,
the Son, stands before her and looks into her tear-dimmed
eyes. He hears the sob which almost breaks her loving
heart. He presses her hand, embraces her fondly and
whispers the awful words : "Mother, goodbye !" There
is a thrill of anguish in every fibre of her being, but she is
brave. She knows that this is the valley of tears, that
such things must happen, and she echoes the awful words :
"Jesus, my Son, goodbye !"

SPOUSES OF CHRIST 75
He went away from the mother whom He loved be
cause He was about His Father's business. "If thou
wilt be perfect," He says to us as we gaze in wonder at
the picture, "follow Me! Leave father, mother, sisters,
brothers, friends, all that the heart clings to, for he that
despiseth not all these things cannot be my Disciple !"
This is the beginning of the higher service ; this is a voca
tion to a religious life.
"Follow Me!" There rises before our mental vision
another picture — a little hill called Golgotha, outside the
city of Jerusalem. It is noonday and an uncounted mob,
a wild, mad, murderous mob is seen pouring itself out
from the city. White with rage, it tosses to and fro.
Whipped to fury by the frenzied passions, it forms a vast
sea of humanity preparing to overwhelm the Man of
Sorrows and to swallow up the Just One. "Vau !" they
cry, and wag their heads. In the midst of it all, in the
midst of that sea of sorrows,, we see the Man against
whom the storm is raging. Man? No, a worm and no
man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people !
We hear the sob of His Sacred Heart as His mind lingers
on the words of the prophet: "Like dogs they have sur
rounded Me, gnashing their teeth !" We also hear those
other words, strange, powerful, Divine words — "If thou
wilt be perfect, follow Me !" This is the consummation
of the higher service. Religious life means crucifixion
and something of the ignominy and shame that accom
panied our Lord's Crucifixion.
"Follow Me ! You will find my footprints stained
with blood. You will find my well-beloved Mother on
the way and if your heart should fail, O turn your eyes to
Her for comfort and for strength !
"Follow Me !" The call is holy, it is sublime, it is
heavenly, it is Divine ! And it has been heeded and still

76 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
is heeded by countless multitudes. Read the records of
the Christian world, study the parts of the heroes and of
the heroines in that great tragedy which we call history,
and you will find that thousands, yea, and millions, in
every age and in every clime — the rich and the poor, kings
and their subjects, princes and peasants — heard the call,
understood it literally, and literally fulfilled its conditions.
They left all — father, mother, country, home ; they broke
the cords that bound their hearts to things of earth ; they
shouldered their cross and, following Christ, climbed even
to the summit of Calvary and there, with a magnanimity
as admirable as it is to the worldly-wise unintelligible,
they crucified themselves with the three nails of Poverty,
Chastity and Obedience.
When our Lord was in His Agony, the High Priests
passed by and wagged their heads, saying: "Come down
from the Cross !" The soldiers took up the cry and mock
ingly murmured : "Come down from the Cross!" Those
that passed by paused long enough to echo the words of
insult: "Come down from the Cross!"
So with the Sisters, the struggle is not all over when
they take their vows. Poverty is against the spirit of
the world, and so the world scoffs and says : "Come down
from the Cross !" Chastity is against the inclinations of
the flesh, and the flesh rebels at times and murmurs:
"Come down from the Cross!" Obedience goes counter
to the spirit of the rebellious minions of fallen Lucifer,
whose banner bore the inscription: "We will not serve."
And so the spirit of rebellion joins voices with the other
two and cries : "Vau ! Come down from the Cross !" The
Sisters do not worry. They gain their strength from Him
who has called them and, with His grace, they hope to
remain on the Cross until death ! This is what is meant
by following Christ; it is a sacrifice even to crucifixion.

SPOUSES OF CHRIST 77
But what is the use of such sacrifice? That is the or
dinary question. We are naturally utilitarian and, even
in religious matters, we seek some kind of utility. Even
if this world were the world and this life the life, the
good wrought by those who follow Christ in the way of
evangelical perfection would be inestimable and incal
culable. The greatest evil in the world today, even in
the purely natural order, is selfishness. Self-seeking, the
desire of self-aggrandizement, may be considered the root
of all civil and social and domestic disorder. Why are
families being disrupted and the children thrown on the
streets or into institutions of charity? Because selfish
ness is creating unnatural fathers and mothers. Why
does the social earthquake threaten? Because among
the mighty and the down-trodden, self holds undisputed
sway. Why are the nations devising vain things? It is
selfishness provoked by selfishness.
That there are men and women in the world, who make
profession of denying self, who, in order to be faithful
to that profession, seal it with life-long vows — this it is
that keeps before the world and, in some way, forces on
the attention of the world the only principle that can
secure stability of government and prosperity among all
the people.
But this world is not the world, this life is not the life.
We have a higher destiny than to die and be the food
of worms. We were made for God and, to attain to
God, we must serve Him. We must at least keep within
the limits of the law. Our weak nature tries to find ex
cuses, it is sometimes suggested that it is impossible to
observe the law; but when we see our brothers and our
sisters, men and women like ourselves, rising above the
law, leading lives of evangelical perfection, we are en
couraged, our weakness is strengthened, the vain excuses

78 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
are put aside, we recognize the power of God's grace
and, upheld by the example of our consecrated brothers
and sisters, we serve God faithfully unto death.
Nor is it by example alone that religious teach the
world. Think of the glorious Sons of St. Francis. We
revere their memory here in California, because they
were the pioneer builders of the West, the pathfinders,
the friends of the friendless Indian, the picturesque
padres of the past. They were all that and more, — they
were disciples of Jesus Christ, or, rather, because they
were His Disciples, because they heard His call "Follow
Me !" and generously responded, they were able to do
what nature could not do, — they won the human heart
to God and instilled in the breast of sage and savage the
love of Christ and of Christian virtue. Think of the
magnificent work of the children of St. Dominic, of St.
Benedict, and of St. Ignatius, the heroic devotedness of
religious women who will be found wherever human mis
ery is found, administering to the sick, cheering the aged,
consoling the sorrowful and teaching the young the solid
principles of Christian morality. Think of all this, the
Divine call, the heroism necessary to respond, the sac
rifices to be met, the good accomplished and conferred
on country as well as upon the Church — and you will be
able to appreciate, in a way at least, how magnificent,
how inspiring, how glorious is the event of the founda
tion of the Holy Family Sisterhood in San Francisco.
It gives to our City the rare honor of having contributed
to the Church a select body of religious women, of hav
ing increased the number of those who glory in following
Christ whithersoever He leads them, even though it be
to the top of Golgotha and to Crucifixion.

PART SECOND
* *
How They Began to Do
and to Teach

"AND SITTING DOWN, HE CALLED THE TWELVE
AND SAYETH TO THEM: IF ANY MAN DESIRE TO
BE FIRST, HE SHALL BE THE LAST OF ALL, AND
MINISTER OF ALL. AND TAKING A CHILD, HE SET
HIM IN THE MIDST OF THEM. WHOM WHEN HE
HAD EMBRACED, HE SAYETH TO THEM: WHOSO
EVER SHALL RECEIVE ONE SUCH CHILD IN MY
NAME, RECEIVETH ME, AND WHOSOEVER RE
CEIVETH ME, RECEIVETH NOT ME BUT HIM THAT
SENT ME." MARK IX, 34-36.

CHAPTER I

Early Activities

ANY PEOPLE WERE SURPRISED AT THE
success of Miss Armer's work. Eight
years had passed since the humble seed
of a religious community, sown by her
in 1872 and trampled in the dust of
humiliation until 1874, took root and
flowered into full-grown perfection in the general profes
sion of 1880. God had regarded with favor the ambi
tions and the trials, the toils and the failures of His
servants and, in due time, blessed their efforts with suc
cess. No good work is ever completed in a day or month
or year. It took eight years to give even the semblance
of a beginning to the work as it was conceived in the mind
of Father Prendergast. Still these eight years of trial
and disappointment were far from being inactive. Miss
Armer and her companions, though few in number and
harassed by difficulties, were ever ready to respond to the
call of distress or to undertake any new work that pre
sented itself. A study of their activities from 1872 till
1880 will reveal a more than human energy and a labori-
ousness that was defective in one direction only — that of
excess. We have already referred in a general way to the
social service work of the devoted Sisters. Their visits
to the poor, the care with which they attended first to
temporals and then to spirituals, their readiness to serve
even the most abandoned, as witnesses Miss Catharine

82 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Kelly's all-night vigil with an unfortunate denizen of one
of the dens of hell, their patience under trials occasioned
by the first temptation of the Order, their self-denial and
prayerfulness, their spirit of poverty and submissive
obedience — all these virtues, both active and passive,
were admirable and fruitful unto good; but they do not
reveal the entire history of the first eight years. There
were other works which, though, to all appearances,
undertaken casually and as occasions demanded were,
in reality, planned by Father Prendergast and Miss
Armer from the beginning and were destined to crystal
lize into the special functions of the Sisterhood.
Foremost among the additional works was the sys
tematic teaching of Sunday School. San Francisco in the
'Seventies was in absolute need of the services of those
who would go in search of the wanderers and bring them
into the Church for instruction and edification. Thus
the Sisters' Catechetical work which, in order of time, pre
ceded the social service activities was, in its development,
one of their most consoling fruits. They had taught in
the Cathedral Parish from 1872. It was not, however,
until 1878 that their efforts were extended to other par
ishes. In that year the Rev. John J. Harrington, of St.
Francis Parish, asked for and obtained their services as
directors of his Sunday School. Soon the Sisters were in
demand wherever new parishes were established and their
Sunday School work has since grown into such propor
tions and has borne such abundant fruit that it merits
special and detailed treatment in this narrative. We
shall return to the study of the Sisters' Sunday School
work in a subsequent chapter.
Another phase of their work calls for special mention
now that we are concerned with the first years of the
Community. Miss Armer was always fervently devout

EARLY ACTIVITIES 83
to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and one of her
favorite occupations as a mere child was to help the ladies
who took care of the altars in the Cathedral. In 1878
she asked and obtained permission to take over this work
in all its details, and until her last illness cherished it as
one of her greatest privileges. Her taste for the beautiful
and her sense for the proper in everything that pertained
to the service of God and the adornment of the Sanc
tuary, surpassed only by her fervent piety, was shared by
Sister Teresa. The other Sisters considered it a rare
privilege to be assigned to this work whenever through
sickness or pressing occupations Sister Dolores and Sister
Teresa were unable to attend to it in person.
When the care of the Cathedral Sanctuary was first
given to the Holy Family Sisters, there was a scarcity of
flowers in the City; but they knew of a nursery far out on
the Mission Road and thither twice a week in the early
hours of the morning they made their way, secured a
basketful of flowers, returned in time for Mass and
breakfast, and were ready at the usual hour for their
regular morning's work. After dinner, during the time
appointed for recreation, they carried their flowers to the
Cathedral and arranged them with artistic and devo
tional taste. They inaugurated the custom of using nat
ural, instead of artificial, flowers for church decorations.
Nor were they satisfied with flowers. Sister Dolores
and Sister Teresa needed vases and candelabra and what
they could not obtain in the homes of their friends, they
secured in downtown stores and charged their purchases
to willing benefactors. Many beautiful ornaments were
thus obtained.
While the Sisters were thus engaged in adorning the
altars for Divine service and instructing the young in the
truths of religion, they were called upon to undertake

84 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
another form of charitable work. Archbishop Alemany
had always at heart the establishment of a Day Home.
There was great need for such an institution at the time.
Many women were compelled by adverse circumstances
to go out to work. If they could but leave their little
ones in the care of responsible persons who would guard
them from the dangers, both temporal and spiritual, to
which children are exposed especially in a cosmopolitan
seaport like San Francisco, they would be free from one
great anxiety. The time was ripe for the realization of
the Archbishop's desire, and the workers, though few in
number, were available. A house was rented at 525
Post Street, which suited the purpose admirably well and
the Sisters began their new work.
About the same time we find in the Community annals
this entry: 'Another Day Home started.' "The Rev. J.
Harrington, pastor of St. Francis' Parish," the account
continues, "has been anxious for our Sisters to open a
Day Home in his parish which has been growing very ex
tensively and is made up of a cosmopolitan population.
We are, therefore, looking for a suitable house in that
vicinity. "Father Harrington is a most zealous and tireless
worker, and he has observed with growing anxiety and
perplexity that in many homes where the mothers are
absent during the day, the children who are nine and ten
years of age are being kept home from school to care for
the younger members of the family, which, of course, is a
serious detriment to their own well-being and advance
ment." Solicitude for the little ones of the Fold has ever been
a characteristic of the Church and so, Sister Dolores de
cided to take steps as quickly as possible to assist in this
cause. The Sisters selected a large stone-front house at

EARLY ACTIVITIES 85
1413 Powell Street, occupied at one time by General
Cobb and his family. The purchase price of five thousand
dollars was guaranteed by the Hibernia Bank and through
the kindness of Judge Robert Tobin the Sisters secured
easy terms of payment.
Now that the property was secured it was necessary to
remodel the house for purposes of a Day Home. The
Sisters had no money in their treasury, but they had
many friends who came to their rescue, as the following
newspaper account of the re-modelling of the Powell
Street Home bears eloquent testimony:
"As proof of the appreciation in which this good
work, — the Day Home, — is regarded by the public, it is
only necessary to state that all the necessary alterations
and repairs to adapt the building to its destined purpose,
and which, at a low estimate, would cost two thousand
dollars, was the free and voluntary offering of friends of
the Institution, many of whom were not Catholics, but
have generous and noble hearts. Special thanks are due
to the following gentlemen :
Mr. Parry was General Superintendent.
Lumber was contributed by Messrs. Morrison, McKin-
non, Preston, Dow and Holms.
Mill work. — Messrs. McDonald & Co.
Plumbing and Gas-fitting. — Messrs. McNally, Hawkins,
Reiley and Day.
Painting. — Messrs. Gallagher, McPheeley, Deferrie, St.
Denis, Bradley, O' Conn ell, Gadley, Cahil, Lydon and
Cooney.
Whitening. — Messrs. Quigly and Lee.
Carpentry. — Messrs. Parry, Slaven, Noonan, Oak, Allen,
Binet and McMillan.
Roofing. — Messrs. Larkin and Flaherty.
Bricklaying. — Mr. Mitchell.

86 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Laborers. — Messrs. Daly, Noonan, Reddington, O'Con
nor, Kurvan and Stone.
Drayage. — Messrs. McDevitt, Hennessy and Flynn.
The cost of the property is $5000.00. It will be grad
ually paid for from the proceeds of a fair which will be
held very soon."
The sum of $4,500 was raised. It enabled the Sisters
to pay off their debt on the newly acquired property.
Another benefit was given under the auspices of St.
Brigid's Parish, of which we have the following account:
"The concert and entertainment held last evening at
Great Western Hall, in aid of the Sisters of the Holy
Family, was a decided success. The choir and orchestra
of St. Brigid's Church rendered a number of excellent
selections. The Misses Silvia sung a duet "Hunter's
Song" in a charming manner. The reading from Mary
Stuart by Miss Chielovich was one of the gems of the
evening. Dr. Belinge and Mr. Nesfield sang with good
effect "The Moon Has Raised Her Lamp." Then came
the drama of "Cinderella" — Miss Jennie Thomas, a
young miss but twelve years of age, in the title role. Her
part and that of the others were well played. The con
cert netted several hundred dollars and did credit to all
engaged in it."
During the early days and during the years that have
since passed, the Sisters have never been without means
to conduct their work. This particular Day Home on
Powell Street has continued with ever increasing numbers
of children even to our own day. Some years the aggre
gate number of children housed and supplied with a
noonday meal, besides refreshments in the morning and
afternoon, has been as high as 50,000.
In view of this great number of children cared for in
one Day Home alone, we naturally ask: "How can the

EARLY ACTIVITIES 87
Sisters support so many?" To answer such a question we
must bear in mind the truth of what Mr. John D. Rocke
feller wrote: "I have been surprised to learn how far a
given sum of money has gone in the hands of priests and
nuns and how really effective is their use of it. I fully
appreciate the splendid service done by other workers in
the field, but I have seen the organization of the Catholic
Church secure better results with a given sum of money
than any other church organization is accustomed to
secure from the same expenditure." This statement is
most emphatically true of the Sisters of the Holy Family.
Their means are limited; their good works unlimited.
Their friends and benefactors have the comfort of know
ing that what they give goes very far. But in the early
days with which we are at present concerned, the Sisters
had to make frequent appeals to their friends in order to
remind them that, though they had confidence in Divine
Providence, they knew that God often uses human agents
to bring out His designs. The following appeal, sent out
from the Convent on Post Street, indicates the extent of
their work and the fearlessness with which they sought
for help.
To the Friends and Benefactors of the Poor:
In appealing again to your sympathy and charity in
behalf of the struggling father, the widow and the little
children, we desire to lay before you a brief statement
of our work, and of the disposition made in the year
past, of the means you have placed in our hands.
From the 1st of September, 1878, we have given in
charity three thousand, five hundred and eighty-three
dollars and sixty-five cents ($3,583.65).
This sum represents the proceeds of two lectures, col
lections made by us in some of the churches, and from

88 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
house to house, and liberal donations from a few tried
friends of our Institute and Mission.
We have besides distributed a large quantity of
clothing. We have incidentally sought and found em
ployment for some persons who applied to us for help
in that way, and we have endeavored to rescue the
children of careless parents from the life of ignorance
and vice upon which they were entering, and to which,
without our timely intervention, they seemed to be
hopelessly doomed.
Moreover, we have lately opened at 525 Post St.
a Creche or Day Home, where parents who go out to
work in the morning, may leave their little ones until
they return at night.
To assist us in our work and enable us to continue
and enlarge it, we once more solicit your generous
co-operation, Friends and Benefactors of the Poor.
The Sisters of the Holy Family,
525 Post Street.
We need not say that the friends of the Sisters
responded generously and that the Sisters made good
use of the donations received, but it may be well to
remind the reader of the fact that, in spite of the multi
plicity of work for the children of the City, there was
no diminution of charitable offices for the adult members
of poor families. Their appeal was for the struggling
father and widow as well as for the little children and
in securing work for those in need they showed their
belief in the principle that the best way to help the poor
is to help them to help themselves.
It must not be supposed, however, that the Sisters had
no human comforts. Both in the Day Homes and in the
Sunday Schools they have always made provision for

EARLY ACTIVITIES 89
two special celebrations, the Thanksgiving Dinner —
chiefly for the Day Home children — and the Christmas
Entertainments for both Day Home and Sunday School
children. The first Thanksgiving Dinner was given in 1878 at
the Home on Post Street. About twenty-five children
were present to enjoy a kingly spread made possible by
the generosity of the proprietors of the California Mar
ket, and daintily prepared and seasoned with love by the
companions of Miss Armer. It was the beginning of
a custom that has assumed great importance as an
annual event.
Christmas entertainments were begun that same year.
The Holy Family Sisters seem to catch something of
the spirit of Christmas as they endeavor to bring into
the minds of the little children thoughts of the joys and
blessings that have come to the world through the Divine
Child of Bethlehem, of the graces He communicates to
us year after year, and of the goodness and mercy poured
out upon ourselves and our families through the Holy
Infant still living to make intercession for us. That is
the secret of a merry Christmas, and that is the secret
of the successful Christmas entertainments in the Day
Homes and in the Sunday Schools conducted by the
Sisters of the Holy Family. The day is made holy, and,
because holy — happy.
The first Christmas Tree Festival was held in 1878.
An entertainment was given by the children of the Day
Home in the presence of many members of the clergy,
friends of the Sisters and benefactors of the children.
The tree had been handsomely decorated by generous
ladies, friends of the Community, and laden with beau
tiful and useful gifts. Pleasure beamed from every eye,
and each little heart beat fast with joy as Santa Claus

90 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
bounded forth, attired in his glorious snow-tipped red
regalia, greeting them most heartily and wishing them all
the joys of Christmas-tide. It was a right royal time for
them all, and there was none so small that was forgotten.
Clothing was distributed by Father Prendergast, and the
Christmas gifts by the ably impersonated Santa Claus.
Some of the children received entire outfits of clothing.
Sister Dolores wished to extend the joys of Christmas
to the members of her Community and, during the eve
ning recreation, she gave them an unique surprise. There
was a brilliantly-lighted Christmas tree in the Community
room. Beneath it, on a table specially prepared, was a
collection of presents for the Sisters. To their great
pleasure and amusement, too, they received Christmas
presents of a useful, though homely, character. Dusters,
dust-pans, scrubbing-brushes, brooms, pails, etc., for the
different charges in the Convent, were distributed with
telling effect. But what was still more highly valued,
the Sisters received permission to attend Midnight Mass
in the Notre Dame Convent.
Such is a brief suggestion of the early activities of the
Sisters. Like earnest soldiers they rose according to
rule at 4:45, o'clock each morning and after an hour's
quiet prayer in their chapel, they went out to Mass at
the old Cathedral. Then, after a simple breakfast, they
went about doing good, responding to the calls of poverty,
relieving the sick, comforting the dying and, during it
all, retaining that joyfulness of countenance and sweet
ness of disposition that bring sunshine into the very
gloomy world and warmth into the hearts of those that
suffer and are heavily burdened.

FIRST HOLY FAMILY CONVENT
Hayes and Polk Streets, San Francisco

CHAPTER II
More Rapid Strides
NGELS OF CHARITY TO OTHERS  TO THE
sick, the poor, and the little children —
the Holy Family Sisters had been neg
lectful of their own comforts and con
veniences; they lived in rented houses,
which they shared with the children of
the Day Homes, they had none of the consolations so
eagerly sought after by religious, such as a devotional
chapel, a large community room, a library, a spacious
dormitory. When, however, the Community began to
take its place among the regularly established diocesan
institutions, the Sisters looked forward to a permanent
convent-home, or rather, they were forced to look to such
an apparently personal matter by their ever watchful
director, Father Prendergast. He knew that they would
be more efficient if they had the advantages of a regular
home. In the rented house they had to accommodate
themselves, as best they could, to unconvent-like surround
ings. In a regular convent of their own, they could enjoy
all the advantages of religious life and go forth to their
labors with greater alacrity and cheerfulness. Human
nature needs human comforts, even in a convent, but the
comforts are not, in any way, suggestive of luxury; they
are mainly of a religious character and are intended as a
help to greater efficiency.
His Grace, the Most Reverend Archbishop Alemany,
agreed with Father Prendergast and, on March 7, 1879,

92 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
sent the following touching appeal to all the parish
priests of his Archdiocese:
Rev. Dear Sir :
For a long time the Sisters of the Holy Family have
not only visited the sick and procured Christian education
for young children, but they have also charitably col
lected monthly alms with which they have constantly
relieved the most pressing necessities of the poor, at
least as far as their means would allow. In addition to
this, they have cheerfully consented to take charge of
what is called a Creche or Day Home for children, to
whose trusty hands the mothers may confide their little
ones while they go out to work. Such an institution is
found most useful and necessary in large cities, and the
Sisters have carefully attended to the wants of this for
a considerable time. But, having to rent a house, they
neither have room enough for the increasing number of
children, nor can they well afford to use for rent much of
what they collect for the poor.
In view of this, they petitioned to be allowed a fair
from the whole city, in order to be able to secure a place
of their own in a central location; and the Council of
the Diocese have deemed their request reasonable, and
have advised that they may hold such fair for a limited
number of days. A great many most respectable ladies,
earnestly interested in this mission of charity, have cheer
fully tendered their services for this fair. You will,
therefore, announce from the altar, on next Sunday, the
above proposition and encourage the good work by
enlisting the sympathy and charity of those under your
charge. Yours truly in Christ,
?5* Joseph Sadoc, O. P.,
Archbishop of San Francisco

MORE RAPID STRIDES 93
Pastors and people responded to the appeal of the
Archbishop with generous liberality. The magnificent
sum of $16,000. was realized. Among the workers to
whom the fair owed its success, we find the names of San
Francisco's most prominent Catholic families, of women
who were always first and foremost in every charitable
endeavor for the betterment, spiritual and physical, of
the growing metropolis: Mrs. Richard Tobin, Mrs.
Robert Tobin, Mrs. C. D. O'Sullivan, Mrs. P. J. White,
Mrs. Dr. Pawlicki, Mrs. John Dillon, Mrs. B. O'Connor,
Mrs. McNamara, Mrs. Rosecrans, Mrs. M. Coleman,
Mrs. Con. O'Connor, Mrs. J. Regan, Mrs. Ponton and
Miss Zoe Cobb, Mrs. Koopneachap, Mrs. Hill and Mrs.
Powers, Mrs. Perrault, Mrs. Crowley, Miss Fleming,
Mrs. Loughborough, Mrs. P. Donahue, Miss Golden
and Mrs. Myles D. Sweeney.
These devoted ladies did more than lend their time
and efforts to make the benefit a success; they sent in
their personal checks and thus increased the sum realized
on the fair to such an extent that the Sisters secured a
desirable site on Hayes Street near Polk and work on
the new convent was begun at once. It was completed
early in January, 1880. In the annals of the Community
we find entered in the handwriting of Sister Dolores the
following brief, but characteristic, account of the opening
services :
"January 11, 1880 — The first Mass was celebrated in
our dear little chapel by our dearly beloved Father and
Founder, Very Rev. J. J. Prendergast, V. G. The same
afternoon our convent and home were dedicated by His
Grace, Most Rev. Joseph S. Alemany, Archbishop of
San Francisco. An eloquent sermon was delivered by
Rev. Fr. Prendergast followed by Benediction of the
Most Blessed Sacrament. We had the great happiness

94 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
of having the Blessed Sacrament for the night, and next
morning Holy Mass was again offered."
In his sermon Father Prendergast reviewed the work
that had been accomplished by the Holy Family Sisters
and, looking into the future, spoke hopefully of the work
that was still to be accomplished and of the growth that
was in store for the then small Community. In re
ferring to the trials of the first few years he said: "Let
me quote these lines taken from the life of St. Alphonsus
de Liguori — 'The new Institute will not stand, you say;
if it comes from God it will stand, in spite of all storms.
If it does not come from God, it will fall, and then what
harm can it do you? One should imagine that the rise
of those beneficent associations — religious orders and
congregations — would be hailed with joy by a community
which has so many needs and feels so many woes, but
we must not forget that the world crucified its Savior.
But the black clouds and the angry storms are not eter
nal; the cloud breaks, the storm is spent; the sun sheds
its light again on the world, the elements rest, the earth
is at peace. Where are the over-wise people of those
centuries? Has any one built a monument in their honor?
Have their names been written on brass or marble or
graven in characters of living gratitude on the hearts of
men? The wave of oblivion has covered their memories
forever; but the silent victims of their insensate opposi
tion live, respected, in many lands crowned with glories
and blessed by many a soul in its dying hour.' "
The zealous priest had reason to speak with such
ardor. Some, indeed, had said that his new Institute
could not stand. They had gone farther than that and
chided him as a dreamer, telling him of the impossibility
of founding a religious order in San Francisco and even
hinting at the folly of it all; but with St. Alphonsus, he

MORE RAPID STRIDES 95
persevered and lived to see his Order blessed by God,
in a flourishing condition, and with brilliant prospects for
growth and expansion.
The dedication of the Hayes Street Convent was fol
lowed by the dedication of the re-constructed Day Home
on Powell Street. This latter ceremony took place on
February 27th, 1881. Father Prendergast again offi
ciated, assisted by Reverend J. Harrington. A large
number of parishioners of St. Francis' district were pres
ent at the ceremonies and listened with rapt attention to
the interesting sermon preached by Father Prendergast.
He alluded to the rules governing the new Community,
and said in part : "While aiming first at their own perfec
tion, the Sisters of the Holy Family shall endeavor to
aid the parish priests in extending spiritual and corporal
assistance to all classes of persons. The children of neg
ligent, indifferent or irreligious parents, it shall be their
primary duty to seek, become acquainted with, visit, in
struct and prepare for the sacraments. Where no other
provision exists for the purpose, they shall open Day
Homes for the accommodation of the children of moth
ers, whom necessity compels to work during the day,
and they shall watch over the little ones with maternal
affection and care.
"Every other occupation or engagement," he added,
"however excellent it may be in itself, incompatible with
a systematic and effectual care of every individual of
the two classes described, shall be unhesitatingly avoided
by the Sisters. They must remember always that they
serve God and their neighbor best, not by undertaking
many things, but by doing well that which they are
called to do.
"To create a fund, the Sisters may receive the dona
tions of the benevolent and even solicit subscriptions

96 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
from house to house and have a sermon or lecture once a
year for the benefit of their charitable works."
With their new convent completed and their Powell
Street Day Home so admirably equipped for their work
the Sisters had reason to rejoice and to thank God for
His goodness to them, but a far greater cause of joy
and thanksgiving was the loyalty of their beloved Father
Prendergast. Still there were some things that were
missing even after they were housed in the Hayes Street
Convent ; they had not the privilege of assisting at daily
Mass in their own chapel. Every day, including Sundays,
they went out to St. Ignatius Church, until February 9,
1882, when permission was granted by His Grace, the
Archbishop, to have the Holy Sacrifice celebrated once
a week in their own Convent chapel and Benediction of the
Most Blessed Sacrament 'occasionally.' On January 7
of that same year, they had received permission to reserve
the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel. This cheered the
Sisters, for with each new privilege granted they were
given reason to hope that, in time, all the privileges of
the older religious communities would be shared by the
Holy Family Sisters. It was the last of the many bene
factions of Archbishop Alemany to the Holy Family
Sisters. On February 2, 1885, his resignation having
been accepted by the Holy See, the saintly Archbishop,
accompanied by his coadjutor, Archbishop Riordan, vis
ited the community, to comfort the Sisters in their distress
at his expected departure. He loved their work and held
in high esteem the founder and the first Sisters who had
struggled so long and so faithfully for the poor of his
flock. In the important matter of confessors, there was, until
the late 'Eighties, a similarly unusual situation. They
were not privileged to go to confession at home; even

MORE RAPID STRIDES 97
when, at the beginning of the Sisters' novitiate, the Rev.
Charles Messea, S. J., was appointed Spiritual Director
he was not their confessor. The Sisters went to the
Cathedral to Father Prendergast. And when, in 1880,
Father Raffo, S. J., was appointed to succeed Father
Prendergast as confessor, it was with the understanding
that "the Sisters go to confession to Father Raffo in his
confessional at St. Ignatius Church, at the time most
suitable to the good Father." The Sisters continued this
practice of going to confession in the church for many
years. When Archbishop Riordan succeeded to the See of San
Francisco he was asked to give the annual benefit lecture
for the Holy Family Convent. He acceded graciously
to the request. It was to be his first public appearance
in this City. The Sisters were delighted to have this
special honor, and they secured the Grand Opera House
for the occasion. "Luther and the Reformation," was
the subject chosen by the gifted Archbishop.
The importance of providing for the little children of
the Day Homes, the interest universally shown in the
work of the Holy Family Sisters, the subject itself, and
the desire of the people of San Francisco to see and hear
their new Archbishop, united to justify the belief that the
appeal would be unprecedentedly successful. No one was
disappointed. The Grand Opera House was crowded to
the fullest capacity of its main floor and galleries. Many
could not obtain admission. Archbishop Riordan was
introduced by the Most Rev. Archbishop Alemany and
applauded most heartily by the enthusiastic audience.
About forty priests of the diocese were seated on the
stage, and needless to say, the Archbishop did full justice
to his theme in a lecture that lasted two hours and was
replete with wonderful oratory and erudition.

98 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Of the many other benefits given for the Sisters during
this period of growth there is one that merits special
mention. The Sisters' faithful physician, Dr. L. Pawlicki,
a native of Poland and a veteran of the Crimean War,
used his influence to secure the services of Madame
Helena Modjeska, who was making a tour of America
at the time. Early in 1883 a benefit was given by this
noble, tender-hearted woman for the Sisters and their
little children. A matinee, held at the Grand Opera
House, on Mission Street, near Third, on Washington's
Birthday, was a grand financial success as well as quite
a social event.
We read that later, on August 8, 1883, Madame Mod
jeska visited St. Francis Day Home. The children's
songs of welcome and the following address, by one of
their number, bespoke the pleasure that the day gave
them: "With joy the children of the Day Home greet you,
their kind benefactress, and thank you for your visit,
which gives them an opportunity of telling of their grati
tude. But we promise that it will be more lasting than
mere words, and when you are far distant from our city,
you can feel assured that the prayers of the little children
whom you have so generously aided, will constantly fol
low you, and we know that our dear Lord will be attentive
to our prayers for you, for He has said: "Suffer the
little children to come unto Me for of such is the Kingdom
of Heaven."
In 1885 the Community had so increased in numbers
that the Hayes Street Convent was no longer capable of
affording the conveniences necessary for efficient work.
Accordingly, the Archbishop told the Sisters to watch for
a desirable piece of property for another and greater Con
vent. As is customary in such circumstances, they com-

THE MOTHER HOUSE, SAN FRANCISCO

MORE RAPID STRIDES 99
mitted their need to the care of St. Joseph, and obtained
permission from the Archbishop to purchase, when the
opportunity arrived. With the advice of their beloved
Father Prendergast, the Sisters secured a piece of property
on Franklin Street ; but when the Archbishop returned he
expressed his dissatisfaction with the site and urged the
Sisters to secure another and better location. They re
newed their prayers to St. Joseph, making, with great
fervor, a novena preparatory to the Feast of the Pat
ronage of this great Provider of the Holy Family. On
the Wednesday during the Octave, April 22, 1891, their
prayers were answered. Quite unexpectedly the matter
was settled in their favor. The lot on the Northeast
corner of Hayes and Fillmore Streets was acquired for
S32,500.00. His Grace immediately engaged Mr. Charles
Devlin to draw the plans and submit them to him as early
as possible. A few weeks later, through the intercession
of St. Joseph, a purchaser for the Franklin Street property
was found.
It was one thing, however, to have the property and
quite another to be in a position to build a convent that
would answer the needs of the growing community. For
this purpose funds were sought, in different ways, by
the friends of the Sisters and voluntary offerings poured
in from the many who appreciated their work.
On the night of October 6, 1892, a Grand Bazaar
opened at the Mechanics' Pavilion. It continued for ten
days and the ladies of the various city parishes had charge
of the booths. No detailed account of the event has been
preserved, but the amount received — sixteen thousand
dollars — shows the kindly spirit of the laity and clergy
towards the Holy Family Sisters. A week later the foun
dation for the new convent was laid and the building
went on without delay.

100 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
His Grace, Archbishop Riordan, appointed November
6, 1893, as the day for the Dedication. On that day,
exactly twenty-one years after the foundation of the
Order, the new Convent, which has since served as the
Mother House of the Community, was opened and dedi
cated to the Holy Family. His Grace, the Most Rev.
Archbishop Riordan, performed the ceremony, offered
Holy Mass and preached an eloquent sermon. The
Cathedral choir furnished the music. A large number of
priests and members of the different religious orders were
present with many friends and benefactors. Benediction
of the Most Blessed Sacrament was given in the after
noon by the Rev. J. J. Prendergast, V. G., who also
preached an impressive sermon on the "Religious State."
The choir from St. Francis Church was in attendance.
The convent, a large and substantial building, was greatly
admired by all and all seemed to rejoice in the manifesta
tion of God's goodness to the Sisters.
As soon as they had settled down in their new convent,
they had the Hayes and Polk Street building remodelled
to serve the purposes of a Day Home. It took the place
of the temporary Home on Franklin Street, and on March
20, 1894, was dedicated and placed under the Patronage
of the Sacred Heart. This Home remained in use until
the Fire of 1906. But we must not anticipate. From
November 6, 1872, to November 6, 1893, the Holy
Family Community had made rapid strides. Their first
rented home had given way to an imposing structure, the
Community had grown in numbers from two to twenty-
five, six of whom were novices, and the opposition that
greeted their zealous and charitable efforts in the begin
ning had been changed into sincere admiration and
generous support. Sister Dolores had lived to enjoy
success after arduous labors and to reap the fruits of

MORE RAPID STRIDES 101
perseverance amid untold hardships and trials. She was
justly proud of her new convent and was particularly
anxious to make its chapel a very gem of religious taste
and devotion. She succeeded. The chapel is a monument
to her love for the beautiful and for whatever contributes
towards devotional inspiration and religious atmosphere
in the House of God. It is considered one of the finest
convent chapels in California. The altar, of hand-carved
teakwood enameled in white and gold, a replica of the
altar at old St. Mary's Cathedral, is the gift of Mrs.
Major Frank Mahon in memory of her beloved parents,
Myles D. Sweeney and Susanna K. Sweeney. The artistic
frescoes, by Moretti, were paid for by her sister, Mrs.
R. A. Sweeney Pescia. Mrs. Pescia also gave to the
chapel the magnificent sacred vessels — the ostensorium,
chalice and gold censer — which she had made from the
family silver plate and jewels.
Notable among the other donors was his Grace, the
Most Rev. Archbishop P. W. Riordan. On the occasion
of his silver jubilee he presented a magnificent pipe organ.
The Sanctuary lamp was given by Mr. Edward M. Gal
lagher; the Stations of the Cross by Judge Robert Tobin;
the hand-carved Communion rail by Mrs. Theodore
Payne; and the oak finishings throughout the chapel by
Miss Bertha Woodward.
The stained glass windows, the best that could be
secured in the art shops of Munich, were donated by the
following benefactors of the Sisters : Mrs. Marie Cole
man, Mrs. Marie DeLaveaga, Mary B. O'Connor, Annie
P. Donahue, Cecilia Oliver, Mr. Michael Kelly, Mr. Geo.
B. Hayes and Mr. John B. H. Cooper.
Other names mentioned among the contributors to the
ornamentation of the convent chapel are: Mrs. M. A.
Tobin, Mrs. C. D. O'Sullivan, Mrs. Jas. O'Brien, Mrs.

102 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Henly Smith, Mrs. Dr. Masoero, Mrs. Richard Carroll,
Miss Flora Low, Miss M. Hyde, Mrs. Chas. Raoul
Duval, Mrs. Mary Chambers, Mrs. Jas. V. Coleman,
Mrs. Martin Sullivan, Miss F. O'Connor and Misses M.
and J. Finley.
In this period of growth which we have so rapidly
reviewed, the Sisters did not neglect their Sunday Schools
and Day Homes. Indeed they thought more of the build
ing of genuinely Christian character than they did of the
erecting of magnificent convents, and were more solicitous
for the worthy ornamentation of the souls of the little
children of whom they had charge, than for the embel
lishment of the convent chapel or even of the Sanctuary.
They did the one important work without neglecting the
other, or we may say that their material building was an
outward indication of the care they had for spiritual
edification.

SISTER M. DOLORES
AND THE FIRST SISTERS OF THE COMMUNITY

CHAPTER III
Teaching the Catechism
ARELY IS EDUCATION WORTHY OF THE
name. It is most unworthy when, limit
ing its efforts to physical and purely
mental development, it makes no provi
sion for the cultivation of manners and
morals. The heart, as well as the hand
and the head, is taken into account by the genuine edu
cator, for it is only through the cultivation of the whole
man that he looks forward to successful issues. He
knows that physical training, to the exclusion of all else,
can result in nothing higher than a race of vigorous ani
mals, and that, if purely intellectual development is added
to physical strength, there will result a race of dangerous
and destructive animals.
All the great, bad men in the history of the world were
educated. Present-day statistics of educated criminals
are appalling, and the clandestine evil-doing of educated
men, who are not reckoned among the criminals, is not
the less disastrous because hidden. Men of thought are
beginning to recognize the fact that there is not only no
benefit in Godless education, but that it is disastrous.
Moral integrity, without any assistance from physical
strength or mental development — as such development is
often interpreted — may and often does struggle through
a life fruitful of good or at least unsullied by evil; but
physical and mental perfection — if this be possible —
cannot succeed without the accompaniment of morals.

104 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
This old and familiar idea needs emphasis now as it
never needed it before. It is not an exclusively Catholic
idea, though Catholics foster it with more care than some
others. It is the view of all thinking men, especially of
those who, in this country, have a knowledge of our past
history and are concerned about our future and who, for
this reason, are recognized as thorough-going Americans.
The ideal of the Catholic Church is so to unite religious
and mental training that, in the children's minds, there
shall be no place for the fallacy that religion is a good
thing for one day in the week and that the other six may
be devoted to secular pursuits without thought of God.
This is the ideal that was so well expressed by the Arch
bishop of San Francisco, the Most. Rev. Edward J.
Hanna, during the course of the present year, 1922, when
he adopted as his educational program the short but elo
quent saying: "Every Catholic child in a Catholic school."
But ideals are not always realized nor realizable. And
so from the beginning of their labors in San Francisco
the Sisters of the Holy Family have endeavored to sub
stitute in some way for the work of the Catholic school.
First, as we have seen, in the Cathedral Parish, then in St.
Francis' they opened their classes for the religious training
of children and gathered around them men and women
who were willing and able to assist in this noble work.
Among their lay associates at the Cathedral Parish
there were some who afterwards became noted in subse
quent services to both Church and State. The Very Rev.
Monsignor M. D. Connolly of St. Paul's Parish and the
Rev. John Cottle of St. Brigid's were not the least con
spicuous. They were then as enthusiastic catechists as
they have since been zealous and devoted parish priests.
Monsignor Connolly's own remarkable success in St.
Paul's Sunday School is attributable, we venture to say,

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 105
to his early experience in the Cathedral Parish under
Father Prendergast and with the Holy Family Sisters.
It was not long before their reputation for efficiency
spread throughout the City and the Sisters were sought
for by pastors of the different parishes.
But we must give some details of their work and of the
difficulties which they encountered and overcame. The
boys of St. Francis' Parish were not easily managed. It
is told how Sister Joseph entered upon the task of in
structing them with fear and trepidation, but not without
confidence in God to whom she had recourse in fervent
prayer. With the intention of appealing to the honor
and good-will of the boys, the doors were left open on
the first Sunday that the Sisters entered upon their new
work. Previously it had often been necessary to lock
the doors that the boys might not vanish before the ses
sion was over. This morning Sister calmly announced
that, as the doors were open, no one need leave by way
of the windows, and that any boy who wished might go
before lessons commenced. She only asked as a favor
that he pass out quietly. Perhaps through sheer surprise
no boy took advantage of the offer, and thenceforth the
boys' Sunday School was managed quite as successfully
as that of the girls.
Among the prize-winners of the St. Francis Sunday
School in these early days was a boy still in knicker
bockers who, on account of his dignified bearing, was
assigned an important charge — that of leading the entire
Sunday School in the recitation of prayers and in oral drill
on essential points in Christian Doctrine. The children
assembled in the hall before Mass, and for a given period,
this boy, who is now Rev. Father John W. Sullivan, of
Mission Dolores Parish, took the floor, walking back and
forth across the stage, as he announced the prayer to be

106 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
recited, the Sisters and children together obediently re
sponding. Besides Father Sullivan, other priests who
were St. Francis Sunday School boys are : Rev. Joseph
McQuaide and Monsignor Joseph Gleason of Palo Alto.
So successful were the Sisters in St. Francis' Church
that in May, 1881, they were invited to work among the
Italians at the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe on
Broadway and Powell Streets. At that time the Italian
residents had no church of their own; they shared with
the Spanish people the advantages of the Church of Our
Lady. Father Garriga, the pastor, and his assistants
were familiar with both languages. They could care for
the adult members of the flock, but were powerless with
the ever increasing number of little children. Accordingly
they called for the Holy Family Sisters and the Sisters
responded with great alacrity. Like so many Angels of
light and of happiness they entered that section of the
City known as North Beach, where they found children
of almost every nationality under the sun and of every
stage of social life, from the abject and shiftless poor to
the rich and the affluent. They were gathered together
in the one fold and taught the gentle, comforting creed
of Christ's love for all. As the Sisters look back on these
early days of Christian endeavor, they speak of the gen
eral kindliness and spirit of charity and brotherhood that
permeated the peoples of those days, and the spirit of
tolerance and forbearance amongst all nationalities and
classes. Such was the rapid growth of the Italian population at
North Beach that in 1885 the Church of SS. Peter and
Paul was opened for their benefit and the children given
over to the care of the Sisters. It was not easy work.
Too much could not be exacted from children whose
ardent nature rebelled against restraint. The Sunday

w

FIRST COMMUNION CLASS

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 107
School classes were held in the church immediately after
Mass and not infrequently a wedding or a funeral, both
of which were then permitted on Sundays, afforded a rare
diversion to the children during the catechism period.
At funerals it was the custom to bring all the floral pieces
into the church, and the boys, never missing an oppor
tunity for relaxation, would generously press their services
to assist in carrying them out. A wedding, of course,
caused even greater excitement. It was customary for
the bridegroom to scatter candy on the street before en
tering the carriage, so the boys, of their own free wills,
always took a short recess in time for the treat, coming
back in a few minutes with a handful of candy. Little
by little the Sisters were able to correct these overflows
of temperament and, by using various means of alluring
the children and interesting them in the study of religion,
the attendance gradually increased. Under the solicitous
care of Rev. Father de Carolis the attendance increased
and when the Salesian Fathers assumed charge in 1895,
the children bright by nature and quick to learn, became
models of earnestness and admirably good conduct.
This work among the Italian children has ever been
regarded by the Sisters as most important and most fruit
ful. At present four Sisters are on duty every day and
on Sundays this number is increased to eight. We shall
allow one of the Sisters to give a suggestion of the work
accomplished in this particular field.
"The need of a larger Church to accommodate the
Italian people of North Beach was strikingly illustrated
last Sunday," she writes, "when some five hundred and
fifty children assembled to receive, at the hands of Bishop
Hanna, the Sacrament of Confirmation. These children
had been in daily attendance since the first of February
at the catechism classes held in the hall and church after

108 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
school hour and all day on Saturdays, showing by dili
gence, regularity and attention their earnest desire to be
made 'Soldiers of Jesus Christ.'
"The entire body of the Church was reserved for them
on Sunday morning, when boys and girls assisted at the
eight o'clock Mass. Their earnestness, attention and
devotion during the Holy Sacrifice, which was offered by
the Reverend Pastor, Father Piperni, was a source of
edification to all, while the modesty and recollection with
which they approached the altar rails must surely have
been a joy to the two priests who gave Holy Com
munion — to the boys at one-half the rails, to the girls at
the other — row giving place to row until every young
soul was the tabernacle of the Most High God.
"As the last row of girls turned reverently from the
altar a tiny child was seen coming from the midst of the
people at the back of the church; so small was she that
the priest looked hesitatingly at her, but there was no
shade of hesitancy on her part as she calmly mounted the
two steps, and, with lifted face and parted lips, waited
in perfect confidence for the Sacred Host. The moment
she received it, she sank upon her knees, crossing her little
hands on her breast. Bowing her head she remained thus
a moment, then rising, turned and, still with folded hands
and downcast eyes, went slowly along all the length of
the church back to her place. We knew her to be one of
the first Holy Communicants of this year's band consist
ing of more than three hundred children, many of whom
look forward to being confirmed next year.
"But to go back to the big boys and girls. In order that
their parents might have the privilege of seeing them, it
was decided to have them confirmed in two separate
bands, — the boys at half past three, the girls later. As
sembling in the hall an hour before the time, the boys

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 109
made a pleasing picture with their bright faces, new dark
blue suits, white ribbon badges, shining shoes and white
gloves. When every ribbon was tied just so, and the
gloves drawn over hands of every size, shape and hue,
when every boy was in his appointed place, side by side
with his partner, Father Redahan, mounting the platform,
called the roll. One by one the boys stepped forward
and, presenting for the last time the well-checked ticket
that had been presented and checked at every attendance
during the five months of preparation, received, in return,
a new, clean, white card, with the same number and name,
together with the new name chosen for confirmation. It
seemed as if those names and numbers would never come
to an end, particularly when, through the windows,
glimpses of flowing hair, white veils and dresses, told
that the girls were coming from all directions and were
patiently waiting for the boys to leave the hall. A full
hour before the services every available space in the
church was packed, the middle aisle alone, on both sides,
being carefully guarded and reserved by the ushers. At
last all was ready, and just at half past three, the boys
entered the church two by two, genuflecting and rapidly
filling up the pews on both sides until all from the first
to the last were crowded. The Rt. Rev. Bishop appeared
in the Sanctuary, attended by Reverend Fathers Piperni,
Caraher, Buss, Deehan and others. They were greeted
by the hymn 'Come, Holy Ghost,' sung by the boys.
"After the prayers and an exhortation by His Lordship,
they filed into the Sanctuary, and, kneeling one by one
before him, received the Sacrament that made them 'Sol
diers of Christ.' When the last boy had returned to his
place, the Bishop addressed the congregation in their own
beautiful mother-tongue, exhorting the children to per
severance and the parents to the fulfillment of their duties

110 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
towards them, insisting upon regular attendance at Mass
and frequent receptions of the Sacraments to obtain the
grace and knowledge necessary to resist the seductions,
follies, and vanities of the world. 'Faith of our Fathers'
was then sung by the boys with such fervor that one might
say their hearts were in the dear old words. Benediction
followed, the boys singing the 'O Salutaris,' 'Tantum
Ergo,' 'Laudate,' and at its close the 'Te Deum.' As the
last note died away, Father Redahan gave a signal and
the boys filed out. Then the girls entered, two by two,
from the rear of the church and filled the vacated places.
The same program was then followed, with the lighter,
sweeter tones of the girls' voices entoning the Confirma
tion hymns, those of the Benediction and the glorious
'Te Deum' at its close. The Bishop's sermon seemed
more appealing, more thrilling and more powerfully elo
quent. The last rays of the midsummer sun added a
special brilliancy to the gold and white vestments of
the Rt. Rev. Bishop as he stood, crozier in hand, before
the people and spoke to parents and children with such
eloquently ardent words that he kept the audience spell
bound and made a deep impression on their hearts."
Such, in the words of one of the Holy Family Sisters,
is a type of the splendid services rendered and of the im
mense good accomplished among the children of North
Beach. How many thousands of children have come un
der their influence in the past years, who can reckon?
How many have been saved to the Church, God alone
knows. One of the glories of the Catholic Church in San
Francisco is, without any doubt, the Salesian Council of
the Young Men's Institute. Among the Italians in this
country, as in their own, there is a tendency to join anti-
Catholic lodges. Seeking the kingdom of this world first,
they readily align themselves with societies that promote

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 111
social and temporal welfare, sometimes at the expense of
spiritual and eternal happiness. Life-insurance and sick-
benefits seem more attractive than assurance of eternal
life and spiritual benefits. Yet, in the Italian colony of
this City there are hundreds of faithful Catholic families
and thousands of faithful Catholics, young men and
women. And we have no hesitation in saying that were
one to run through the list of Salesian Council members,
ninety per cent of them would be found to have received
their first religious training in the Holy Family Sunday
Schools. There has been a leakage, of course, but the
fruits are so encouragingly abundant that, were this the
only good work of the Sisters, it would be glory enough
They merit the title of being and of having been "The
Apostles of North Beach."
But their labors have not been confined to that one
district. In 1882 two Sisters were sent to St. Brigid's
Church on Van Ness Avenue. They found a condition
that demanded a house to house canvass in search of chil
dren. Father Prendergast's directions were to go again
and again in visiting the indifferent, "even a hundred
times, if necessary," he once said to the Sisters. St.
Brigid's Sunday School soon numbered six hundred, every
one of whom was known by name to Sister Baptist, who
had been appointed to take charge of this corner of the
vineyard. The parish limits included the Presidio and as
the children of the reservation were too far away to attend
regular classes at church, Rev. Father Mans, S. J., who
had charge of St. Sebastian's Chapel at the Presidio,
asked the Sisters to assist in teaching Catechism. In Jan
uary, 1887, two Sisters began their work there on Sunday
afternoons. There were but few children, but the work
was necessary. Moving about from one military post to
another, the Presidio children rarely have an opportunity

112 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
for thorough instruction in Christian doctrine. Such, at
least, was the case when the Sisters began to instruct them
and prepare them for the Sacraments. In 1888 Father
Prelato, S.J., was given charge of the Presidio chapel
and, for many years, the Sisters helped him in his work.
The altar in the little Catholic chapel on the Presidio
grounds was given to the venerable chaplain by the Sisters.
It had been used, for some years, in their Hayes Street
convent. A bit of missionary work of the pioneer type was under
taken this same year at the "City Front Chapel," as it
was called. Although its environment here was not con
ducive to good citizenship, many men, now prominent in
the business and professional world, received their reli
gious instructions in that rude chapel. A Sister who
worked amongst them tells of the great difficulty she had
in keeping the boys quiet during Mass. Her companion,
in charge of the girls who, of course, gave no trouble,
advised her to offer some inducement for the boys to
behave. Though contrary to the accepted methods, the
Sister tried it. One Sunday she said to them : "Boys, see
this picture? Whoever behaves best during Mass this
morning will get it as soon as Mass is over." Thus
enticed, they behaved fairly well, and, at the last Gospel,
Sister was about to conclude that, after all, there was a
moral value in giving rewards for good conduct, under
certain circumstances, when, before the priest had left
the altar, every boy had jumped to his feet and was ex
citedly calling out: "Sister, who's going to get the pic
ture?" She was, of course, embarrassed and we are told
that the Sister in charge added to the unpleasantness of
the situation by saying: "Hereafter, when you promise
rewards, tell the boys that they will be given after Sunday
School, not after Mass."

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 113
Our narrative now brings us far out into the Potrero
district, where in 1894 the Sisters were given charge of
the Sunday School of St. Teresa's Church. Sister Carmel
was appointed to this important post and labored there
with untiring zeal until 1912, when an excellent Parish
School conducted by the Sisters of the Presentation was
opened, leaving the Holy Family Sisters free to labor in
other fields not yet blessed with a parochial school. The
Sisters' work in St. Teresa's Parish bore much fruit.
Excellent Sodalities, out of which several vocations have
sprung, were formed, a well-stocked Sunday School library
was established, and the Sunday School grew into a large
well-organized body of children.
It is impossible to give a detailed account of all the
Sunday Schools. Suffice it to say that, at different times,
the Sisters had charge of the children of nearly every
parish in the City. Thus we find them at various times
at St. Agnes', St. John's, St. Michael's, St. Anne's, St.
Vincent de Paul's and at the Churches of the Holy Cross,
Corpus Christi, the Holy Redeemer, at St. Rose's, the
Church of the Epiphany, of the Visitation, St. Eliza
beth's, St. Monica's, St. Emydius', St. Cecilia's, All Hal
lows', St. Edward's, and, on the outskirts of the City,
the Holy Angels', All Souls', St. Bruno's, St. Catherine's,
St. Matthew's, and, in Marin County, St. Anselm's, St.
Rita's St. Patrick's and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel's.
In most of these parishes the Sisters had to do pioneer
work and what pioneer work means may be gathered
from the following experiences of the Sisters in the South
ern section of the City.
"We are going out to the vegetable gardens," the Sis
ters were wont to say on their way down the Mission
Road, to St. John's, then to the Church of the Epiphany,
to Corpus Christi Church, and finally to St. Michael's. It

114 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
was when two Sisters went in 1904 to the last named place,
that work outside the County of San Francisco was begun.
This single parish then extended over the territory which
now embraces six populous parishes, viz. : those at San
Bruno, Millbrae, South City, Colma, Ocean View and
Ingleside. How one California district has grown within
a few years is well shown by a brief sketch of the work
here. Father Cooper was Pastor and resided with one assist
ant at Ocean View. The work of the Sisters who came
to help, was so mapped out that they were able to
give some time to each place and thus scatter the seeds
of faith over an extensive territory. On Sunday morn
ings they went first to the Holy Angels' Church, at
Colma, which was then known as St. Anne's, built in the
'Fifties. There they remained for the children's Mass
and catechism ; then they went to Ocean View by car, if
they were fortunate enough to catch one. Otherwise
they walked. At Ocean View the same work was re
peated for the children of that parish. On week-day
afternoons they went to Ingleside, where Catechism
classes were held in an unused room adjoining a store.
On Saturday mornings they held sessions in the pavilion
at Tanforan race-track, where the children from all the
country round attended, coming afoot, on horseback or
in wagons. From Tanforan the Sisters walked to South
City or, on rare occasions, drove in a surrey. There they
held an afternoon session for Catechism and a sewing-
class for girls.
Father Cooper had said that he would be on hand to
meet the Sisters the day they began work at South City,
and, upon Sister's insisting there was no need of his tak
ing this trouble, he exclaimed: "Why, Sisters, I could
never let you face those boys alone!" It is just such

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 115
children as these, however, who most readily respond to
the influence of kindness and gentleness, as Father recog
nized some months later, when he said: "The wolves
have become lambs."
In fact, after the Sisters had been in attendance for
about a month and it was known in the country about
that they were teaching Catechism, and preparing the
children for the Sacraments, they were met one day by
a delegation of grown boys and girls who had been wait
ing for four years for the opportunity of preparing for
first Communion.
The Sister in charge of this district, said the Stations
on Fridays during Lent for the children, at which service
many adults assisted. On Candlemas Day she distrib
uted candles, which had been blessed in the morning at
Ocean View. She also collected altar society dues and
attended to the altar linen. When one remembers that
now, instead of one there are six well-organized parishes,
every one of which has a resident pastor, and some an
assistant, it is easy to see how difficult it was for two
Sisters to cover the whole ground and attend to the spir
itual needs of the children as well as to those of the
grown-ups. Some years ago, on the occasion of Confirmation being
administered at one of these churches, the Sister who had
done the pioneering in that district was present among
the children after the ceremony. The pastor, noticing
her there, quietly called the attention of the Archbishop,
and introduced her as the "one who has kept the faith
alive in this part of the world."
Figures sometimes speak more forcibly than words,
and so, to show the extent of the Sisters' Catechetical
activities, we quote some figures. When in 1915 Rev.
Ralph Hunt, Superintendent of the Schools of the Arch-

116 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
diocese, asked the superior of the Holy Family Convent
to send in a report of the work done in the Sunday
Schools, Sister Teresa was able to give the following
statement for that one year:
Total children received Holy Communion  1,607
Confirmation  1,723
Sunday Schools  22
Sisters assisting Sundays  56
week-day classes  42
Total registered children  7,763
" children attending  5,811
" number of Sodalities  70
" in Sodalities  4,536
If we add the figures from all three cities we have the
following result :
San Francisco  7,763
San Jose  750
Oakland  900
Total  9,413
Practically 10,000 children taught the Catechism in
one year by the Sisters of the Holy Family ! How many
thousands have been taught during the fifty years of their
existence ! A moment's reflection on these numbers, with
out any mention of the other works accomplished by the
Sisters, will force from us a tribute similar to that of the
grateful pastor of whom mention has been made in this
chapter. With all due acknowledgment of other zealous
workers we may say of the Holy Family Sisters : These
are they that have kept the faith alive in this part of the
world !

CHAPTER IV

Teaching the Catechism
Continued
OUNG CHILDREN SHOULD BE TAUGHT TO
know, and love, and serve God, just as
they are taught to be gentle and consid
erate in their manners. It is unintelligi
ble how some parents distinguish between
religion and the other things that give
life a meaning. No sensible parent would say: I shall
wait until my children are old enough to choose for them
selves in the matter of politeness, or of honesty, or of
propriety in speech; yet there are some who think that, in
religion — which, after all, is a matter of politeness, hon
esty, and propriety in man's relations with God — no effort
should be made to train the young in those principles and
practices without which all education is vain, and all
manners — empty pretense.
It is a glorious thing to teach young children the prin
ciples of Christianity. "If we work upon marble," said
Daniel Webster, "it will perish; if we work upon brass,
time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble
into dust; but if we work upon immortal souls, if we
imbue them with principles, with the just fear of God and
love of fellow men, we engrave on those tablets something
which will brighten all eternity." Sometimes it is possible
to work upon the immortal souls of adults, but unless
there has been careful training in their childhood days,
such work is not always effective. As the tree is bent so

118 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
will it grow, and to change the growth of a well rooted
tree is not always within the power of man. Children
have open minds and open hearts and their 'obstinate
questions' can best be solved by earnest and devoted teach
ers of religion. But glorious and necessary as it is to
teach little children it is not always an easy matter to
arouse in them a spirit of docility, a willingness to be
taught, or to preserve this spirit once it has been aroused.
We have seen how the Holy Family Sisters were not
content to sit down on the steps of the church waiting
for the children to come to them. They went after the
children and, like faithful servants of the Good Shepherd,
sought particularly for the lost and the wandering lambs
of Christ's flock. We have also seen how their teaching
of the Christian Doctrine was not confined to Sundays.
They had to teach on school days and on Saturdays in
order to cover the many districts to which they had been
assigned. Children, as a general rule, rebel at after-
school or Saturday classes, and sometimes even against
Sunday School itself. They may, when parents co-operate,
be forced to remain after Mass or to come in the after
noon even in week days for instruction ; but, when forced,
they frequently refuse to drink in the wisdom of the
Catechism. To arouse their interest and sustain it, to make them
look forward to their Catechism classes as they would to
a holiday, to cause them to open both mind and heart to
the eternal truths of religion, some very definite methods
are necessary, and a very definite method for which they
are indebted to Father Prendergast, is made use of by
the Holy Family Sisters.
Briefly it is as follows : Each chapter in the Catechism
must be explained to the children and by them committed
to memory. Then there must be told an anecdote or

I

I k 5

** s

&:^*Vj#Jkj ¦*• now

/

SUNDAY SCHOOL PUPI LS— COLU M BUS DAY CELEBRATION

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 119
story taken from the Holy Scripture to illustrate the les
son in the Catechism. In the next place a practice of
some virtue should be inculcated and a hymn taught the
children that is in some way connected with the lesson.
Father Prendergast suggested a story, a hymn, and a
practice for every lesson in the Catechism. Thus to give
but one example. It is the lesson on Baptism. It has
been explained to the children. They are engaged in
learning it or are going to learn it for the next session.
To arouse interest in and to illustrate the value and neces
sity of Baptism the story of Nicodemus is unfolded before
them, how he came at night for instruction, and how
Christ told him in no uncertain terms, "Unless a man be
born again of water and the Holy Ghost he cannot enter
the Kingdom of God." Or else they are told the story of
Philip and the Eunuch of Ethiopia.
The illustration over, the children are taught a hymn
expressive of the sentiments connected with the subject
of study. Thus, when studying the meaning of Baptism
they are taught to sing "I Am a Little Catholic," when
studying the lesson on Confirmation they sing "Faith of
Our Fathers" and so on through all the various chapters.
Then a practice is added and explained — often to renew
Baptismal promises, for example, or to think of the duties
of a Soldier of Christ, or something else, provided it be
in keeping with the lesson before the children.
What men of experience think of this method may be
gathered from what Brother Leo, one of the most noted
educators on the Coast, was pleased to remark: "I have
gone through it very thoroughly," he wrote, "and the
more I know of it the better I like it. The method seems
especially well adapted for classes of young children, and
the insistence on the use of an anecdote and the inculca
tion of a practice in connection with every lesson serves

120 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
to make and keep the teacher's work at once interesting
and practical. Surely, an enlightened zeal taking these
outlines as a guide in religious training will find them
very helpful indeed.
The Holy Family Sisters are not satisfied with making
the lessons interesting and practical; they have devised
ways and means of every kind to sustain the interest after
it has been aroused. It was their policy from the begin
ning. Thus we read in the annals of the early years, that
Miss Armer began her Catechetical work in the Cathedral
by opening a sewing school to allure the children to the
Catechism classes. This sewing school was held in the
Cathedral basement, and many of the most prominent
ladies of San Francisco took an active interest in it, either
by taking charge of classes in sewing or by contributing
material to carry on its work. Its first President was
Mrs. Henley Smith, who recently died in Washington,
D. C, leaving a legacy to the Community. Its Vice-
President was Mrs. Fenn, sister of Mr. Geo. R. B. Hayes.
From the Cathedral sewing school there developed
Sodalities to meet the needs of different ages. And a simi
lar development was noted in St. Francis' Parish. When
it was found that sewing schools of sectarian influence
were drawing away some of our Catholic children, a sew
ing school was established in St. Francis' Parish, Saturday
afternoons being devoted to this work. Whilst endeavor
ing to make the teaching of the needlework attractive,
and useful, it was but a means to an end, the chief purpose
of the Sisters being to bring the children, especially such
as were in danger of drifting away from the practice of
their religion, into a religious atmosphere and to teach
them their Catechism.
The Sodalities established in this parish have ever
been a source of satisfaction and pardonable pride, par-

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 121
ticularly that of the Children of Mary, who, now grown
women and mothers of families, speak to this day of their
joy in being admitted to the Sodality. They often recall
their Rosary processions, their blue mantles, their re
unions and all the other functions which made their Sun
day School life, while it lasted, a time of joy and of holy
influence, and when it was over, the matter of salutary
and happy reminiscence. The Sodality was organized
in March, 1882, with eighty-two aspirants, and on the
following Feast of the Seven Dolors, thirty-nine were
consecrated. That the remainder were detained until
December 8th, shows that their probation was no mere
formality, but that only exemplary conduct entitled them
to wear the blue ribbon of Mary.
Devotion to the Mother of God was a marked char
acteristic at St. Francis, and on the first Sunday of every
month all the Sodalities took part in a Rosary procession
which, headed by the Children of Mary, wound its way
about the Church reciting the fifteen mysteries and singing
appropriate hymns. The boys of the Holy Name Sodality
had the honor of carrying the statue of the Blessed Vir
gin. The Holy Angels Sodality and the little boys and
girls of the Holy Childhood Sodality also took part,
carrying banners which represented the fifteen mysteries
of the Rosary.
Another very popular sewing school was established
at the Italian Church and it has continued uninterruptedly
ever since. Many secular ladies of wealth and leisure
assisted the Sisters; but the chief problem at SS. Peter and
Paul's was to attract and hold the boys. To counteract
the influence of the clubs which were established by the
settlement workers of other denominations among the
boys of the populous district of the North Beach, Rev
erend B. C. Redahan organized clubs for the good of the

122 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Catholic boys. These were placed under the direction of
the Sisters. The meetings were held in the church hall
after school hours and on Saturdays. A perusal of the
'minutes' written and signed by the important Secretary,
with great veracity and wealth of detail, will give an idea
of the amount of good accomplished by these clubs. By
their means the boys' interests were centered around their
own church.
Members of the Salesian Council, of the Y. M. I. and
other fraternal societies remember with pleasure many of
the happenings recorded in these 'minutes.' The Mont
gomery Club was named after Archbishop Montgomery,
and its motto "Loyalty" was selected by the boys them
selves. The Club button to be worn by the members was
designed by one of the boys, John Perlite, who at present
holds a responsible position in the Bank of Italy.
We quote an extract from the "minutes" :
"* * * There is now in the Treasury a nice little
sum of nearly nine dollars. Some of the members wanted
to play basket-ball, but we found the hoop of the basket
broken. We will have to arrange in some way to have it
repaired. We talked basket-ball ; then, as Sister advised,
we formed a team to represent our club. Our colors will
be blue and white, as they are the club's colors. We
promised to remember second Sunday for the Boys' Holy
Communion, and were glad to hear that Miss S. would
come to initiate new members on Lincoln's Birthday. She
lives across the bay, and it is not easy for her to come
so far. A. V."
For their club colors, the boys had chosen the colors
of the Blessed Virgin, blue and white. While they were
devout to their Heavenly Patroness and loyal to the gen
eral spirit of the club, they failed at times in some of the

t

ST. FRANCIS' DAY HOME. SAN FRANCISCO

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 123
minor points. Keeping within the bounds of the "iron
clad" laws of coming in time for roll-call at the meeting,
was not always easy for them. The Secretary makes the
following amusing record of the action taken by the more
punctual members to punish their tardy brothers :
"January 26: — Meeting was called at 3.30 p. m. At
roll-call it was found that some boys had stayed outside
playing ball. For their disobedience it was decided they
should remain out. After the meeting Sister called them
into a room by themselves. What she said we do not
know, but they looked quiet when they came out. A. V.
"February 26 : Washington's Birthday Entertainment
was talked about at meeting today. Tableaux and songs
by the Officers and Drill with guns and swords by the
members was decided on. 'Just Before the Battle,
Mother,' 'Tenting To-night,' and a recitation, 'The
Countersign,' were practiced after the meeting. A. V."
Again : "Three new members were voted into the Club,
and three others were initiated. This was done by the
Officers of the Montgomery, as Miss A., the regular
Initiator, did not arrive. After the initiation, we had a
treat (coffee, cake and pie !) for our new members. When
we were about to commence, Sister said, 'Boys, you did
not say grace yet.' Well, we enjoyed it very much; when
we finished we said prayers and were dismissed."
Besides the sewing circles and the boys' clubs, another
method adopted by the Sisters to hold the children were
periodical entertainments. In some of the parishes, a
regular play is produced every year. Some of these plays
had been composed by Miss Harriet Skidmore. She
personally assisted to make the children's entertainments
a success on many occasions in past years. To show the
Sisters' deep appreciation, Sister M. Dolores sent her a
beautiful prayer-book which was among the cherished

124 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
remembrances of Archbishop Alemany. It elicited the
following letter from Miss Skidmore :
January 13, 1891 .
Dear Sister Dolores :
I have no words in which to thank you adequately for
the precious souvenir of our beloved Archbishop Alemany.
I shall ever preserve it, — as a memento of him, and of
you, dear Sister, as well as of the dear St. Mary's Sunday
School, where any trifling assistance I may have been able
to render, was always a labor of love, and utterly un
worthy any commendation or remembrance.
The beautiful prayer book I took with me to Mass on
Sunday last, for the first time, thus forming a sort of link
between dear old St. Mary's and its stately and beautiful
successor, where also the monumental tablet of the
sainted Prelate who so long guided his vast flock with
loving care, enshrines his precious memory.
With renewed thanks, and most earnestly begging a
continual share in your efficacious prayers, and in those of
your beloved Community, I am, dear Sister Dolores,
as ever, Most gratefully and affectionately yours,
Harriet M. Skidmore
Thus far we have spoken of the means used to attract
the children, and if we have delayed on their work in
some sections of the City more than in others, it is because
in those sections attractions were more commonly used
because they were more in demand and more necessary
to retain the children.
In other sections of the City these methods are made
use of by the Sisters only when necessary; but owing to
the well established conditions in some of the parishes

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 125
there is little call for special efforts to attract and hold
the children. Where children enjoy the advantages of
good homes, and good neighborhood influences, the work
of the Sisters is entirely of a religious nature.
We have spoken frequently of the fruit of their toil in
preserving the faith in the souls of many thousands of
children, but deserving of special mention in this connec
tion is the fact, so eloquent in their favor, that not a few
of the priests of the Archdiocese, began their religious
training under the care of the Holy Family Sisters. The
following names are familiar to most San Francisco
readers. They are some of the many who as children
belonged to the Holy Family Sunday Schools :
Rev. Jas. Colligan, S.J. Rev. J. Setaro
Rev. Joseph McQuaide Rev. E. Doran
Rev. John Byrne Rev. C. Dransfeld
Rev. John W. Sullivan, S.T.L. Rev. R. F. Bray
Very Rev. Joseph H. Gleason Rev. L. A. Powelson
Rev. L. B. Galli Rev. J. S. Roberts
Rev. L. De Matei Rev. R. F. Tilford
Rev. E. McMullan, C.S.P. Rev. G. Butler, S.J.
We take great pleasure in introducing the testimony of
one of them, the Rev. L. B. Galli, S.S.F.S. :
MY SUNDAY SCHOOL DAYS
"On a Sunday afternoon somewhere in the early nine
ties a little group of boys gathered in the basement of the
old SS. Peter and Paul's Church (since destroyed by the
fire of 1906) . The center of their interest and attraction
was the Reverend Sister Baptist (R. I. P.), of the Holy
Family, and the youngest of the boys was myself. Just
what theme she dwelt on I can scarcely be expected to
remember after these many years. However, I recall a

126 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
little side issue. She asked us to pray for the repose of
the soul of a dear old priest who had gone to his eternal
repose a short time before. By a mere coincidence I still
have, and it is before me now, the memento the good Sis
ter gave me at that time of the deceased Father. It is
of the Reverend J. M. C. Bouchard, S. J., who died in
San Francisco, December 27, 1889, in his sixty-seventh
year. I am inclined to think that something very impres
sive must have been told us on that occasion of the Rev
erend Father that caused me to keep this memento such
a long time. This little meeting was perhaps the begin
ning of my Sunday School days, which ended with my
graduation some years afterwards.
"Even in those early days when the Italians of San
Francisco were not very numerous the Sisters of the Holy
Family had gathered a goodly number of children in the
Sunday School. The custom that prevails today, of sep
arating the larger children, of the Catechism class, from
the smaller ones, of the prayer class, in two places, the
church and the basement, existed then. It was my happy
lot to be with the younger ones, and to have as our teacher
the Reverend Sister Bernard (R. I. P.). I recall the
patience that was required as we little ones crowded that
small basement and shouted out our prayers to our hearts'
content. The Reverend Father Romani (R. I. P.) of
fered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the Sisters
directed our prayers. To some mothers the voices of
these little ones would have been an annoyance and a
reason for complaining against Providence for their fate
in life. To these heroic Sisters the voices of the children
was as sweet music. For them they blent harmoniously
with the words of the children's Friend, 'Suffer the little
children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of
such is the kingdom of God.'

TEACHING THE CATECHISM 127
"When promoted from the prayer class to the Cate
chism class we ceased going to the basement and attended
class in church. Here young ladies taught the little boys
and girls; the Sisters, however, taught the higher classes.
The superior could be seen going from class to class, but
always serene and greeted everyone with a blessed smile.
Now it was a word of encouragement to a child, now
words of cheer to a class. No child, boy or girl, could do
otherwise but feel a better child after the Reverend Sister
Baptist had addressed a few words to it. Such blessed
ness seemed to issue from her words that it was an un
fortunate class which she did not visit on Sunday.
"It was an event for the Sunday School child to pass
on to the class taught by one of the Sisters. From the
prayer class to these higher classes the lay teachers
taught, and a number of years passed. When the boy
entered the Sisters' class a change seemed to come over
him. If there was little time lost before, there surely was
none now. What time was not used in reciting the lesson,
the boy employed in studying, for he wanted Sister to give
him a 'well done.' Then when the lessons were over a
little talk was sure to come. Often times a story was told.
Yes, and many times have I told those same stories to
children with profit — and also from the pulpit.
"When my graduating time came I experienced all the
more the interest taken by the Sisters in the large children.
Words of encouragement were not wanting. Even the
Reverend B. C. Redahan (R. I. P.), who wasted away,
giving his time for the welfare of the children, was at
our side speaking words of cheer as we prepared to take
our final examination, which we thought was such a terri
ble task. This surely was a splendid means for keeping
us to help in the very large Sunday School which continued
to grow ; and is now one of the largest in the diocese. But

128 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
whether needed or not there was another attraction that
kept the older children together — the Sodality.
"The constancy with which the Sisters of the Holy
Family attended to the sodalities, and do so always, is
remarkable. The variation of San Francisco weather is
no object to them. If there were only one child waiting
he would not be disappointed. The Sunday afternoons
spent at the Sodality meeting were a means of fostering
my vocation to the priesthood. Not all my companions
were so inclined. Some have taken up a professional
career, and as they stand in array in my mind there is not
one to my judgment who would not like to return to those
happy and holy times spent under the guidance of the
good Sisters. Others have gone to that eternal and bliss
ful Home, of which the Sisters in their little 'talks' often
spoke to us, at Sunday School and at the Sodality meeting.
What joy must have been theirs to meet at the eternal
portals the Sisters that paved their way to that happy
goal ! Still others, who came later, are now ascending
towards the altar throne, there to offer the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass — that Sacrifice of which they learned so
much from the lips of the Sisters.
"Many children still continue to enjoy the privilege of
having these Sisters of the Holy Family teach them their
catechism, and prepare them for the reception of the
sacraments, and pave for them an honorable future.
Happy is the Pastor that turns his "little flock" to the
care of these faithful Sisters. Blessed are the mothers
that constantly send their children to the Sunday School
where they learn to know, love and' serve God by the
mouth of the Sisters. To them I owe, in a great measure,
my priestly vocation. Of this, my sacerdotal character,
they will ever profit by the memento which I make for
them in the holy sacrifice of the Mass."

CHAPTER V

The Day Homes

LWAYS READY TO LEND A HELPING HAND
to those in need, always prepared for
self-sacrifice, even when it involved some
of their own spiritual comforts, the Sis
ters of the Holy Family, in August, 1878,
entered a new field of charitable en
deavor — new, in this sense, that it had not been originally
contemplated. It was according to their spirit, because
it had to do with little children; but, on account of the
difficulties and expenses entailed, it had not been planned
at the beginning of the Institute. Children of an age to
learn the truths of religion in Sunday School or in cate
chetical classes during the week, were their first charges;
but now they were asked to take care of infants, from
early morning until late in the evening, over whom they
could have no other spiritual influence than that of prayer.
It was the origin of the Day Homes. The Sisters
started the work with about thirty little children ; now they
care for about one thousand. Their first home was a
rented house on Post Street; now they have such large
and commodious buildings of their own, that some few
years ago, Mr. Wm. H. Slingerland, Ph.D., special agent
for the Department of Child Helping of the Russell
Sage Foundation, reported as follows: "the plants in
San Francisco are the largest and best equipped of any
on the Pacific Coast, and the work done is of a very high
quality and efficiency." "It is estimated," he adds, "that

130 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
the properties used, exceed $200,000 in value." In the
beginning but few Sisters could be spared for the work;
now there is a regular staff of well trained kindergarten
teachers who specialize in child welfare work. The Rule
of the Community providing that, "In places where no
provision is made to take care of small children, whose
mothers have to leave home to go out to work during
the day, the Sisters" shall receive these children in their
home and care for them with the tender charity of a
Christian mother," was not originally understood as
referring to specially built Day Homes; for, it will be
observed, the children were to be taken into the homes
of the Sisters.
When, however, the work developed, the efficiency of
the Sisters increased. Several of the first members of
the Community received their diplomas for kindergarten
work after a systematic normal school training. So
remarkable was their success that as early as 1886, the
Sisters of Notre Dame emulating their zeal, sought
the benefit of their experience in training the young. Sev
eral Sisters from Notre Dame Convent in San Jose visited
the St. Francis Day Home to observe the methods in use
and to adopt them in their our kindergarten.
In 1893 the Sisters of the Holy Family won glory to
themselves and recognition of their successful labors
through the exhibit sent by them to the World's Fair in
Chicago. During the Fair, the following description of
Holy Family exhibit was officially issued:
"The Day Homes conducted by the Sisters of the Holy
Family at San Francisco, California, furnish a very fine
and complete display of kindergarten work, which was
arranged in album form, so as to develop the entire sys
tem in a practical, illustrative order, commencing with
the 1st Gift (the worsted ball) and ending with the 13th

HOLY FAMILY DAY HOME, SAN FRANCISCO

THE DAY HOMES 131
Gift (pea work). Three large framed pictures repre
senting the more difficult and elaborate work of the
children, each containing twenty specimens of the various
gifts and occupations, were much admired.
Frame No. I: Contained specimens of sewing and
coloring, representing "Columbus before Ferdinand and
Isabella," "His Voyage," "Landing," "The Santa Ma
ria," "Spanish Flag," "Picture of George Washington,"
and "American Flag."
Frame No. II: Birds, flowers and fruits embossed
and colored, original designs in parquetry and drawing,
the center piece of this frame being the Sacred Heart
embossed and colored.
Frame No. Ill: Forms of life, knowledge and beauty
attractively represented in stick-laying, paper-cutting,
twisting and folding.
A handsome specimen of teachers' work — a picture of
our Holy Father Leo XIII, together with many smaller
framed specimens of children's work — completed this
exhibit." At the close of the Exposition, the Day Home kinder
gartens received, in recognition of the creditable efforts
of the pupils a "Certificate of Merit" and "Diploma of
Honor" from the Committee on Awards of the Catholic
Educational Exhibit; and an entitlement to a "Medal,"
a "Diploma of Award," and a "Diploma of Honorable
Mention" from the Board of Lady Managers of the
World's Columbian Commission.
In more recent years the Sisters have renewed their
efforts to reach a still higher degree of excellence in their
work for the little children of the Homes. In 1917 His
Grace, the Most Rev. E. J. Hanna, arranged to have
some of them spend a year at the Sisters' College in
Washington, D. C. Accordingly on the evening of

132 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
September 17, two of the Sisters, accompanied by Sister
M. Baptist, left San Francisco for Washington. They
reached their destination on September 21.
The work of the year began on the first of October,
the intervening time being occupied with registration,
arrangement of course of study, hours, etc. The Sisters
followed work in the Department of Education, taking
courses in Genetic and Social Psychology under Dr. Pace,
Philosophy under Rt. Rev. Dr. Turner, School Manage
ment under Dr. McCormick and Primary Methods under
Dr. Shields. Under the guidance of Dr. Shields they
studied the principles and methods of teaching Religion
as outlined in their able Professor's own books. In addi
tion to these courses, Dr. Pace gave the Sisters some
special work in methods more in keeping with their par
ticular kind of work.
During the vacation weeks, the Sisters visited different
Sunday Schools and Day Homes in Philadelphia, New
York, Chicago, and Washington. "It may be said with
all truth," wrote one of them with a certain amount of
legitimate pride, "that there is no Home in any of these
large cities equipped and conducted as the Day Homes
in San Francisco. One of the many reasons for this is
that the care of the children is, for the most part, confided
to salaried seculars who have not the real interest of the
children at heart. One cannot help but feel the lack of
the real home spirit, the absence of the mother's tender
love and care. There are many institutions for the
young; but few homes."
The Sisters returned to San Francisco on June 29,
1918, ready to do their little part in spreading the good
work among those confided to their care and planting the
seeds of love and goodness in the hearts of the little ones,
but, more particularly, to assist in training the younger

THE DAY HOMES 133
Sisters of the Community in the prevailing methods of
both Sunday School and Day Home work.
Thus far we have given a brief suggestion of the
development of the work from its humble beginnings.
The following statistics compiled by the State Board of
Charities tell in figures the intensity of the work:
Number of families assisted:
St. Francis' Day Home  393
Holy Family Day Home  428
St. Elizabeth's, San Jose  213
St. Vincent's, Oakland  305
Total  1,339
Children (individual) cared for during the year:
St. Francis' Day Home  536
Holy Family Day Home  467
St. Elizabeth's, San Jose  360
St. Vincent's Oakland  358
Total  1,721
To these figures the report adds the aggregate attend
ance during that one year. It is as follows :
St. Francis' Day Home  48,432
Holy Family Day Home  43,910
St. Elizabeth's, Oakland  29,710
St. Vincent's, San Jose  21,078
General Aggregate  143,130
An earlier report published when the Sisters had four
Day Homes in San Francisco tells us that: "In San
Francisco the average number of children cared for ex-

134 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
ceeds 150 at each establishment, or over 600 per day.
Kindergarten and preliminary schooling is given to all
old enough to attend the classes.
How, the reader may ask, do the Sisters conduct their
Day Homes? How do they care for the little ones of
the flock, that they have won such enthusiastic commen
dation from observers who may have had a slight touch
of prejudice in their disfavor. A writer in the San Fran
cisco Monitor for December 20, 1902, will give a detailed
account of a day spent in one of the Homes.
"The vineyard of the Lord is very large, of greater
extent than this grand, wide world of ours knows, and
it is His holy will and desire that not by the hands of
angels should it be cultivated, but by the hands of men,
whose nature He assumed for the planting of it and to
whose care He committed it, and when His life work
was accomplished, He returned to His Eternal Home to
prepare a place there for His faithful husbandmen.
"The vineyard of the souls of children is one especially
dear to His Sacred Heart, and it is to one of these that
we shall go this morning and see what is being done there
for His honor and glory. It is the Day Home of the
Sacred Heart at 120 Hayes Street. It is scarcely day
light, but the Sisters are there, brushing, dusting, building
fires in nursery, kindergarten room, kitchen, — in the latter
preparing the food in anticipation of the busy hours to
follow, in the former arranging the kindergarten work,
planning the games, decorating the altars with fresh
flowers, — all over the house doing the hundred little
nameless things that make home beautiful.
"Now the little ones begin to come. The first is a
brave young woman with three small children, two sturdy
little boys of three and five and a tiny year-old girl. The
next comer says good-bye to her mother at the gate and

THE DAY HOMES 135
comes flying in to Sister, full of some bit of child news.
She has been coming to the Home since she was a tiny
baby. The children come In rapidly now and the Sisters
are busy removing and putting carefully away wrappers
and sundry small bundles. The beautiful large play-room
is filled with the noise of sweet child laughter and play.
The babies are tumbling and rolling on the rugs. One in
a high chair is trying to pull the curls of a pretty little
girl who is playing with him. A group of small boys are
building with blocks a train of cars, but there is a tunnel
and a well-built wharf where the cars are going to unload.
The girls are playing 'house,' 'statuary,' etc. Others
are 'doing their charges,' dusting, helping to spread the
cloth and set the tables for the babies' breakfast, singing
as they work, or making that little purring noise so sug
gestive of childlike content.
"It is nine o'clock now. The bell rings, announcing that
the Kindergarten hour has arrived. In a moment all is
quiet, even the babies stop crooning and watch the long
line of bright-eyed children marching round the play
room and filing downstairs to the large sunny room for
the "morning songs and games."
"The Sisters say this is one of the most precious hours
of the day. So many beautiful lessons are taught during
that time which is full of such real play and enjoyment
for the children. While they fly like birds, gather honey
like bees from pretty flowers, play they are trees in the
orchard, in whose branches the former build their nests,
feelings of love and kindness, order and gentleness, are
inculcated that reach into the years long after childhood
has flown. And then the 'morning talk!' Who would
not feel it was a precious seed-planting time in the vine
yard, sitting in the midst of the weakest and tenderest
of His little ones, whose bright young faces reflect back

136 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
every feeling to which you give expression. Recreation
in the open air follows ; then Catechism until dinner.
"The refectory filled with polite, well-behaved little lad
dies and lassies is a pretty picture. The babies who are
old enough to come to table contribute no small share of
its beauty. But the prettiest sight of all is when dinner
is over and a small army assists in the cleaning up. They
do it so well, too, each has his or her special charge, the
napkins are refolded, dishes wiped, table cloths brushed,
stools and high chairs removed, and after the sweeping
put back so straight and evenly in their places. At a
quarter past one the little ones are prepared for school
again, little faces and hands washed, etc. Singing of
hymns and kindergarten songs, then kindergarten occu
pations fill up the time to three.
"The busiest part of the day for the Sisters follows, for
the 'afternoon children' come in. They are the children
who are old enough to go out to school. They stay in
the Home in the morning until half-past eight and return
after school hours. Feeling the responsibility of the reli
gious education of these children, the Sisters have regu
larly organized catechetical classes every afternoon. The
hour is made not only instructive but interesting and
pleasant, and other Public School children who are not
'Home' children are always welcome. The sewing
classes on Saturday, although well organized and system
atically arranged, have also that grand object in view, —
the leading of children to a correct and better knowledge
and love of God, their Creator and their Lord.
"St. Francis Day Home on Powell Street is on the same
plan, the same routine of duties, the same order of regu
larity. Holy Family kindergarten and sewing school
on Sixth Street is another busy field which the Sisters do
not yet call "Home," because not yet properly equipped

THE DAY HOMES 137
for the care and accommodation of babies and little ones
through all the hours of the day, but the kindergarten,
afternoon and sewing classes are always well attended,
every bit of the building filled to its utmost capacity. The
care of the sick poor is another part of the vineyard very
dear to the hearts of the Sisters, who deem it a special
privilege to minister to the need not only of the bodies
but of the souls of these, the Master's most precious
ones." Such is the work in the Day Homes. In the Convent
annals little is said of the disagreeable features con
nected with it. Working men on their way to work in
the early morning are sure to encounter the Sisters going
in every direction. They must open their Homes at seven
o'clock. Some of the Sisters carry baskets. Their duty
is to call on the nearby markets for meat or on bakeries
for bread. They are kindly received and given a generous
supply of provisions for their children.
At the time of the earthquake the Sisters had three
large Day Homes, that of St. Francis on Powell Street,
the Sacred Heart Home on Hayes Street near Polk, and
the Holy Family Home on Sixth street near Brannan.
This last mentioned establishment was very flourishing.
It was dedicated to the Holy Family in February, 1900,
and in the following month, Archbishop Riordan, when
informed of the fact, sent his blessing on the work. "I
have just received your letter," he wrote from Paris,
March 23, 1900, "and I am glad that the new Home
south of Market Street is opened and full of children.
May God bless it and those in charge of it."
All of these Homes were destroyed by the fire of 1906,
or that material part of them which can be consumed; but
the energy and spirit that had built, was ready to re-build
on a larger scale than before. On February 11, 1907,

138 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
the new St. Francis Home on Powell Street was dedi
cated to the service of the little children.
It seemed like old times, so many of the ever faithful
friends were present at the ceremony. Leading the
services was His Grace the Most Rev. Archbishop Rior
dan, accompanied, of course, by the ever faithful Father
Prendergast. There was present a large number of the
clergy and laity. Among the former were the Rev. John
J. Cantwell, Rev. Terence Caraher, Rev. J. T. McGinty,
Rev. A. M. Santandreu and Rev. B. C. Redahan, S. C.
Among the latter: Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Queen, Mr.
and Mrs. Garret McEnerney, Mr. and Mrs. D. F. Buck
ley, Dr. L. Pawlicki, who has been long a loyal friend
and faithful attendant to the Sisters in their work, Mr.
Jos. Sadoc Tobin, Mrs. A. H. Loughborough, Mrs.
Crowley, Miss K. Nesfield, Dr. J. M. Toner, Mr. Peter
J. McCormick and Mrs. Mary A. Tobin.
The new building is a handsome edifice, an ornament
to the City, built on classic lines with a most imposing
colonial porch. A lot adjoining the old site has been
secured, so that the place is double the size of the original.
The interior is finished in excellent style. The kinder
garten is an ideal spot for the little ones. Brightness
and sunshine characterize every department, while the
play grounds are quite large. The nursery, where the
tiniest of the Sisters' little friends are entertained, is a
model room, not only perfect in its equipment, but dainty
and beautiful in its appointments.
Chas. J. Devlin was the architect; Behm & Co., the
builders. The painting was done by J. H. Keefe. The
new Day Home is a credit to its designers and builders,
and a monument to that spirit which animates the Church
in all climes, — "Love one another," "Suffer the little
children to come unto Me."

PLAY ROOM, ST. FRANCIS' DAY HOME, SAN FRANCISCO

THE DAY HOMES 139
In the meantime provision had been made in other
parts of the City to care for the children of working
mothers. Out in St. Vincent de Paul's Parish, Sister
Teresa was given the use of a shack that had served in
times of stress the various purposes of Catholic Church,
Red Cross station, and general distribution center. It
was no longer needed for such purposes in that place
because the people were leaving the refugee shacks. It
was well built of good timber, though rough in finish.
Sister Teresa had it moved to the corner of Greenwich
and Devisadero Streets to be used as a Day Home,
kindergarten and sewing school for the children of that
part of the City, who were sadly in need of spiritual
and temporal care. The interior was finished with smooth
timber, the outside was shingled, and other improve
ments made to accommodate it more fittingly for the
Sisters' work. God blessed their efforts at this Home,
which was known as St. Joseph's. It was not fitted with
nursery accommodations, because there was so large an
attendance of boys and girls that space was at a premium.
Much spiritual good was accomplished through its agency.
In the Richmond district, where during earthquake
days the Sisters had been encamped among the people,
another house was purchased. After the dispersion of
the refugee settlement, it was moved to a lot at 19th and
Point Lobos Avenues, renovated, remodelled, and fitted
up as a Day Home. This Home, known as St. Mary's,
was kept in active service for about seven years, and after
the establishment of parochial schools in both Star of
the Sea and St. Monica's Parishes, the Sisters closed the
Home. But Sister Teresa was not satisfied with temporary
Homes; she observed the drift of population and was
anxious to find suitable accommodations for the children

140 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
of working mothers in the Mission district. From her
earliest years she had a sympathetic friend in Mrs. Wm.
K. Vanderbilt (Virginia Fair) . To her she appealed and
the result of her appeal is thus told in a newspaper account
on July 16, 1911:
"The Sisters of the Holy Family are to have a new
Day Home for their little wards at the N. E. Corner of
Dolores and Sixteenth Streets. This spot is in the center
of the old Mission Dolores settlement and diagonally
across Dolores Street from the adobe Mission Church,
the only remnant of the Spanish days. Sometime ago
Archbishop Riordan acquired the corner lot, with a
frontage of ninety feet on Sixteenth Street and a hundred
on Dolores. While nothing was said regarding the pur
chase of the property, it has transpired that the lot is
to be the site of one of these noble institutions which are
scattered over San Francisco and are conducted by the
Sisters of the Holy Family.
"The building has been donated by Mrs. Virginia Van
derbilt. In a very quiet way, it was said yesterday, Mrs.
Vanderbilt has been assisting the Sisters of the Holy
Family in their good work in San Francisco. She has
known them and their mission since childhood here, and
greatly admired their institutions. She has entered into
a contract for construction of a handsome brick building
of two stories to be erected on the site mentioned above.
The architects are Willis Polk & Co."
The work on this new building started at once and
brought to completion in eight months. The Mission
style of architecture was planned, in keeping with the two
churches on the opposite side of Dolores Street and with
Notre Dame Convent on the next block. The same gen
eral appearance of Spanish style was followed in the low
cement wall that surrounds the building.

THE DAY HOMES 141
Thus after the fire the Sisters found comfort in being
able to rebuild ; but in all their work for the children they
find infinitely more comfort in being able to build sturdy,
little Christian characters. "It is surprising," writes one
of the Sisters, "how quickly the truths of religion are
grasped by the little ones of the Day Home. At one of
the Homes the children were permitted to attend Bene
diction, and the Sister told them of the real Presence
and of the wonderful love of our Lord in the Blessed
Sacrament for His children. A boy of six years was play
ing in the yard some months afterwards and noticed
sparks escaping from the chimney. He called the atten
tion of his companions to the sparks and they immediately
began to decide what they would do in case of a fire.
One of the older boys remarked : 'If the convent burns,
I am going to carry the Blessed Mother out.' 'I wouldn't
carry the Blessed Mother out first,' said his companion,
'I would take our Lord out because He is alive and the
Blessed Mother is only a statue.' This boy is often seen
making a little visit to the Blessed Sacrament on his way
from school, and once when asked by a Sister about his
devotion, he answered quite simply, 'O, I always knew
our Lord was really present on the altar.' "
Thus the Sisters, through their ministrations in the
Day Homes, begin that process by which the image of
God is imprinted on the soul and wrought into it, not
like that which produces a photograph, struck off in a
moment, impressed on perishable materials and laid in
fading colors, but like that by which the sculptor, slowly
and by an infinite succession of touches, calls out of the
marble — a form of grace and beauty — the work of years
indeed, but worth all the labor for it is to be immortal.
It was with reference to this work of the Day Homes,
no less than the Sisters' work in the Sunday Schools, that

142 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
our present Archbishop spoke when as Coadjutor Bishop
he first became acquainted with the Sisters of the Holy
Family. "No matter how many convent schools we may
have," he said, "and no matter how nobly these com
munities work, there are a great many, who would be
absolutely lost to the Church of God, were it not for
your work of seeking out and training the little child.
* * * What mystery surrounds the child? What
latent strength and undeveloped power which is to be
guided and used for the future life before him? What
possibilities await him in the future? Sooner or later he
will stand on the threshold of life's journey, at the en
trance of two ways, two beginnings for him, one that may
lead him down to be eternally lost, and the other that
reaches up to everlasting happiness. Here is where the
Sisters of the Holy Family stand, here is where you meet
him, and what a glorious thing to be the means of lead
ing him along the upward way! I know of no work in
the Church that is to be more highly commended, and
I can assure you that our Archbishop appreciates it fully,
and in the little I have seen of it since my arrival here,
I, too, greatly appreciate your work, and will endeavor to
do all in my power to be of service to you."

CHAPTER VI
Spanish- American War
OTHING WAS FARTHER FROM THE
thoughts of the early Sisters than that
they would be called upon to serve as
nurses in a military camp. Their whole
manner of life is a preparation for emerg
ency service ; but still the transition from
kindergarten to camp, from Sunday School classes to
hospital wards overcrowded with sick soldiers was as
difficult naturally as it was supernaturally exhilarating.
If the novelty of the experience appealed to some of the
younger Sisters it was not long before they found them
selves immersed in duties that lost all their natural
attractiveness. During the late world-war, service received a meaning
that to many people was new and unheard of before.
Everything yielded to service. It became the main busi
ness of life, the main subject of conversation and of popu
lar thought. Afternoon teas were discontinued and in
their stead all-day knitting parties became the vogue. The
social card games gave way to classes in nursing. "What
am I doing to help win the war?" was a universally
pressing question and until it received satisfactory answer
in service of some recognized utility, one felt out of tune
with the spirit of the times.
It was different during the Spanish-American War of
1898. Partly, perhaps, because that short and uneven
combat was little more than a sham battle in comparison

144 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
with the World-war — as far, at least, as the actual fight
ing affected our American soldiers — and partly because,
under the system of volunteer service, only the willing felt
the strain of the conflict, there was not any notable display
of patriotic fervor and enthusiastic self-sacrifice, except
on the part of the volunteers themselves.
There was, however, much need of service, especially
in San Francisco, which had been used as a camp for the
young men going to, and coming back from, the Philip
pines. It was the first opportunity afforded to the Sisters
of the Holy Family to show forth, in a striking manner,
the splendor of their self-sacrificing devotion to God, to
country and to humanity. Among the many who distin
guished themselves by working for the soldiers in camp
and in hospitals, these generous servants of God were not
the least conspicuous.
There is a story told of Florence Nightingale. When
her companion nurses were sailing up the Bosphorus to
deal with the nameless horrors of the Crimea, they gave
expression, as was but natural, to thoughts of adventure
and romance. They were enthusiastic over the prospects
of war-work, until Miss Nightingale silenced them with
the remark: "Young women, the strongest will be wanted
at the wash-tub." The Spanish-American War activities
of the Holy Family Sisters did not involve such menial
work. Indeed, for a while, their work consisted chiefly
in encouraging the boys and giving to the Catholics, who
were very numerous, little objects of devotion and some
profitable reading matter. All the Catholic societies in
the City came forward to do similar work and, of course,
all the religious communities were asked to assist in
various ways by the donation of good reading matter and
religious articles. They responded generously and their
services were highly appreciated by the volunteer soldiers.

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 145
For their services in this regard the Holy Family Sisters
received official thanks from the Catholic Truth Society
Headquarters, in the following letter:
Dear Sisters :
The Catholic Truth Society of San Francisco desires
to thank you for your generous response to their request
for blessed articles for distribution among our soldier
boys. We would also state that any further contributions
you may desire or be able to make would be gratefully
appreciated. Very sincerely yours, Patrick Hay,
Acting Recording Secretary
They were also given charge of the altar in the Catholic
Truth Society tent, of which Fathers Peter C. Yorke and
Philip O'Ryan were the chaplains. On Sunday morn
ings sandwiches and coffee prepared by the Sisters were
served to the soldiers who attended Mass and received
Holy Communion. "Convent coffee," as the boys called
it, and convent-made sandwiches were a welcome relief
during those days of canned and sometimes tainted meats.
When disease broke out in the different camps the Sis
ters were called upon for more heroic service. "The
Most Rev. Archbishop wishes me to inform you," wrote
Father P. Mulligan to Sister Dolores, "that there are
300 sick soldiers in the Division Hospital at the Presidio.
If you have Sisters who will volunteer for this work, send
them to Major Matthews at the Division Hospital to
offer their services."
There was no hesitation on the part of the Sisters.
The entire Community volunteered, and all who could
be spared were sent out to attend to the ever increasing

146 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
cases of pneumonia and typhoid fever. They had to take
turns at regular night duty and sometimes, on account of
the fewness of nurses, were obliged to remain with their
patients far into the day even after a laborious night.
As soon, however, as the situation was well in hand the
Sisters were divided into three groups, group A working
from 6 A. M. to 6 P. M., followed by group B which
remained on duty from 6 P. M. to 6 A. M. when it was
relieved by group C. According to this arrangement or
distribution of time each group was given twenty-four
hours to rest between every twelve hours of labor and no
Sister had night duty oftener than once every three days.
The work, especially in the typhoid ward, was very
heavy for the inexperienced but scrupulously attentive
nurses. Its results were eminently satisfactory to every
body concerned. During the three months that the Holy
Family Sisters had charge of Ward 13, there was not
a single death, a remarkable record when we are told that
conditions were otherwise so deplorable that the Govern
ment had not been prepared to handle so serious a
situation. The Sisters had to supply even the most ele
mental requirements for the typhoid patients, such as alco
hol and other lotions for the fevered soldiers. Nearly
everything necessary was prepared at home in the con
vent. Sister Dolores insisted that no expense be spared to
cheer the sick and beautify the crude temporary wards.
Flowers were in evidence everywhere and the general
cleanliness was so noticeable that the Holy Family ward
was known to the soldiers as "the ward without flies."
It was, however, during the period of convalescence that
the Sisters distinguished themselves and won the undying
affection of the men. Thanksgiving and Christmas
dinners were served and, as soon as the patients were
permitted to leave the hospital, they were invited to the

SANCTUARY OF HOLY FAMILY CHAPEL, MOTHER HOUSE, SAN FRANCISCO

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 147
convent to partake of the best that the Sisters could
prepare in the nature of a feast.
"We look back with great pleasure," writes one of
the Sisters, "on the days and months spent in caring for
the sick soldiers. They were filled with labor to which
we were unaccustomed, but the labor was sweetened by
the appreciation of the patients and their grateful ac
knowledgment of our efforts. Some of them came to
know and to respect a religion to which they had been
either opposed or indifferent. At one time all our patients
were from the Texas and Arkansas regiments and were,
almost without exception, non-Catholics of strong reli
gious prejudices. Some of them acknowledged that
they had at first rebelled against going into a Sisters'
ward. One fine young man, the son of a Baptist minis
ter, said one day to the Sister who took care of him:
'For the first two weeks I was in here, I used to wish that
myself and bed would go through the floor whenever I
saw you coming with my food or medicine. I could
imagine what my mother would say if she knew I was
cared for by Sisters. Why, at home, I wouldn't even
walk on that side of the street where there was a Catholic
Church.' This lad after his recovery called at the con
vent, had lunch there, visited the chapel, and told of his
letters home in which he informed his mother of his
change of views."
Amusing incidents were not wanting. In the Sisters'
ward there was, at one time, a college lad, a "Reginald"
of the Middle West. He was inclined to depression and
frequently asked in a fretful tone, "Sister, do you think
you can pull me through?" Very soon this doleful query
was the morning greeting from every patient in the ward.
Despite the Sister's efforts to make them have some re
gard for the young fellow's feelings, the boys asked the

148 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
question so that "Reginald" could hear them. When the
typhoid had subsided and the patients were growing en
thusiastic at the prospect of leaving the hospital, "Regi
nald" still indulged his whining. The boys knew that
homesickness was the cause and one day when Sister
asked them "What can be the matter with him?" they
thought they fully enlightened her by answering, "Oh,
he's only got cold feet !" This was a new expression; the
Sister understood it literally and, after preparing a hot
water bag, she reprimanded the astonished soldier in
gentle but firm language : "The next time your feet are
cold, please let me know at once ! There is no need of suf
fering from cold feet when hot water bags are so plenti
ful!" Even "Reginald" himself could not resist joining
in the laugh over Sister's lack of acquaintance with the
language of the camp, and though the hot water bag was
not used, its effect, nevertheless, was a lasting cure for his
fits of depression.
When the Spanish-American War had come to a close
and the Sisters returned to their children, they had the
consolation of receiving many expressions of gratitude
from the parents and relatives of the soldiers whom they
had helped through sickness to health. Many of these
letters have been preserved. We shall quote some that are
typical of the spirit of gratitude that pervades all. The
following was written during their work in the wards :
Corning, Iowa, October 29, 1898.
Dear Sisters :
We received your telegram and imagine my grief at
the sad news it contained. I am sick myself and not able
to go to him. My husband started last night to go to see
our son, and I trust in God that his life may be spared.
I received a letter from Edward on Thursday and another

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 149
yesterday. I was a little afraid he was exerting himself
too much, but he always was impatient when he was sick.
Dear Sister, if Edward is in any danger I trust that you
will see that he has a priest and is prepared for death, if
it is God's holy will that he should be taken from us.
I would also ask you to see if he has on his scapulars. He
often lost them when he went bathing, and he may have
done so out there. I suppose his father will think of all
these things, but he left so suddenly last evening that we
did not have time to talk about it. Tell my husband that
I am not feeling much better to-day, but don't tell Edward
that I am sick. It is nothing serious, but they thought I
was not able to undertake the long journey to San Fran
cisco. I ask you to pray for my poor boy and I hope that,
through the mercy of Almighty God and by your prayers
and kind care, he may be spared to us. I thank you for
your kindness to him. You will have your reward in
Heaven. Sincerely yours, Mrs. G  .
Still earlier, on October 5, 1898, a loving mother wrote
from Tennessee :
My Dear Sister:
Your letter was a balm to my aching heart. I asked
Rawell how to address Ala's nurse. I wanted to know
the name of the person that had been so good and kind
to be near my son in sickness. All I could do was to pray
to our Heavenly Father to be with him, and, if it was
His will, to restore him to health and let his sickness bring
him to a proper sense of his duty to his God and fellow-
men. Through the love of our Lord Jesus Christ my boy
was placed in your hands to be nursed. May he lead such
a life as to win favor with God. * *

150 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Ala never gave us any trouble ; he was always with us ;
he loved his home; but he thought it was his duty to go
to war, and as he was so near 21 years old, I did not
think I had a right to say a word. May God spare him
to us. I will always be happy to hear from our good
Sister. I feel more thankful for all your kindness than
I can express. May we meet in heaven. With much love
from all the family to all the nurses, I am,
Yours truly, Mrs. W. S.
After the war with Spain and the more serious war
with disease, the letters came from all parts of the coun
try. Some of them from relatives to whom their soldier
boy had returned; others were from the soldiers them
selves. All were expressive of gratitude for the services
of the Sisters.
This Spanish-American War work was, as we have
said, an unusual and unforeseen experience of the Sisters;
but it was for that very reason of great benefit to them.
It made them recognize the sublimity of being helpful
to others not merely according to established rules of
beneficence, but according to existing needs. "The Charity
of the Church is as broad as the needs of humanity," was
Father Prendergast's idea of helpfulness and it was this
idea that inspired the Sisters to leave their children with
out all the attention to which they had become accustomed,
in order to minister to the sick soldiers in the military
hospitals. It was emergency work and we shall now see
how in a greater emergency the Sisters rose to even
greater heights of helpful service.

KINDERGARTEN AND NURSERY, HOLY FAMILY DAY HOME

CHAPTER VII
Earthquake Relief -Work
ireadful beyond all reckoning were
the Earthquake days in San Francisco;
dreadful in themselves and more dreadful
in some of the manifestations of human
depravity. There was depicted in one of
the San Francisco newspapers a scene of
utter confusion and desolation; charred ruins, heaps of
debris, distorted street car rails and scattered bodies of
the dead and dying. Above it all, riding on black wings
were some human-faced vultures represented as scanning
the scene of desolation and saying one to another: "I
wonder if there is anything we have overlooked !" The
inference was obvious; but, unless it referred to the few
vicious looters, it was unjust. Far more in keeping with
the spirit of the time would it have been to depict some
blessed Angels hovering over the stricken City in search
of some place where good could be done or, better still,
walking among the ruins on errands of love and helpful
ness. Christian charity is never absent from human suf
fering. The hero or heroine is one that is ready to meet
any situation, no matter how difficult. If the granite
foundations of the earth give way or the pillars of the
heavens fall, the hero and heroine will be found undaunted
and ready to serve amid the ensuing ruins of the world.
Christian heroism or supernatural charity shines more
brilliantly in times of stress; it is more admired of men
who are its beneficiaries and it often receives public honors

152 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
from grateful peoples; but it is always present in the souls
of God's servants, always active, even though it be not
so conspicuous in times of peace and prosperity as it is in
days of discord and disaster.
Our study of the Earthquake relief-work of the Holy
Family Sisters will, therefore, reveal nothing of a special
nature as far as their readiness to serve is concerned; it
will merely bring out in special light the heroism that
characterizes their whole life, and enable us to see it in
settings of more universal interest.
No thought of impending disaster was in the minds of
the people of San Francisco, when on the night of April
17, 1906, they assembled in the gorgeously lighted cafes
and silver palaces of the downtown district or crowded
the Grand Opera House on Mission Street to hear the
great Caruso whose tenor voice had taken the world by
storm. San Francisco had hailed his coming with its
accustomed enthusiasm and manifested its ardent admira
tion by thunderous applause that shook the walls of the
Opera House. Society turned out, in all the splendid
magnificence of wealth, to hear the mighty tenor. "There
were beautiful women in Worth and Paquin gowns," we
read in a newspaper account of the affair, "who used their
lorgnettes a shade too conspicuously, and who were per
haps a thought too careful of their words. They rep
resented the young and sturdy aristocracy of the City;
daughters of 'self-made men,' immensely proud of their
evolution; superficially, perhaps, a little ashamed of the
soil in which their family trees had found a rooting sus
tenance. One would have found it hard to distinguish
them from the daughters of proud Southern chivalry or
Spanish grandees with whom they mingled."
The night was curiously still, but the crowds that gath
ered at the Opera House or cafes did not notice any dif-

EARTHQUAKE RELIEF- WORK 153
ference, did not look forward to disaster, did not think
that in the midst of life there is death or that in the flush
of security there is danger. In the Convent of the Holy
Family there was a vast and significant difference; all was
sacredly silent and religiously quiet from the sound of the
bell for night prayers until the Sisters retired to sleep
peacefully in the arms of God with restful and unsullied
consciences. What to them the possibility of disaster?
They are always prepared to meet it, and often enough
they even long to be dissolved and to be with Christ.
"Either to suffer or to die" was the motto of Saint Teresa;
to suffer to be like Christ, or to die to be with Christ.
Sisters generally, though to outward appearances calm
and full of that happiness which the world cannot give,
have something of the Teresean spirit. What to them
is the possibility of a collision or a wreck in the vast
archipelago of space? Has God not appointed a salvage
corps of blessed Angels to carry His servants to the har
bor of safety? If we are sojourners in the land of the
dying, is there not a land of the living for those that love
and serve God? With thoughts like these the Sisters of
the Holy Family retired to rest on that never-to-be-
forgotten night of April 17, 1906. Little did they dream
of the horror that was to come with dawn; for with all
their confidence in God and all their supernatural aspira
tions, it was a horror. About a quarter past five o'clock,
there was a dull sound of subterraneous rumbling, then a
quick, sharp, jerking motion that was recognized by all.
It was the Earthquake !
Some of the Sisters had already assembled in the chapel
for the morning prayers. It was Easter Wednesday and
the choice altar vases, filled with Easter lilies still exhaled
a sweet fragrance, but in a few seconds they crashed on
the marble floor of the Sanctuary and were reduced to dust

154 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
by the falling candelabra and statues. The Sisters clung to
the pews and cried aloud to their Lord in the tabernacle,
when to the surprise of all the tabernacle door swung open
exposing to their view and adoration the Blessed Sacra
ment. To some this seemed portentous of worse horrors,
to others it seemed a sign of their Master's protection.
All were now assembled in the chapel kneeling amid the
fallen plaster and offering themselves to whatever God's
holy will might ordain. With the cessation of the shocks
there came a period of prayerful silence, but no one dared
leave the chapel until 6 o'clock when Father John J. Cant-
well arrived to comfort the Sisters. He said Mass for
them in the parlor and told them to be in readiness for
work of relief throughout the City.
San Francisco was the scene of wild disorder on that
terrible morning. People rushed from their homes to the
streets and then back again to their homes. The cable
cars stood still on twisted rails or over cavities in what
was once a well paved street. Bricks from walls and
chimneys and broken window glass covered the sidewalks.
Men and women and little children rushed madly hither
and thither not knowing what to expect but fearing the
worst. Soon were heard the siren sounds of ambulances carry
ing bandaged men who groaned in agony of pain, and
badly crushed forms of screaming women. Then came
an additional horror. San Francisco was in flames, the
water mains were broken, the fire department helpless
and the populace moved slowly towards the hills, like
refugees in war-time fleeing the approach of a destroying
enemy. But scattered along the line of retreat there were the
dead and the wounded and some must venture back into
no man's land to remove the dead and to assist the

EARTHQUAKE RELIEF- WORK 155
wounded. The Holy Family Sisters were among the first
to be called. The Mechanics' Pavilion had been turned
into an emergency hospital and at about 7 o'clock the
Sisters were there as nurses, and they went not empty
handed. What the express men could not carry the Sis
ters took with them. All the mattresses, pillows, blan
kets and sheets of the convent were carried to the Pavil
ion and every Sister was busy at her work of mercy. At
8 o'clock there came a second shock of almost the same
intensity as the first but of shorter duration. The dead
and the dying were lying everywhere on the floor of the
Pavilion. Priests, doctors, nurses and Sisters, paused in
their work for a few moments of prayer, the wounded
cried for help, and fear added a few more to the number
of the dead.
At 9 o'clock the heavy tread of marching soldiers was
heard, and the Sisters were told that the City was under
martial law. The soldiers did splendid work at the Pavil
ion segregating the dead from the wounded and arranging
the latter in long orderly lines in the center of the vast
edifice. The Pavilion assumed the appearance of a well-
kept hospital. Besides the Sisters of the Holy Family
there were other volunteer nurses, among them the Sisters
of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Sisters
of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
Hardly had system been brought out of the early morn
ing chaos when, at 10:45 o'clock, the commanding officer
of the Pavilion shouted out his orders that all must be in
readiness to leave. The unimpeded fire was approaching
on three sides. Wagons of every description were com
mandeered by the military and all assisted in removing
the poor victims to places of safety. As the last of the
Sisters left, they saw the flames that had destroyed St.
Ignatius Church and College and their own Sacred Heart

156 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Day Home leaping across the street to envelop the Me
chanics' Pavilion, now cleared of the dead and wounded.
Ashes and cinders were falling in profusion on all sides
and the Sisters tell how they had to shake the sparks from
their veils and capes, until they reached a place of safety.
As they could not all follow up the wagons, some re
turned to the convent which was being filled with poor
human beings who had lost their reason during the dis
aster. Some of the Sisters remained with these insane
patients during the night, others went to the Archbishop's
residence for a few hours' rest, and a few moved like
so many angels of consolation among the refugees in
Alamo Square.
Sister Teresa anxious to be of as much service as pos
sible invited the Jesuit Fathers of St. Ignatius Church to
make the main floor of the convent their temporary home.
Gladly and gratefully was the invitation accepted and for
several weeks, some of the homeless Jesuits found shelter
in the Holy Family Convent.
No section of the City was overlooked by the Sisters.
On the morning of the disaster several of them hurried
out to North Beach to look after their beloved children.
They had to walk most of the way, and what a sight met
their gaze as from Russian Hill they looked down on the
tumultuous streets ! And what sadness filled their hearts
as they went from house to house to console their friends !
Their stay among the stricken of North Beach was not a
long one. At noon they were hurried off to the Harbor
Emergency Hospital in a Police Patrol wagon to care for
the wounded. On reaching the hospital they were directed
to the Howard Street Pier where they found many
wounded men lying on the hard boards of the wharf,
some had been crushed by falling timber, others were in
an agony of thirst from loss of blood, and all were crying

EARTHQUAKE RELIEF-WORK 157
piteously for water and stimulants. The Sisters did
what they could to relieve the sufferers and found willing
men who ran about in search for bandages and other
necessaries. "It was a dreadful situation," writes one of the Sis
ters. "Under our feet the piles were trembling, and
over our heads the glass of the roof shaking so much
that it was frequently necessary to change our position
and that of the wounded to escape the danger of falling
glass. It seemed as though each moment would be the
last, and one wonders at the calm that envelops the soul
when it seems to be on the very threshold of eternity.
About five o'clock a tug came from Goat Island to take
the wounded, and after we had seen them safely cared
for, we went back to the Harbor Station to see how we
could possibly return home. Here we met Dr. C. Bricca,
who had been on duty since early morning. The Doctor
was one of the pupils of the Sisters in past years at SS.
Peter and Paul's, and with his never-failing kindness im
mediately sought some kind of a conveyance for us. He
succeeded in securing an ambulance. It was impossible
to return to St. Francis Home, as the whole lower section
of the City was in flames. Driving south, we reached
Bryant or Brannan Street, and then turned westerly, the
driver hoping to be able to leave us at the convent at
Hayes and Fillmore. Thousands of people were mak
ing their way to the Potrero, carrying their few worldly
possessions, and behind them the flames and smoke were
rising it seemed almost to the sky. Somewhere on the
journey, the ambulance stopped and a paralyzed man
was placed in it. He was to be taken to the County
Hospital. At Sixteenth Street we turned north, and in a
few moments reached our convent, to the great relief of
Sister Teresa who knew nothing of our whereabouts

158 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
during the day or how we had fared in those hours of
dread and confusion.
Such were some of the activities of the Sisters during
that dreadful visitation. It is not necessary to record
the many details of their labors; but we may mention
something of the appreciation shown by different people
after the dark days had passed into history. The Sis
ters' loss in earthquake and fire was incalculable. Three
day Homes, with all their equipment, the result of thirty-
four years of building, were utterly destroyed. Their
convent was badly damaged, walls, floors and even the
foundation needed repairing. Roughly speaking, their
losses amounted to from thirty to forty thousand dollars.
But of this they took no reckoning. On December 20,
1906, they received the following letter from the Execu
tive Committee of the San Francisco Relief and Red
Cross Funds :
San Francisco, Cal., December 20, 1906.
Sister M. Teresa, Superioress,
Dear Madam :
Enclosed herewith please find our check No. 14,425
for $5000.00. This is the amount appropriated by the
San Francisco Relief and Red Cross Funds, a corpora
tion, to the Sisters of the Holy Family.
Respectfully yours,
L. G. Jordan, Cashier
It was a meagre enough and belated allowance but
the Sisters received it with gratitude and turned it to
immediate use in purchasing a suitable place to convert
into a Day Home. Far more comforting were the ex
pressions of gratitude by those with whom they labored.
The following is from a tribute paid to the Sisters by the
Rev. Philip O'Ryan:

EARTHQUAKE RELIEF- WORK 159
"Archbishop Montgomery sent word to every Catholic
institution in the City to relieve the needy, and to co-oper
ate in every way with the Citizens' Committee. Among
the first to respond on the morning of the earthquake were
the Sisters of the Holy Family. Word was sent to them
that the Pavilion was converted into an emergency hospi
tal and thither they rushed their bedding and supplies for
the injured. The Sisters attended to the patients, bound
up their wounds and comforted them in their suffering.
Who that witnessed the scene in the Pavilion on that
morning will ever forget it? Here lay the victims of
earthquake and fire, crushed and broken, some who had
their faces mashed to a pulp. And I hope San Francisco
will never forget that brave army of doctors, nurses,
priests and devoted Sisters who remained at their post
until the last sufferer was borne from the burning Pavilion.
"One of the tragedies of the fire was the destruction
of the three Day Homes of these Sisters in which infants
and children were cared for and fed while their mothers
were at work. The people whose nickels and dimes
built these Day Homes are themselves homeless today.
Who will rebuild them in the New and Greater San
Francisco?" The Jesuit Fathers too found a practical way of ex
pressing their gratitude. A chaplain was appointed to
serve the Sisters by coming daily to offer the Holy Sacri
fice of the Mass in their chapel. "Thus the last and
greatest spiritual blessing came to our Community
through the great catastrophe that had befallen us, all
in God's own way," wrote one of the Sisters in the Con
vent diary. The remark provokes serious thought. Not
until after the earthquake, did they have the consolation
of daily Mass in their convent. They were forced to go
out to their nearby Parish Church, and this entailed a

160 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
great deal of inconvenience and sometimes delay in reach
ing their distant fields of labor.
But perhaps the most glowing tribute of all was from
the pen of Katherine K. Nesfield. The article appeared
in the "Overland Monthly." It is too long for insertion
here. We shall quote it in part only.
"The duties devolving on the Sisters were manifold,
complex and all freighted with responsibilities, but they
did not waver. Health and strength taxed apparently
beyond natural limits, never fagged. At times they were
custodians of the treasures of the altar, and of important
church papers. The people flocked to them with all the
earnings they had saved, and pressed it into their keep
ing. Those home treasures rescued from the midst of
the flames were safe.
"Then came systematic relief days with the giving of
food to rich and poor, standing in line each waiting
his or her turn. A short distance from the convent, the
Knights of Columbus secured a flat and this was used for
a relief station, where applicants came daily to the Sisters
for clothing, bedding and food.
"The tent cities commenced to grow apace. The Sis
ters followed the people into them. They established
centers, where hundreds of children were gathered to
attend kindergarten classes and sewing schools. The
fruits of the labor of the latter were distributed in the
form of dresses, aprons and useful articles of apparel,
which were distributed in thousands to the needy at the
close of each month. The young people were instructed
in the Catechism, were taught the principles of morality
and integrity, and schooled in the demands of economy.
"In a convenient place in this improvised city, the Sis
ters prepared the altars at which the priests offered the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Sundays and days of special

EARTHQUAKE RELIEF- WORK 161
devotion, and the children sang hymns. No opportunity
was lost to draw souls closer to God. The camps at
Golden Gate Park, Jefferson Square, Washington Square,
Potrero, Lobos Park, Harbor View and a large one at
Bay and Polk Streets (Fort Mason), where many of the
priests were located, and the Sisters too gave their untir
ing efforts to assist them. Isolated tents were not
neglected. Every place where want demanded, relief
and consolation were carried by the Sisters who recog
nized no distinction of color or creed. Away out at Ingle
side where the old people were placed, they were gathered
together by priests and Sisters. On the question of the
spiritual welfare of both young and old, the Sisters were
ever on the alert. Notwithstanding distressing condi
tions, the young folks were regularly and carefully pre
pared to receive the Sacraments of Penance, Confirma
tion and Holy Communion. The Archbishop confirmed
classes of these children in the churches left standing.
First Holy Communion was received in the tent
churches, — the necessity of keeping the children bright
and happy, as well as orderly, was not lost sight of by
the Sisters. The good merchants, the people from all
over, aided them. Thanksgiving and Christmas were
not forgotten. Each camp had its Christmas tree and
entertainment, each child was remembered with a Christ
mas gift, and the spirit of the season of joy and peace
reigned. "At Ingleside, it was a bright and merry Christmas for
the old people. The Sunday School children of St. Mary's
Cathedral, conducted under the auspices of the Sisters,
provided an interesting program, and every resident of
Ingleside received a token of the occasion. A souvenir
of the day was presented to the Commander, who ex
pressed his acknowledgment in some timely earnest words.

162 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
The U. S. Army were very kind and courteous, and when
they withdrew some weeks after the earthquake, they
were sadly missed, but the city had to adjust itself. In
all seasons and all weathers, the Sisters have been con
stant in their camp attendance. No matter what the
difficulty of transportation, they have managed daily to
reach each. Sometimes they went in state in the U. S.
Government carriage, or automobiles (which were very
few in those days). Again they would go in the Sheriff's
van, or fire patrol ; frequently when conditions demanded,
a sand cart or scavenger wagon or any possible vehicle
on wheels was accepted. Most of the time an express
wagon was at their service — the horses nearly ran away
several times, but they managed not to be thrown out,
they know not how, only prayer saved them.
"When necessary, they willingly walked and no matter
what the distance, carried food or clothing everywhere.
The Red Cross officials, the City officials, the camp com
manders, those in general charge of the relief work found
no more able auxiliaries than the Sisters who have been
always on duty.
"The Sisters of the Holy Family in all the months since
the 18th of April, 1906, have been close to the hearts,
the sentiments, the thoughts of the afflicted of San Fran
cisco, and their testimony is 'The people were kind and
brave to heroism in time of calamity.' The people them
selves can only say 'God bless our friends, the Sisters of
the Holy Family.' "

CHAPTER VIII
During the Influenza
UST AS THE CURTAINS WERE ABOUT TO
descend on that awful tragedy known as
the world-war, there entered unannounced
another dread scourge, the Influenza.
The Sisters were not as conspicuous dur
ing the great war as they had been in the
less enthusiastic encounter with Spain. There were few
calls made on their willingness. Volunteer workers were
in abundance and the chief effect of the war, as far as the
Sisters were concerned, was the multiplication of their
regular duties — caring for the poor, teaching Christian
Doctrine to children, and praying for peace. But when
the scourge of pestilence fell upon the City they again
distinguished themselves in serving the plague-stricken,
more particularly those that were poor.
The Influenza epidemic of 1918 afforded opportunities
to serve without glamor. There were no distinguished
-service medals awarded; there have been no statues
erected to the memory of heroes and heroines who faced
the poisonous breath of pestilence, with as much courage
as the soldier boys faced the machine-gun fire of the
enemy; there was less of that sentimental enthusiasm that
goes over the top or into the inferno of red artillery with
cheers on its lips and fire in its eyes; but there was need
of that deeper courage that springs from pure love and
self-sacrificing devotion to duty for duty's sake, and to
the service of humanity on supernatural principles.

164 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
The Holy Family Sisters were not the only generous
workers during the Influenza epidemic; doctors and
nurses, school-teachers and Red Cross matrons rushed
into the breach — some of them never to return — with a
like devotedness to suffering humanity that is as admir
able as it is rare, as glorious in the all-seeing Eye of God
as it is, too frequently, unnoticed and unknown to man.
Naturally enough there was a casualty list of Holy
Family Sisters. They could not visit the homes of the
sick poor, unscathed or breathe in the pestilential air and
remain immune from its deadly germs.
From October 18 to November 1, when the plague
raged fiercest, thirty Sisters were reported among the
stricken. A page from the Convent diary will be inter
esting to the reader.
Oct. 18. Three Sisters stricken with influenza. Quar
antined in infirmary.
Oct. 19. Board of Health issued an order that all
churches be closed. All are to wear masks.
Sister Teresa anxious about the Sisters.
Oct. 20. No Sunday Schools today. Open air services
at Cathedral. All Sisters busy assisting the
sick. It is impossible to procure masks. Sis
ter Teresa has sent for gauze and the Sisters
are devoting their free moments in the early
morning and when they return at night to
mask-making.
Oct. 21. Dr. Pawlicki remained all day. The Sisters
are a little better but three more Sisters are
ill today. Hundreds of masks have been made
and distributed by the Sisters. Calls for help
are becoming more frequent. The telephone
rings with frantic appeals for nurses and help.
The Sisters are doing everything possible.

DURING THE INFLUENZA 165
Oct. 22. Another Sister is ill. There are now seven
Sisters in the infirmary. Dr. Derham is sick
and Dr. Brady is visiting the Sisters. As many
Sisters as can be spared are out visiting the
stricken.
Oct. 24. The Archbishop has opened relief stations at
the Churches. Mrs. J. B. Casserly is in charge
of the Red Cross Relief. The Sisters offered
their services and all are kept busy.
Oct. 26. St. Francis Day Home has a large number of
children to be cared for. Some of the Sisters
remained all night, assisted by a matron. We
now have eleven in the infirmary. Several of
the Sisters' relatives died during the week.
We seem to be walking in the midst of death.
The shrieking sirens of the ambulances, the
increasing number of the afflicted, the dead
waiting to be buried, cause fear that is almost
impossible to conquer. The Sisters have to
encourage the terror-stricken people.
Oct. 29. One dormitory has been converted into a tem
porary infirmary. Sixteen Sisters are sick.
Nov. 1. All Saints' Day. Sisters have had no rest.
Visiting the sick, praying with the dying, lay
ing out the dead, bringing nourishment to the
convalescent or consoling the bereaved, they
are everywhere in demand. Two more are
down today. Some are recovering slowly but
are very weak. It will be some time before
they recover their strength. The Sisters on
duty have had scarcely any rest. The death
rate for the past few weeks is appalling.
Thus the diary continues with the same story of uncon
scious heroism until the last signs of the dread scourge

166 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
disappears. Of the thirty Sisters stricken not one suc
cumbed, though it is thought that the subsequent sudden
death of Sister Baptist was due to the effects of the dis
ease. She it was who nursed the sick Sisters. Day and
night, with little rest, she remained on duty in the convent
infirmary and was herself the last to fall a victim to the
scourge. Her case was of more than ordinary serious
ness. It left her with a weak heart and it was to this
weakened condition of the heart that her unexpected
death, in 1922, has been attributed.
To record the charitable work of the Sisters during the
plague is neither possible nor necessary. They were too
busy to keep a detailed account of their labors and too
devoted to the sick to think about themselves. They
assisted all, without any thought of sect or creed. When
they were not sent to Red Cross cases they had their own
to attend to, and it is doubtful whether the official Red
Cross headquarters received more calls for help than did
the Sisters of the Holy Family. Many there were who
sought for the Sisters in preference to secular nurses, not
for religious purposes only, but because they knew with
what solicitude the Holy Family Community attended to
every need of the sick; they knew, too, how the Sisters
secured the most wholesome food from the Convent, with
what care they watched over the sanitary requirements
of the time and with what scrupulous exactness they
supervised everything that made for cleanliness and the
cheerful atmosphere so necessary for recovery. The Sis
ters themselves had to adopt a definite rule. "Do the
duty which lies nearest" was their motto, and, as far as
was possible, they adhered to it with great fidelity.
In the Italian section of the City they were called upon
to labor day and night. To understand the difficulties
with which they had to combat, we must bear in mind

oo-oz<u.z< </)
h"zUJ>
z o
o

<li.
> J
o
I J
LU a.
<I o

DURING THE INFLUENZA 167
that, as Father Galli assures us, the epidemic visited
North Beach with such fury that it was impossible to
cope with it until assistance came from outside the dis
trict. Because of the confusion that prevailed in the first
stages of the epidemic, especially in the more congested
quarters, a very serious situation arose. For a time it
seemed that no child was to be spared its share of suffer
ing. Great was the tension of the workers when in scores
of cases parents lay helpless in bed with some of their
children by their side, in the same appalling condition,
while others standing about presented as pitiable a sight
as the sick. Want of parental care and long hours of
weeping had emaciated their youthful faces.
Much of this suffering could have been spared if the
volunteer workers were more numerous. The Sisters of
the Holy Family seeing the heart-breaking conditions of
things gladly opened their Day Home in the early part
of the epidemic to the children who otherwise should be
exposed to the influenza. Day and night, these children
were watched and attended to by the good Sisters with
such motherly care that they readily forgot their own
homes. Some saw cleanliness which they had not known
before. Their general appearance was entirely trans
formed. From sickly children they became beams of
delight and contentment. Their laughing voices resound
ing through the yard, classes, and corridors of the Day
Home brought tears of joy to their relatives.
Red Cross doctors and nurses and special workers re
gretted that there were not more such "Homes" for the
"little ones" where order, cleanliness, and contentment
reigned. But the Sisters did not limit their activity to
the Day Home. While the "little ones" were happily
playing and enjoying themselves in the fullness of their
hearts, their parents, brothers, and sisters were among

168 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
the sufferers. These must be sought out and assisted.
The Sisters entered upon the task with cheerful readiness
and untiring energy. They not only brought aid to the
homes, but with it joy and hope of recovery and, when
ever necessary, they summoned the priest to prepare the
dying for eternity. Nor did they shrink from the most
menial offices. When they were not hurrying to and fro
with specially prepared broths, and tempting dainties for
those that could not eat or with prescribed medicines for
the seriously sick, they were washing the bed linen or
sweeping the long neglected homes. These and similar
charities consumed the hours that could be spared from
the children in the Day Home.
In Oakland and San Jose the Holy Family Sisters were
engaged in the same works of charity. In the latter place
they won special glory for their beloved Community. As
soon as the influenza began to rage in that city, Sister
Clare went to the Health Office department and offered
the Sisters' services. She was most kindly received, and
her offer gratefully accepted. Every Sister in the Con
vent was pressed into service. Sister Clare herself re
mained home to answer the door bell and telephone, to
direct the Sisters to the many urgent calls for help and
to assist the Sister who had charge of the cooking.
Soups, broths, and strengthening nourishment for the
drove them through the city and to assist in deliv-
sick were prepared with great care. Kind-hearted friends
of the Community supplied the necessary nourishment.
Mr. Peter Dunn came every morning at 10:30 to place
his automobile at the disposal of the Sisters. He himself
drove them through the city and assisted in delivering food
and medicines to the patients. Mr. Edward McLaughlin
also called and told the Sisters to get all that was neces
sary for the sick at his expense. This was of the greatest

DURING THE INFLUENZA 169
help; bed-clothes, linen, and underwear were absolutely
necessary in nearly every case. Through his generous
assistance the Sisters were able to relieve all cases of
distress. The Sisters were fortunate in obtaining the services of
a young boy to drive the convent automobile. Though
the people of the city were so thoughtful and kind that
the Sisters had more cars at their disposal than were
necessary, they were often called to cases so urgent that
delay might prove disastrous and so they secured an auto
mobile of their own which was in constant readiness to
proceed to any part of the city where help was needed.
Any description of the condition in San Jose would
seem an exaggeration of facts. In many instances entire
families were stricken, lying two and three in a room and
sometimes two or three in a divided couch, not one of
them able to give another a glass of water.
The epidemic in San Jose raged from October 18 until
November 10. Then it began to decrease noticeably
every day until finally conditions resumed their normal
status. The schools were re-opened on November 18,
and the Sisters also returned to their afternoon classes
at the various churches. On Sunday, November 17,
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated in all the
churches. This had been prohibited for a month, al
though on the previous Sunday, November 10, they were
permitted to have Mass in the open air, placing the altar
at the entrance of the Church.
The influenza disappeared gradually, with the excep
tion of a few scattered cases here and there, which the
Sisters followed up into the third week of November,
and in the fourth week of the month but two cases were
reported. The people of San Jose were gratefully appre
ciative of the beneficent labors of the Holy Family Sisters

170 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
and many were the expressions of thanks received by Sis
ter Clare. The following letter, from the City Manager
of San Jose, was official:
My dear Sisters :
I have not had an opportunity to thank you personally
for the excellent work you did during our recent epidemic.
We certainly appreciate the manner in which you took
care of the various families which were given to you, for
without your help the situation would have been much
more serious. You know how short we were of nurses,
and the fact that you came forward and furnished us a
number of competent women was a real civic service.
Allow me to express my appreciation of your help.
W. C. Bailey
We have thus anticipated the historical sequence of
events, for as yet we have said nothing of the Sisters'
establishments outside of San Francisco. To this subject
we shall devote some consideration in the following
chapters.

_'-

HOLY FAMILY CONVENT. SAN JOSE

CHAPTER IX

San Jose

NLY THE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
can fully appreciate the care which their
beloved St. Joseph has ever taken of their
interests. He was the God-appointed
guardian of the Holy Family of Naz
areth ; he is the chosen and much revered
guardian of the Holy Family Sisters. Consistent with
this thought is the fact that the first mission of the Sisters
was to the City of St. Joseph. During the life time of
Sister Dolores, the Rev. R. E. Kenna, S. J., and later, the
Rev. R. A. Gleeson, S. J., had spoken to the Archbishop
and asked that the Sisters be permitted to open a Con
vent in that city. The Archbishop approved of the idea,
but Sister Dolores, though anxious to comply, could not
spare the workers. In the early part of 1907 provision
was made and a private home was purchased in San Jose,
and fitted out to serve the purpose of a temporary convent.
This first Mission House was blessed by His Grace,
the Most Rev. Archbishop Riordan, on June 20, 1907.
Friends and benefactors from San Francisco and San
Jose came in such numbers that the convent could not
accommodate all. Among those present the Sisters recog
nized many familiar faces. There were some who wit
nessed the work in its incipiency and were now privileged
to partake of the joy of the Sisters in their new founda
tion. Mrs. M. A. Tobin was there; Mrs. Jas. O'Brien;
Dr. and Mrs. L. Pawlicki, and from San Jose there were

172 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Mr. E. McLaughlin; Mrs. M. P. O'Connor, Mrs. W. P.
Dougherty, Mr. C. Barrington, who were most generous
in rendering material assistance to the work.
His Grace, Archbishop Riordan, was assisted by Rev.
Fathers Gleeson, Collins, Joy and Scanavino of the Society
of Jesus, and Rev. John McGinty, pastor of Holy Cross
Church, in San Francisco. The new foundation was dedi
cated to St. Elizabeth and called the St. Elizabeth Kinder
garten and Day Home. After the dedicatory services, the
Archbishop gave the solemn Benediction of the Most
Blessed Sacrament to all assembled in the beautiful chapel,
the altars of which were daintily decorated with pink car
nations. On the following day Holy Mass was celebrated
by the Rev. J. J. Prendergast. How deep must have been
his joy and gratitude to God for the great favor accorded
him of witnessing this first Mission House solemnly
blessed. While waiting for the completion of the Day Home,
the Sisters entered upon the usual missionary work.
Under the direction of the Jesuit Fathers, they visited
the sick, the poor and the needy. The following page,
culled from the diary of the Sisters, will suggest the nature
of their charitable work:
Name : Circumstances Recommended by
Mrs. — . Invalid husband ; 7 children —
girls 15 and 8 years, boys 14,
12, 9 and 5 yrs., baby 15 mos. Father Collins
Mrs. — . Widow; one grown boy (deli
cate) who earns rent; boy 13,
girls 1 1 and 6 yrs. Father McKey
Mrs. — . Widow; 7 children — boys 15,
13, 7 and 5 yrs.; girls 14, 12
and 9 yrs. Sister Baptist

SAN JOSE 173
Name : Circumstances Recommended by
Mrs. — . Very ill with consumption ; 4
girls 1 to 13 yrs.; husband has
gone to San Francisco for
work. Father Dethoor
Mrs. — . Husband in Agnews Asylum ; 5
children — boys 10 and 8 yrs.;
girls 12, 9 and infant. Mrs. B.
Mrs. — . Widow, 3 children — girl 13
yrs., boys 10 and 8 yrs. Father Culligan
Mrs. — . Two elderly ladies living to
gether — one an invalid. Sister A.
Mrs. — . Husband out of work ; 9 chil
dren — boys 7, 5 and 3 yrs.,
girls 14, 13, 11, 9, 6 and 3
yrs. Father Whittle
Mrs. — . Widow ; old and feeble, one
grown son with lung trouble. Mrs. R.
Mrs. — . Widow; 2 children — girls 14
and 12 yrs. Father Collins
Mrs. — . Husband ill for long time ; 1
girl 14 yrs. ; her home has been
burned. Father Dethoor
Mrs. — . In straightened circumstances
from long illness of both her
self and husband ; 2 small girls
and infant. Sister B.
Mr. — . Partially blind, old mother and
2 small boys. Father Culligan
Mrs. — . Deserted by husband ; 2 chil
dren — 4 yr. boy and infant. Father McKey
Sister Baptist was appointed superior of the San Jose
Community. It consisted of five Sisters. A Day Home
with a nursery for babies, a kindergarten for the children

174 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
not yet of school age, and a sewing school for the public
school children were opened before August 1, 1907. Im
provements had to be made to meet the growing needs
of the institution, but Sister Baptist had such confidence
in St. Joseph and found such a generous response from
the people of San Jose that she never had to worry about
funds, when funds were necessary. Contributions came
in abundance. When it was necessary to build a dining
room for the children she asked and received a donation
of 3700 feet of lumber.
Scarcely had the Sisters completed their third year in
San Jose when an entirely new convent was deemed neces
sary. Sister Teresa, then superioress, visited San Jose,
and, deeming the present site of the convent a suitable
one, decided on the purchase of the adjoining property.
The actual site was offered for sale in 1910. Sister
Teresa wrote to the Archbishop for permission to buy
and prayed that St. Joseph would send sufficient money
for the purchase. She received permission from His
Grace, the Archbishop, and the money from Mrs. M. P.
O'Connor. But the parties who held the property in trust
elected to raise the price and the Sisters, not to be out
witted by what they considered an unreasonable demand,
purchased another site on Vine Street.
This wise move brought the trustees of the adjoining
property to a more reasonable frame of mind and the
coveted property, offered at the Sisters' price, was pur
chased in 1911, through the generous donation of Mrs.
M. P. O'Connor. The work of the Sisters was continued
in the temporary quarters on Vine Street and Park Ave
nue ; but hopes were entertained of erecting, in due time,
a convent with all the necessary appointments and accom
modations for an ever growing community and a con
stantly increasing number of children.

SAN JOSE 175
Sister Teresa had plans made for a frame building and,
wisely enough, called on Mr. E. McLaughlin who had
always been a most kind benefactor, to obtain his advice
and, if possible, his assistance. He gave both. He
advised a brick building instead of the wooden one that
had been planned and guaranteed to make a personal
contribution that would cover the additional expense.
Mr. L. T. Lenzen was engaged as the architect, Mr. R. Q.
Summers as contractor. The work was speedily prose
cuted and in August, 1917, it was ready for occupancy.
It was not, however, until the furnishing of the house
was completed that the dedication took place. Arch
bishop Hanna officiated at this ceremony on January 20,
1918. The work of the Sisters in San Jose has been similar in
every respect to their work in San Francisco, with this
difference perhaps, that their social-service activities have
been more in demand. In San Jose there are no Helpers
of the Holy Souls, nor other community devoted to the
poor and the poor are there in abundance. For the most
part, however, they have devoted their energies to Sunday
Schools and Day Homes with the usual success.
The first call for their services in teaching Christian
Doctrine to children came in August, 1907, from Father
Minacco, S.J., who was at the time in charge of Holy
Family Church (Italian). He asked with great humility
that the Sisters come and help him with his children and
his people. They responded generously, and in the fol
lowing month, September, they accepted a similar invita
tion to assist the Pastor of the Church of the Crucified,
also Italian. Their next mission was a distant one. At
the request of Rev. Father McKey, S. J., they took charge
of the children of St. Michael's Church at Boulder Creek.
It was a very long trip and there were but very few chil-

176 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
dren; but they thought the journey worthwhile, as there
were souls of Christ's little ones waiting for the word of
God and the grace of the Sacraments. Hurrying back
from the 6 o'clock Mass at St. Joseph's, the Sisters took
a hasty breakfast, then caught the 7:20 train, reached
Boulder Creek at 10 o'clock, and did not reach home
until 6 P. M.
In 1918 they opened Santa Maria Hall on San Carlos
Avenue and, at the request of Monsignor Ribeiro, took
charge of the Sunday School classes at the newly built
Church of the Five Wounds.
Their Catechetical work spread continuously until they
were instructing children in practically all of the San Jose
parishes. They even extended their efforts out to Agnews,
six miles from the city. They traveled in a carriage to
and fro, and when not busy at Agnews they sought other
districts outside of the city limits. A suggestion of their
pioneer work is contained in the following extract from a
letter of one of the workers :
"Holy Mass was celebrated today in the Pomona dis
trict in the hall which the Sisters had used for instructions.
As the hall was given over to Saturday night socials, the
necessary arrangements for Mass had to be made this
morning. The Sisters started out early, taking vestments
and other requirements for Mass. The piano was used
for an altar, the vestments were laid out on an old table
covered neatly with manila paper, the same table served
for the wine and water cruets. The congregation num
bered eighty-five. The children were remarkably well-
behaved, and joined in the recitation of the rosary with
great fervor."
The following facts will suggest the abundant fruit
reaped by the laborious Sisters. In seeking out the chil
dren belonging to the Holy Family Church, they found

SAN JOSE 177
one particular district where three hundred Catholic chil
dren, chiefly of Italian parentage, were registered in the
public school. But few were attending Mass because they
had received no instruction in their religion. No hall was
available in the district; and so something had to be done.
With a prayer to the Holy Family, Sister Carmel and a
companion walked about the locality in search of some
place where the children could be assembled. An empty,
somewhat dilapidated box-factory was chosen. The Sis
ters regarded it as a wonderful discovery. It was only a
block from the school and would serve their purposes
admirably. How to obtain the use of it was the next
problem. The owner, who lived many miles away on the
Alviso Road, must have been surprised to be called on the
telephone concerning his property, not indeed in regard
to a purchase but only to request the use of it, rent free.
The request, however, was graciously granted and the
following day classes opened. From the Holy Family
Church benches were supplied, the building was cleaned
and aired, a crucifix, some few attractive pictures of our
Lady, of the Guardian Angels, and a Holy Water font
were installed. The transformation was complete; the
erstwhile box-factory was a chapel. Many of the children
were in sad need of instruction. Some did not know their
prayers and both boys and girls above the age of fourteen
had to be prepared for first Confession.
It was almost pathetic to witness the eagerness with
which these children ran to the 'hall' after school, the
earnestness with which they drank in the truths of faith
and studied the Catechism. It could only be accounted
for by the impulse of the Holy Spirit urging these young
souls to seek for knowledge of the way which leads to life
everlasting. So it seemed to a Sister one day when having
promised them a story as a treat, she received this re-

178 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
sponse : "Oh, Sister, never mind the story. We just want
to learn about God."
A Sister tells of getting a confessional into the carriage
to bring it out to a house on the Berreyessa Road, where
children gathered for Catechism. A prie-dieu from the
chapel to which had been attached a frame encasing a
piece of wire screening was somehow squeezed into the
carriage. This was arranged in one room. A small shrine
in another with crucifix where the children might kneel to
say their Penance, made the little house seem just like
church. Most of the children had never been in a church.
When a class had been prepared, a priest, from the
Church of the Precious Blood, came out to hear their
confessions. A mission in which great good has been accomplished
is that known as St. Edward's Hall on Hobson Street.
It is in St. Joseph's parish but at quite a distance from the
church. The Sisters when disposing of their annual lec
ture tickets in that vicinity met a number of Catholic
children who were attending Protestant services in this
hall every Sunday morning. They immediately secured
the use of it for Saturday mornings. Sister Carmel then
spoke to Rev. Father Culligan, pastor of St. Joseph's,
who had been most anxious that these children should be
properly instructed and through his co-operation a class
opened with ten children present on September 21, 1912.
What such encouragement and zeal on Father's part
together with the regular instruction on Saturdays and
the visitation of the children, accomplished is noted in
a record of a few months later. We read that fifty
children were present at a May Crowning in the hall,
and that twenty of them, who were being prepared for
First Communion, were taken to St. Joseph's Church
for first Confession.

z
<CO

oI ><

zw
ECo

Io

SAN JOSE 179
The following account copied from the San Jose Mer
cury of May, 1919, shows the further growth of this
"mission" :
"The inaugural ceremonies of the new St. Edward's
Hall on Hobson and Vendome Streets were held yes
terday morning at 8 o'clock under the directorship of
the Rev. Ignatius Lopez, S. J. Eighteen children ap
proached the altar and received Communion for the first
time. After Mass they renewed their Baptismal vows.
"The little chapel was beautifully decorated with roses
and lilies, and during the celebration of the Mass and the
blessing of the hall, appropriate music was most effectively
rendered by the choir. Father Lopez addressed the chil
dren after reading the gospel of the day which was on
the transfiguration of Christ. He drew a touching and
beautiful parallel between the vision of glory given to
the chosen disciples who witnessed the transfiguration
and the gracious revelation of the divine love of Christ
for the little ones He was calling to Himself that morn
ing to fill them with faith and the spirit of prayer and to
clothe them with innocence of life.
"After the First Communicants had passed to their
places in the chapel, the more advanced pupils of the
Sunday School succeeded them at the altar together with
a number of the relatives and friends of the children who
wished to mark the happy occasion by receiving Com
munion with them. The attendance was very large and
all were deeply interested in the ceremonies.
"St. Edward's Hall for Sunday School is devoted to
the religious instruction of Catholic children living in
the northern part of the city and at too great a distance
to attend the instructions given at the parish centers.
Father Lopez, attached to St. Joseph's church, is the
spiritual director at St. Edward's and the teaching and

180 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
the preparation of the children for the reception of the
Sacraments is the chosen work of the Sisters of the Holy
Family, who go about the city doing good in their quiet,
self-effacing way. They have accepted this charge in
addition to their day nursery responsibilities, and their
daily service of the needy and the suffering."
Besides these catechetical labors, the Sisters of San
Jose have had marked success in Day Homes and sewing
schools. In the early days one of the Sisters writing
home says:
"We have had such a joy this afternoon that I must
needs tell you of it. A new, pupil came to the sewing
class five weeks ago ; when giving her name, age, school,
etc., she said very simply that she belonged to no Church
and was never baptized. Well, she was baptized today,
her sixteenth birthday, having attended Sr. Baptist's class
with several other large girls who are preparing for the
Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist. Last Satur
day a girl of thirteen was baptized, she received the name
of Agnes. Another took the name of Mary."
The same Sister writes a few months later: "The
Feast of St. Teresa was marked by a very great happi
ness. A few weeks ago the Sisters were called to attend
a particularly pitiful case — a mother and her four little
ones deserted by their father. Help was asked for them
through the daily papers. The children were brought
to the Convent and cared for until homes could be secured
for them. In the meantime the three oldest were
instructed for Baptism, the mother being a Catholic.
Today the four children were baptized, and the mother
went to confession for the first time since her marriage.
The oldest girl was named Elizabeth."
At the end of the first year the sewing school regis
tered a hundred and forty children, and the Day Home

SAN JOSE 181
had seventy-five in daily attendance. More Sisters were
needed as the work increased and at the present writing
there are nineteen in the Community. The most notable,
but, by no means the greatest, glory of the Sisters in San
Jose is their work during the Influenza epidemics of 1918
and 1919. Of this we have already spoken. Here we
need but add one word in honor of Sister M. Carmel to
whose untiring efforts, the work begun so auspiciously by
Sister Baptist, was carried out in such a magnificent way.
Sister Carmel's death occurred in 1918. It was indeed
a heavy loss to her Community. Always a sufferer, she
had been in San Francisco for medical attention when the
news came of the sudden death of her much-beloved
brother. This shock seemed to aggravate her own disease
and quite suddenly the end came on the morning of
March 8. The funeral took place from the Mother
House, but at the request of Rev. Father Culligan, her
remains were left one day in the San Jose Convent that
the people of that city might pay their tribute of respect
and assist at a Mass for the repose of her soul.
The following letter bespeaks the kind sympathy of
the Jesuit Fathers as well as the esteem in which Sister
Carmel was held : March 10, 1918.
Dear Sister Teresa :
I have just learned with very great sorrow of the death
of Sister M. Carmel, one of the pioneers of your Con
gregation and a very dear friend of mine. May God have
mercy on her soul.
I offer my sympathy to yourself and to the entire
Community in this very great loss, humanly speaking.
But looking at things from the supernatural plane, such
a death is the gate to life eternal. In Heaven she will

182 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
be able to do far more for her beloved Community and
her dear poor and dearer children than she ever could
upon earth.
San Francisco and its various charities owe very much
to Sister Carmel, San Jose owes much more. Her mem
ory will remain in benediction. She was a sweet gentle
character filled with a great love for God, our Lord and
His poor and a devoted Spouse of Christ. I shall offer
my Holy Mass tomorrow for her dear soul.
Rev. Father Whittle and Rev. Father Rector and Fr.
Woods and the other Fathers unite with me in this
expression of sympathy and all promise their prayers.
May our dear Lord deign to comfort you all in this
great sorrow.
Devotedly in the Sacred Heart,
Richard A. Gleeson, S. J.
Sister M. Clare was appointed Superior in July and
under her administration further work has been taken
up. The staff of Sisters had at Sister Carmel's death
increased to fifteen, but at the present writing, nineteen
workers are kept constantly busy.
Los Gatos, Milpitas, Palo Alto and Mayfield have
been added to the list of towns in whose parishes, the
Sisters conduct Sunday Schools, the two last named places
being the most recent, started in 1922.
The carriage has given way to an automobile which
takes the Sisters about to the various fields of catechetical
labor. Up the slope of Mt. Hamilton, where a garage
makes an excellent class-room, out to Agnew, to St.
Edward's Hall on Hobson street, out to the Willows
the Sisters go, to impart religious instruction.
A recent report shows a total of three thousand chil
dren registered in San Jose and neighboring towns, and

SAN JOSE 183
the following well established centers: St. Elizabeth's
Day Home; Santa Maria Hall; Church of the Five
Wounds; Church of the Precious Blood; Holy Family
Church; St. Edward's Hall; and, on the outskirts, classes
at the Willows; at Agnews; on Mt. Hamilton, and the
parish churches of Los Gatos; Palo Alto; Mayfield; Por-
tola and Milpitas.
That the Sisters work among public school children is
appreciated even by the public school officials is evidenced
in the following tribute from the former Principal of
the Grant School in San Jose and the present Superin
tendent of Schools in Santa Clara County.
"As I have made public education my life work," he
writes, "I am keenly interested in all agencies which have
to do with the development of the child-life of my com
munity. Being chairman of the County Charities Com
mission I am likewise concerned with the activities of all
institutions which have for their purpose the ameliorating
the social conditions in my community. In both of these
fields of endeavor I find many splendid agencies supple
menting the work of the county and state, but none which
occupy a more affectionate place in the hearts of the people
than the Sisters of the Holy Family. I cannot speak too
highly of the service which they have rendered to the
people of the foreign settlements of our city. While this
service is only a small part of their endeavor it is the one
with which I am most familiar and of which I am most
competent to speak.
Without the kindly ministrations, both material and
spiritual, of these good Sisters the work of the school,
difficult as it is, would be made infinitely more difficult,
and the distribution of public philanthropy, one of the
most aggravating of governmental functions, would be
almost intolerable."

184 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
How the people of San Jose appreciate the work of
the Sisters, was clearly demonstrated when, on the occa
sion of the special Jubilee celebration in that city on
November 12, 1922, the great Jesuit Church of St. Joseph
was crowded to overflow. San Jose seemed to emulate
San Francisco — of San Francisco's celebrations we shall
give an account in future chapters of this book. The
friends of the Holy Family Sisters transformed the spa
cious Sanctuary into a veritable bower of ferns and palms
and other green foliage, so copious in Santa Clara Valley,
and interspersed the green with such a profusion of golden
chrysanthemums that no one could mistake the signifi
cance of it all; it was so suggestive of a golden anniver
sary. Under the brilliant light of a thousand candles, the
Sanctuary presented a solemnly religious background for
the red cassocks and rare lace surplices of the acolytes
and the gold vestments of the officiating clergy.
The Solemn High Mass was celebrated by the pastor,
the Rev. John C. Grisez, S. J., assisted by the Rev. Henry
D. Whittle, S. J., and the Rev. J. F. Collins, S. J. The
Rev. John Nestor, S. J. ; John D. Walshe, S. J. ; and Henry
Blackmore, S. J., were in the Sanctuary. The music for
the occasion being under the direction of Carl Fitzgerald,
choir director. Father D. J. Kavanagh, S. J., of San
Francisco, delivered the Jubilee address.
In the afternoon the Sisters held open house at their
Vine Street residence, where, with the assistance of Mrs.
R. S. Johnson and other ladies of the city, they welcomed
the hundreds of friends who called to congratulate them.
The festivities were brought to a fitting conclusion with
solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the de
votional little Convent chapel. Father Grisez officiated,
being assisted by Fathers Butler and Biagini.

CHAPTER X
Oakland
ISTERS JOSEPH AND AGNES, AT THE RE-
quest of His Grace the Most Reverend
Archbishop Riordan, were sent to Oak
land, in May, 1911, for the purpose of
selecting a site for an establishment in
that city. They made a thorough inves
tigation of available sites and prices and, on their return
home, expressed a preference for a house on Linden
Street. His Grace was willing to leave the matter entirely
to their judgment; but Sister Teresa, after diligent inquiry
about the house and the location, would not give her
consent to the purchase until she was able to inspect it
in person. She was at the time confined to a bed of
sickness; but on her recovery, she set the day for her
trip to Oakland and ordained that nothing be done in
the matter until after her trip.
On May 13, she appealed to one of her faithful and
never failing friends, Mrs. M. H. de Young, for the use
of her limousine. Mrs. de Young complied as a matter
of course. No one ever refused when Sister Teresa asked.
And so, accompanied by two other Sisters, she left the
Convent for Oakland. She did not like the house that
had been selected. It was not, in her opinion, suited for
the work of the Sisters. It was too small, not conveniently
located and there were no prospects of future growth.
Accordingly she instructed the chauffeur to drive about the
city. She hoped to find a more commodious building, that

186 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
would serve all the purposes of convent life and of the
Sisters' activities. After viewing several properties that
were for sale, she resolved to make a visit to St. Mary's
Church at Seventh and Jefferson Streets. Many years
before Rev. Father M. King had asked the Sisters to
make a foundation in this parish and had offered them
a house on the Church property at Seventh and Grove
Streets. The Sisters could not accept the invitation at
that time and now Sister Teresa thought that it would be
of advantage to inspect the site.
But St. Joseph, the Guardian of the Holy Family, had
other plans, and they were carried out in a way that could
not have been anticipated. The chauffeur, unacquainted
with the streets of Oakland, drove by mistake to St.
Joseph's Church, at Seventh and Chestnut Streets. When
Sister discovered the mistake she smilingly said: "Never
mind, we shall make a little visit in St. Joseph's. Her two
companions went into the Church and on returning to
the limousine were greeted with the remark: "There is
a large house at the corner of Eighth and Chestnut. It
seems to be for sale." It was, indeed, a large house, with
spacious grounds, and unoccupied; but the notice of sale
had been taken down. On inquiring the Sisters were told,
to their disappointment, that it had been for sale for some
weeks but undoubtedly a purchaser had been found.
Sister, with her usual faith in St. Joseph, was not dis
couraged. She felt sure that he had guided the limousine
to his church for a purpose.
She had an agent inquire about the property and before
many days she was able to report to the Archbishop that
St. Joseph had found a most desirable house in a good
location. His Grace was pleased and advised Sister to
begin the necessary renovations at once. The purchase
price was considered a bargain. The house of fourteen

HOLY FAMILY CONVENT, PIEDMONT

OAKLAND 187
rooms was well built in the center of a large northeast
corner lot 100x145 ft. and was surrounded by trees and
beautiful palms. On May 24, the purchase was completed.
During the summer months the work of renovating was
commenced. The parlor was converted into a chapel;
the library, into a community room; the second floor,
arranged for a Day Home and the spacious attics, trans
formed into dormitories for the Sisters.
The Archbishop was very keenly interested in this new
foundation and on June 19, 1911, he sent a letter to the
parish priests of Oakland requesting them to read it in
their churches on Sunday. At the same time he author
ized the Sisters to collect the means of defraying the
expenses incurred. The Archbishop's letter is at once a
glowing tribute to the work of the Sisters and a cordial
introduction of the Holy Family Community to the people
of Oakland. June 19, 1911.
Rev. Dear Father:
It gives me great pleasure to announce to you and to
your people that the Sisters of the Holy Family whose
Mother-house is at Hayes and Fillmore Streets in this
City, have established a Convent and Home in Oakland.
They have recently purchased and have already taken
possession of a very desirable property situated on the
northeast corner of Eighth and Chestnut Streets. They
are now engaged in renovating the house and to it they
will add a suitable hall for the use of the children who
are to benefit by their work.
The Holy Family Sisters devote themselves primarily
to the children of our parishes. They work everywhere
in conjunction with the parochial Clergy who find them
invaluable helpers in everything that pertains to the wel
fare of the little ones of their flocks. Especially are

188 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
they gleaners of the field, searching after and recovering
the lost, the careless and the neglected. These they bring
back to active relationship with their several parish
churches, instructing them and preparing them for the
reception of the Sacraments. In many parishes in San
Francisco the Sisters, under the respective pastors, are in
active charge of the Sunday Schools.
Though it is primarily concerned with the interests of
the children, the work of the Sisters by its very nature
necessarily touches a wider circle, so that they exert a
wholesome influence upon the entire religious life of the
community in which they live and labor.
The Sisters of the Holy Family are well known and
loved in San Francisco where for many years they have
devoted themselves to the cause of charity and religion in
their special field. Quietly, almost without observation,
morning after morning, they scatter from their Mother-
house, some to do the work assigned to them in their
parishes, and others to take charge of the two Day Homes
which they have established in different parts of the City.
Through these agencies hundreds of our children, during
their earliest years, are daily brought under the religious
and refining influence of these faithful women. Our
people have appreciated the value of their services, and
have readily and generously supported the Sisters, and
enabled them to maintain their Mother-house and Day
Homes. The property newly purchased by the Sisters needs to
be paid for, and their work to be supported. When they
come to make their appeal, I am confident that they will
find Oakland no less appreciative and generous than San
Francisco has been. I do not feel that the Sisters of the
Holy Family are altogether strangers in Oakland or that
they need to be formally introduced there. However,

OAKLAND 189
I wish you would read this letter to your congregations,
and bespeak for the Sisters the cordial welcome of your
people. Their gentleness, their devotedness, their self-
sacrifice, in a word, the genuine charity and religious spirit
of the Sisters will, I am sure, once they are known, win
them the host of friends they deserve.
My blessing goes with them in their new field of labor,
and with it an earnest prayer for many years of fruitful
service. Sincerely yours,
>i* P. W. Riordan,
Archbishop of San Francisco
On the Feast of the Guardian Angels, October 2, 1911,
Most Rev. Archbishop Riordan, assisted by Msgr. Pren
dergast, V.G., Fathers McNally, Dempsey, and Galli
dedicated the new Holy Family Convent and St. Vincent's
Day Home, which were all under the same roof, the
second floor being entirely reserved for the use of the
Day Home. The Archbishop named the Home 'St. Vin
cent's.' The Sunday School work of the Sisters was
begun at once, first at St. Louis Bertrand's, at Elmhurst,
and a little later at St. Bernard's, Melrose, and later at
St. Joseph's, in Oakland.
Sisters from the San Franicsco convent assisted in the
house-to-house solicitation for assistance, which was con
tinued for three months in Oakland, Alameda, and Berke
ley. The results were gratifying; a considerable part of
the purchase price and remodelling expenses, was liqui
dated. With the approval of the Most Reverend Archbishop,
Sister M. Gertrude was appointed superior of the Oak
land convent and while laboring ceaselessly to give the
new work a good start, she devoted much time to the

190 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
interior furnishings of the convent. The chapel, with
temporary altar, was not in readiness until October 10.
On that day, Reverend Edward Dempsey, Pastor of St.
Mary's Church, celebrated Mass and the Sisters had the
consolation of knowing that thereafter the Blessed Sac
rament would be kept in the Tabernacle. Assisting Father
Dempsey there were many representatives of the Oakland
clergy, among them Rev. P. J. Keane; Rev. J. Kiely; Rev.
J. Butler; Rev. J. Galli; Rev. B. McKinnon. Sister M.
Teresa with Sister Carmel and several Sisters from San
Francisco were also present at the Mass. The Sisters'
choir from the Mother House sang during the services.
A detailed account of the first months in Oakland has
been preserved in the Convent diary, from which we have
selected the following items.
"October 15: Rev. J. Galli of the Salesian Society
was appointed Confessor of the Community.
"October 16: St. Vincent's Day Home was opened.
The first children received were twin boys of three and
a half years. The father, a Catholic, was sick in the
hospital, the mother, a Protestant, was working in San
Francisco. The children were baptized Catholics. They
lived in Alameda and were brought to the Home by the
mother on her way to work. Three girls, who before the
earthquake had attended St. Francis Home, entered the
afternoon classes.
"The Sisters hear Mass at St. Joseph's Church, one
block distant from the Convent. Once a week Mass is
offered in the chapel.
"November 1 : Eighty-two children were cared for in
the Day Home. There are eight Sisters in the Com
munity. "November 15: The Feast of St. Gertrude was hap
pily spent by the Community. A beautiful ostensorium,

OAKLAND 191
the gift of the young ladies of the Immaculate Conception
Sodality of SS. Peter and Paul's Church, San Francisco
was received by Sister Gertrude, who had been for some
years directress of that Sodality. Rev. B. C. Redahan,
the Pastor of SS. Peter and Paul's, gave Benediction in
the afternoon. It was the first time that the blessing of
the Eucharistic Lord had been received in the little Oak
land chapel.
"November 23 : Most Rev. Archbishop Riordan ac
companied by Father John Cantwell, paid a visit to the
Convent. His Grace was pleased with the location and
the house, but much more pleased with the large number
of children who were attending the Day Home and after
noon classes."
Soon the Sisters became the recipients of many prec
ious gifts for the chapel and Home. Kind friends in
San Francisco interested in the work just commencing
in a new field were anxious to help and in a short time
everything that could be desired for comfort and utility
was provided. Sister Teresa, fearing that her dear Sis
ters might be tempted to deprive themselves of comfort
in their zeal for the furtherance of their work, ordered
supplies for the dormitory and dining room.
"Christmas Day, Holy Mass was offered on the beau
tiful new altar, a memorial gift in memory of Mrs. Mary
Chambers. The first Mass was at 5:30; the second, at
6:15. The smallness of the Sanctuary and of the Chapel
made the Sisters feel nearer to the Babe of Bethlehem.
Sister Teresa called in the afternoon and expressed her
surprise and pleasure at the work accomplished in so short
a time in Oakland."
Holidays over and the first difficulties surmounted, the
Oakland Sisters resumed their work with renewed ardor.
There were in the neighborhood of the Convent five public

192 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
schools, from all of which children came for instructions
in the afternoon. It was a mixed gathering, including
children of Irish, German, American, Italian, Portuguese,
Slavonian, French, Swedish and Scotch parents. Among
them were several non-Catholics and one young Jew.
Even The daily papers of Oakland, which are not always
favorably disposed to Catholic activities, paid a glowing
tribute to the Sisters. "During the last few months," one
account reads, "The Sisters have established themselves
in this city to devote their time and labors to the work
of caring for little children. The work is well known
in San Francisco, where for many years they have labored
with untiring zeal for thousands of children, and where
they have received the generous support of all classes of
citizens. Four large Day Homes in different parts of San
Francisco receive every morning a large number of little
ones whose mothers go to work with confidence, knowing
that their children are safe while they labor for their sus
tenance and shelter. There are spacious nurseries, well-
lighted and containing dainty cribs, playrooms with toys
and pictures, kindergartens with games and refectories
with their rows of well appointed tables and high chairs.
"The present Home on Eighth Street is but a miniature
of all this, but the Sisters feel confident that the generosity
of the public will make possible in the near future a large
and commodious building devoted entirely to the children,
where the many hard working mothers of our Community
will find safe shelter for their little ones during their hours
of work. In connection with the Home, the Sisters have
opened a sewing school, and already nearly a hundred
girls have availed themselves of the opportunity to learn
the art of needlework. Catechetical instruction is the pri
mary work of the Institute, and the Sisters seek out and
encourage all boys and girls in need of instruction to at-

OAKLAND 193
tend their classes. This brings them in close touch with
many cases of neglect and suffering, and though the chil
dren are their first care, their work necessarily reaches a
wider circle. They exert a wholesome influence upon the
entire community among which they live and labor.
"As the work depends entirely for its financial support
on the voluntary contributions of the charitably disposed,
the Sisters hope to meet with the co-operation which will
enable them to extend their labors."
The appeal bore immediate fruit. Assistance came
from many quarters and the people of Oakland took an
active and helpful interest in the Sisters' work. On Oc
tober 14, to mention but one instance, an "At Home"
was given by Dr. and Mrs. O. D. Hamlin in their beau
tiful residence. This affair netted a substantial sum for
the benefit of the work in which the doctor has been much
interested ever since. He has been one of the kindest
benefactors the Sisters have had in Oakland. Not only
does he give his professional services free, but he assists
them financially whenever they are in need.
In February, 1915, the Sisters extended their labors to
East Oakland, where the Salesian Fathers opened a Mis
sion chapel. One hundred and sixty public school chil
dren were present on the opening day. At the same time
the Sisters were invited to begin catechetical work in St.
Ambrose's Church, West Berkeley. Soon they were re
peating the work accomplished in San Francisco and in
San Jose, teaching Christian Doctrine in nearly every
parish where parochial schools were not in operation.
Nor did they neglect their usual entertainments. In
May 1912, they had the annual consecration of the Day
Home children to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Rt.
Rev. Bishop Hanna was present on the occasion. He
was accompanied by Father Kennedy of St. Mary's

194 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Church, and by Rev. Fathers Serda, Dempsey, Galli,
Barry, and Coppa. All enjoyed the little program that
was presented by the children.
In December of the same year the Christmas Tree
Festival was held in the Knights of Columbus Hall, the
use of which was kindly donated for the occasion. The
hall was filled by the clergy, friends, and benefactors
of the Sisters. After the program, well rendered by the
children, Reverend Fathers Keane and Kennedy assisted
Santa Claus — impersonated by one of the Knights — to
distribute the dolls, toys, and candies so generously fur
nished by the kind friends of the Home. On Christmas
Eve, at the invitation of Father Dempsey, the children
attended the Christmas Tree given by the Elks at their
Hall. The children repeated two of the numbers of our
own festival, by the request of the gentlemen on the Pro
gram Committee. The audience was delighted and sur
prised at their cleverness and good singing. Santa Claus
was most generous with his gifts and the children returned
to the Home in the cars donated by the Oakland Traction
Company. Such had been the growth of the Oakland establish
ment that in February 1916, His Grace, Most Reverend
E. J. Hanna, called a meeting of the Pastors of Oakland
in order to raise funds for the building of a new Day
Home. The meeting was held at the Rectory of St.
Mary's Church and Rev. Robert Sampson was appointed
by his Grace to direct a bazaar, which the committee
decided to hold in May. After the meeting the Arch
bishop and Father John Cantwell visited the Convent and
enjoyed a visit with the children. One little boy admired
the Archbishop's hat and said: "When I am a man I will
wear a hat like that." His Grace playfully placed his
hat on the little boy's head and the youngster walked

CHILDREN'S DAY HOME, OAKLAND

OAKLAND 195
proudly about, fancying that he was a man already. His
companions admired the performance and aspired to the
same honor so strenuously that it was necessary to rescue
the hat from destruction.
The preliminary meeting for the May Festival or
bazaar, was called at Knights of Columbus Hall, by Rev.
R. Sampson. About one hundred representative ladies
attended and it was decided to have each parish repre
sented by a booth. The Knights offered their hall and
Rev. Father Keane offered his; but the ladies did not
consider either of them sufficiently large for the purpose.
Accordingly the Festival was held in the Pacific Building.
It lasted four days from May 24 to May 27. The fol
lowing somewhat glowing description will give an idea of
its artistic success.
"The hall is a bower of beauty and the different booths
rival each other. The Lady of Lourdes Booth is espe
cially attractive with its beautiful statue of our Ladv
enthroned on high in a bower of wisteria, orchids, and
lilies of the valley. The booths are titled as their dec
orations suggest. Fruit blossoms, ferns, and foliage min
gle with golden poppies and roses and hence the names:
'Rosemary,' 'Marguerite,' 'Rose of Killarney,' 'Fruitvale
Blossoms,' 'Ivy,' 'House of Gold,' 'Carmel,' etc., etc. To
the young ladies who have been indefatigable in preparing
the decorations, much praise is due, while to the Sisters in
charge of Parochial Schools in Oakland and to the Chris
tian Brothers of St. Mary's College the Holy Family Sis
ters are indebted for many beautiful posters. The array
of fancy articles — many of them expensive and beauti
ful — will tempt buyers, even those who are not disposed
to give for sweet charity's sake, and no doubt when the
Festival closes the Children's Day Home will have a sub
stantial sum for its needs."

196 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
In January 1917, Sister M. Gertrude was recalled to
San Francisco to assist Sister M. Teresa, and Sister M.
de Sales was appointed Superior of the Oakland Convent.
Under her administration the work has grown and is con
tinuing to bear abundant fruit.
The following items are taken from the Convent diary :
June 2, 1917: Two children of Mrs. O. Sutro, Oscar
and Barbara, received their first Holy Communion in
the Convent chapel. They had been prepared by one of
the Sisters as their elder sister Mary had been prepared
the previous year. Rev. Father Lacy of St. Leo's Church
celebrated the Mass. Mrs. Sutro is the daughter of one
of the first and most faithful friends of the Sisters —
Mrs. C. D. O'Sullivan.
June 30: The Superintendent of the Public Schools,
accompanied by one of the members of the Board of
Education, visited the Day Home, having been advised
to see our Nursery and other features of the Day Home
work, as something of the kind in connection with the
Public School Department was under contemplation. They
expressed great admiration for the manner in which the
Home was conducted and gladly availed themselves of the
invitation to see the Day Homes in San Francisco.
July, 1922 : The number of Sisters in Oakland has now
increased to twelve. The necessity of more room for
Day Home children has long been pressing and a new
building exclusively for their use has been under consid
eration. An advantageous purchase has but recently been
made, that of the old home of Mr. H. Butters at Pied
mont, known as "Alta Vista." Instead of a new building
the Convent at Eighth and Chestnut Streets will be reno
vated and will make a comfortable and commodious Day
Home for the children, while "Alta Vista" will be used
as the Sisters' future Convent.

CHAPTER XI
Los Angeles
AGERLY WERE THE SERVICES OF THE HOLY
Family Sisters sought for by the late Rt.
Rev. Thomas J. Conaty during his ad
ministration of the southern Diocese ; but
the Sisters were so overburdened with
work in San Francisco, San Jose and Oak
land that none could be spared for the new field of labor.
Bishop John J. Cantwell was more successful. He ap
pealed to the Sisters almost as soon as he entered upon his
episcopal duties; but it was not until January 28, 1921,
that a Mission House in Los Angeles could be considered.
On that day Sister Teresa received the following com
munication from the Rev. Wm. E. Corr, Director of the
Bureau of Catholic Charities of the southern Diocese :
My dear Sister Teresa :
I have been talking with the Right Reverend Bishop
regarding the possibility of bringing the Sisters of the
Holy Family to Los Angeles.
I feel that, if a start could be made, there would be a
very bright future here for the work of your Order. I
think vocations would be plentiful. Do you feel that you
could start the Order down here? How many Sisters
could you send?
I had hoped to visit San Francisco and talk the matter
over with you, but I think it would perhaps be better for
you to come and look over the field. We need an Order
such as yours.

198 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Kindly inform me of your ideas in the matter^ and if
you cannot come down, I shall try to pay you a visit
shortly. Yours very sincerely, W. E. Corr
In reply Sister Teresa told him of the amount of work
to be done in San Francisco and vicinity, but added that,
if the Archbishop were willing, she would try to spare
some Sisters. This letter elicited the following reply
from Rt. Rev. Bishop Cantwell: February 17,1921.
My dear Mother Teresa :
Before asking Father Corr to invite you, in my name,
to the diocese of Los Angeles, I had consulted the Arch
bishop, who was only too glad to share with me the good
things that he himself possesses.
I hope to see you before Easter, and shall then arrange
for your visit, which I hope will be possible some time in
May. This is a big field for the work in which you have
been distinguished in San Francisco.
With every blessing to the Community, I remain
John J. Cantwell,
Bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles.
Sister Teresa promised to go down in May to select a
location, but being unable, on account of sickness to keep
her promise, she sent two other Sisters to Los Angeles,
on May 26, 1921. They went immediately to the Hos
pital of the Sisters of Charity and secured a room for
Mother Teresa and her companion who arrived on June 2.
After resting a day, she began looking about for a
location, and though she was not to see her daughters'
home in the new Diocese, she it was who found the place

RIGHT REVEREND JOHN J. CANTWELL, D. D.
Who Introduced the Sisters Into Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES 199
where the home would be. In spite of the weak state of
her health, she showed great zeal for the new foundation
and interested herself in the search for a suitable site.
She eventually determined on what she believed would
answer all the purposes of a Convent home — a fine resi
dence two blocks from the Cathedral Chapel. It was not
this house that was purchased, but another and, in some
respects, a finer one on the same block.
On September 12, 1921, Sister M. Gertrude and a
companion went to Los Angeles to superintend the work
of renovating and furnishing the newly purchased home
on Beacon Avenue. They were fortunate in securing the
services of the contractor who had built the house. In a
month's time the Convent was ready and on the Feast of
St. Teresa, October 15, Sister M. Perpetua and three
companions began their work in Los Angeles.
The Sisters desired that the dedication of their new
home take place on November 6, the anniversary of the
foundation of the Community, but, as the Bishop had to
be out of town on that day, November 11 was selected
instead. Sisters Gertrude, Clare and de Sales were pres
ent. Bishop Cantwell writing to Mother Teresa tells of
the dedication: November 12, 1921.
My dear Mother Teresa :
The only sorrow that touched our hearts yesterday,
when in a solemn manner your Los Angeles house was
dedicated to its noble mission, was the strong reminder
that you were not able to be with us. I was deeply grieved
to hear of your illness, and rejoiced on learning how
quickly you shook it off. I pray that Almighty God may
spare you a long time to inspire and direct your children.
The attendance at the opening of the Beacon Street
house yesterday left nothing to be desired. The vest-

200 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
ments looked nice and the singing was very good. Our
people will take your daughters to their hearts and make
them feel at home.
I think as the days go by the Sisters whom you send
here will grow greatly attached to their mission work in
the Diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles. It must be
a consolation to you, now that the greater part of the task
is over, to see your community spreading itself outside
the Diocese of San Francisco into the sister dioceses.
With very kind regards, I am
Very devotedly yours,
John J. Cantwell,
Bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles
The following letters from the Sisters will give more
details of the early days, and of what took place before
the dedication of the new Convent:
Los Angeles, September 13, 1921.
Dear Mother Teresa:
We reached the Convent last evening about 1 1 o'clock
after a very delightful trip. The weather was pleasant
with the exception of one warm hour or two after we left
San Luis Obispo. Mr. and Mrs. M. met us at the depot
with a machine and took us to the hospital. The next
morning was cool and pleasant. About ten o'clock Mrs.
M. called to take us to the new house. We went to see
Rev. Father Corr at the office of the Bureau of Charities
and received a warm welcome. He said the ladies wanted
to know if they would present themselves for teaching
Catechism next Sunday. He thought we had come to
stay and was disappointed that we intended to return
home, especially Sister A. He gave us the keys of the
house and we were off for the inspection.

LOS ANGELES 201
The house is everything you could desire. I am sure
you will be pleased and surprised. It is the second house
from the corner. Stone steps lead to a stone porch and
balustrade. The windows facing the porch and the glass
in the door are plate. The other windows leaded glass.
The front door will need revarnishing and the lawn will
have to be put in condition; but otherwise the exterior,
which is shingled, needs no improvement. The roof is in
good condition. Entering the door, you find a beautiful
vestibule in Flemish oak with a stairway of the same
material, but in Mission style. To the left a beautiful
room, also in oak. It will be very suitable for the chapel,
as the back room which was a library will answer the pur
poses of a sanctuary. To the right is a beautiful room,
finished in fine mahogany. It can be used as a parlor.
The kitchen needs renovating. So, too, does the small
room which we have chosen for our refectory.
There is a spacious garden in the rear with stone steps
leading down, and some beautiful shade trees. The gar
age, with a concrete yard opening on a twenty-foot alley
way through which the tradesmen enter, may prove ser
viceable later. In the cellar there is a gas furnace which
was installed last year. The rooms upstairs are in good
condition. The floors are of maple and the woodwork is
white enamel, all in good condition. We can use them
as they are. There is also a large attic suitable for dormi
tories. You will be delighted when you come down.
It is time now to go to the Brownson house ; so I must
close with the promise of another letter this evening, and
with fondest love from Sister A. and your loving Sister
Gertrude
The letter promised for that same evening has not been
preserved; but two days later an account of the work of
preparation was sent from St. Vincent's Hospital.

202 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
September 15, 1921.
Dear Mother Teresa:
On this beautiful Feast of the Dolors we have been
thinking of the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and
I am sure we have often been remembered in the visits
of the Sisters to our dear Lord in the Sacrament of His
Love. We have just returned to the Hospital after a very busy
day. It takes a long time to accomplish a little thing.
This morning we went to the Water Company's office,
and yesterday afternoon to the Gas Company. Tomor
row we will have to see about the electricity and we expect
to meet Mr. M. at the Convent tomorrow morning and
then we will have some idea of the expense. We went to
Mrs. F.'s store this morning, but we did not meet her.
We found the beds the same as the last we bought for the
novitiate. They are from the same firm in the city. We
have a list of prices to submit to you when we return
on Saturday, — mattresses, pillows, blankets, chairs,
stools, etc.
We expect to leave on Saturday morning at 8 o'clock
and we will reach the City at 10 :45 o'clock at night. Will
you please have the machine from Kelly's garage meet
us at the Third Street entrance? Sister A. does not think
her brother will be in the City; besides it would be too
late to ask him to come for us.
This afternoon we saw Father Corr and told him that
we were to meet Mr. M. tomorrow. He is glad that we
have selected him. We told him that we would let him
know what the estimates would be and also the furnish
ings. He has not yet seen the house. He keeps asking
when we are coming and tells us that the ladies keep ask
ing him. So it seems that we must delay no longer, but
make up our minds at once. Mrs. M. is very kind and

LOS ANGELES 203
never tires of doing all she can to help us. I do not know
how we should have fared without her. Tomorrow morn
ing we will look at ranges and see about crockery and
kitchen utensils.
Time for Rosary; so I will close with fondest love from
Sister A. and myself to you and all the Sisters.
Your loving Sister, Gertrude
When Sister Gertrude had made all the necessary ar
rangements for the new Community at Los Angeles, she
returned to San Francisco to find that her beloved Mother
Teresa was nearing the end of her very fruitful life. The
burden of directing the entire Community was placed on
Sister Gertrude's shoulders and while she was still inter
ested in the new foundation in Los Angeles her greatest
anxiety was for the health of Sister Teresa, while, on her
part, though suffering from the effects of a slight shock,
Sister Teresa was very keenly interested in the new com
munity, wrote constantly to the Sisters, and planned to
visit them as soon as health would permit.
Her letters were gratefully acknowledged by the Los
Angeles Sisters and from what they wrote we may learn
more of their work in that city. October 16, 1921.
Dear Mother Teresa:
Yesterday, on the Feast of St. Teresa we received a
beautiful picture of the Holy Child from Mr. H., pro
prietor of the Catholic book store here in Los Angeles.
The cross which was erected on our house rises above all
the houses in the block. When we went to dinner we
found a picture of St. Teresa at each of our places and
we were very happy to receive it. Dear Mother, kindly

204 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
tell Sister Joseph that her picture of St. Joseph was very
much appreciated as the evening before we remarked that
we had no picture about, and each Sister was going to
search through prayer books to find one, but Sister
Joseph's arrived before we had done so, and St. Joseph
immediately received a place of honor. St. Teresa also
had her little shrine, lowly but sweet.
Our alarm clock insists upon going off at midnight.
Sister E. is doing her best to make it behave, but has not
succeeded as yet. I suppose our neighbors think we rise
at midnight for prayers !
Today Sisters C, M. and myself went to Brownson
House. It is a real home with a truly Catholic atmos
phere. Miss D. who has charge at present refers to her
self as the externe or lay Sister of the Holy Family. She
had a little room all prepared for the Sisters' use. On
the dresser she had a crucifix, thinking that this would
please the Sisters. All the young ladies are so willing to
help the instruction classes on Sunday.
Mother, it is hard to write a description of the settle
ment. Your heart goes out to these poor people. As we
walked along the streets, they were putting their heads
out of the doors and windows, and when we bowed and
smiled, they smiled back with such joy in their faces. I
feel they, in a short time, will think we belong to them, as
the Italians do in San Francisco.
Mass was at 9 o'clock — previous to the Mass they
recited morning prayers and then sang "I think when I
hear that story of old." It was almost too much for us,
it was so touching. Our Blessed Lord was soon to de
scend on the altar for these 'poor lambs of His fold' as
well as for those in the most magnificent churches.
Mother, I wish you could have been present. It draws
tears to one's eyes just to think of it. During the Mass

LOS ANGELES 205
they recited prayers and sang. A Japanese girl 15 years
old, very refined and wearing curls, played the organ. She
has been at the Brownson House since she was a small
child. Your loving child in the Holy Family,
Sister M. P.
And again on October 24 :
Dear Mother Teresa:
The best way to answer all the interesting and welcome
letters which have been addressed to Los Angeles during
the past few weeks is a problem rather difficult to solve.
I shall not try to solve it, for you, dear Mother, can do it
for me.
Sister Gertrude will enjoy the fact that when Miss D.
telephoned to hear if all went well on Sunday she was
informed by Miss D. that the singing had never been so
good and the prayers had never been said in such unison.
The boys said to their teachers : "Gee ! but the Sisters
sing swell !" So you see, dear Mother, to receive compli
ments you must come south. It might seem from this
that we are lacking in humility; but Sister Gertrude will
tell you the rest of the joke.
Sister Joseph would have been pleased, I am sure, if she
could have peeped into our community room last Sunday
afternoon and viewed the six of us sitting around a table
(2x4), each with at least six reference books. The hour
of study seemed all too short. I must thank Sister for
sending the class books so promptly.
Sister E. and I had a wonderful experience today. We
paid our first visit to St. Rita's Settlement. After a rather
anxious trip we arrived at our destination. We got off the
car at St. Anne's Street. We had scarcely reached the side
walk when we were surrounded by a crowd of boys and

206 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
girls who did not know whether they liked us or not at
first, but soon promised to come to St. Rita's. The crowd
disappeared as quickly as it had assembled, owing to the
fact that a fireman turned on a hydrant near by and all
ran to have a wade. Arriving at the house we discovered
the number to be 1441, not Powell but South Main Street !
We were received most graciously and all were delighted
to hear that we had really come to begin work. There
were about sixty-five children present. The greater num
ber were quite old and all appeared in better circumstances
than the little ones at the Brownson House.
I hope you are quite well, dear Mother, and will come
to see us soon. Each dear Sister in Los Angeles sends her
love to you and to all the dear Sisters in San Francisco and
begs for prayers. Down here "the harvest is great and
the laborers few." I remain
Your loving child in the Holy Family, Sister M. C.
Sister Teresa was far from being well. Indeed, it was
evident to all that the end was near. The opening of the
Home in Los Angeles was accompanied by a severe cross.
Sister Teresa was dying. It was difficult to break the
news to the Sisters in Los Angeles, but Sister Gertrude
wrote to them and asked their prayers. Their letters tell
how much they loved Sister Teresa and with what grief
they heard of her sickness. They now realize that when,
on leaving San Francisco, they said "Good-bye," it was for
the last time, that they are never to see their beloved
Mother again on this side of the grave, and they recall
how all her thoughts were for the success of the mission in
Los Angeles and all her solicitude for the Sisters who had
been sent there as pioneer workers in a new field. The
last work of her hands had been on some altar-linens for

LOS ANGELES 207
the Los Angeles chapel. Even on the very day when she
was ordered to the infirmary for the final struggle with
death, she had folded and wrapped with loving care the
box of altar-linens which she had prepared for the Los
Angeles Convent. Still they hoped and wrote home for
news or to acknowledge letters received.
"It is such a relief to have direct news even though it
be not as good as we should like," writes one. "Our dear
Mother ! It does not seem possible that God is calling
her to her reward. Little did we think that we were
saying our last farewell to her that morning. But it is
good that the future is hidden from us. Each Sister is
very, very brave. Is not God's grace wonderful? Today
we are consoling ourselves with the thought, 'No news is
good news.' The Bishop has rung up twice asking if we
had any news. Prayers and Masses are being offered for
Mother at the Plaza where there is Forty Hours' Devo
tion, also at the Chapel, and in our own Convent."
On the very next day, November 22, 1921, a telegram
announcing the death of Sister Teresa was received and
the Los Angeles Community was grief-tricken. "Our dear
dear Mother has been called to her well-earned reward!"
is the burden of all the letters, and then an effort is made
to be reconciled to the loss. "She planned to spend the
winter with her children in the City of the Angels, but
God has seen fit to call her to the City of real Angels —
her eternal home above. Blessed be His Holy Will.
Truly His ways are not our ways. While we are sorrow
ing here on earth, picture, dear Sister, her joyful meeting
with Sister Dolores, Sister Agnes, Father Prendergast
and Archbishop Riordan, and all the other dear ones.
"We cannot think of our Community without her.
Every Sister here is bearing the great loss very bravely.
God is asking a great sacrifice, but we make it willingly

208 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
endeavoring to follow in the footsteps of our dear Mother
who was ever a beautiful model of submission to God's
will. "We do not need to ask you to be brave, but at the
same time we realize that the weight of the cross will
fall upon your shoulders, and we will pray most earnestly
for you. We sympathize deeply also with Sister Joseph,
Sister Baptist and all the other Sisters."
Thus from all the Sisters in Los Angeles came notes
of sorrow and of sympathy. Bishop Cantwell was out of
town at the time, but he very thoughtfully sent by wire a
word of comfort to the bereaved Community.
"In this sad hour my heart goes out in sympathy to you
and the little community exiled in Los Angeles. May
Gold bless the sacrifice that you all make. May Mother
Teresa rest in peace."
With deep sorrow in their hearts, but with wills
strengthened by Divine Grace, the Sisters in Los Angeles
continued bravely with their regular work. Today they
are well established in the City of Our Lady of the Angels,
ever ready to do what the Bishop or priests ask of them,
ever joyful in the thought that they are in Los Angeles
what Sisters Dolores and Teresa were in San Francisco.
They are the pioneers. To them the "early days" of the
community have come back, but not the early trials. Com
fortably housed, and with well planned works, they go
about through the Southern City teaching by their exam
ple as well as by their words and teaching the adult popu
lation as well as the neglected Mexican children of the
settlements. May their future in the southern Diocese
be as brilliant and as fruitful as their past has been in the
City of St. Francis.

PART THIRD
Those That Rest In Peace]
after the
Toil of the Day

"IF THOU WILT, I WILL GO INTO THE FIELD
AND GLEAN THE EARS OF CORN THAT ESCAPE
THE HANDS OF THE REAPERS, WHERESOEVER I
SHALL FIND GRACE WITH A HOUSEHOLDER
THAT WILL BE FAVORABLE TO ME." RUTH II, 2.

CHAPTER I
The Rt. Rev. John J. Prendergast
RIESTS OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRAN-
cisco revere the memory of Father Pren
dergast; he was, in very truth a model
of all those virtues that go to make up
the life of the ideal Pastor. His name
is enshrined in the hearts of Catholics as
synonymous with a devoted and loving father of the
people. He has been glorified by one of California's most
brilliant writers — the late Charles Warren Stoddard — as
a Christ-like comforter of 'Troubled Hearts.' Before
God he has the additional glory of having founded a
religious order. Founders receive special honor in the
liturgy of the Church if by reason of heroic virtue, they
are raised to the Altar. In their lives is plainly discern
ible the watchful Providence which Almighty God has
over the souls of His children and for the advancement of
the work of His Church. He chooses them from His
more faithful servants and endows them with special gifts
to meet critical situations or to be of service in times of
spiritual and temporal needs. Thus St. Francis of Assisi
was called to inaugurate the practice of self-sacrificing
devotion to lowliness and poverty at a time when a friv
olous world was plunging itself into deeper luxury and
ease; St. Dominic, armed with wisdom and piety, was
chosen to resist the fanaticism of the Albigenses ; St. Igna
tius, to combat the Lutheran revolt, when it threatened
to destroy all respect for authority.

212 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
With none of these, except in a general way, can we
compare the Founder of the Holy Family Community.
He had, it is true, a wonderful lowliness of spirit like St.
Francis and, though not austere in his poverty, he was
acquainted with its effects — on one occasion he had to sell
his library to secure enough money for his journey to
Rome, which he undertook in order to avoid the episcopal
dignity. His devotional exercises, his piety, his love for
the rosary, marked him as a child of St. Dominic. His
zeal for souls, his ardor of spirit, even in the midst of
difficulties, the confidence he had that, through the bless
ing of God, his work would bear fruit, his estimation
of things spiritual — all of these traits were genuinely
Ignatian. And yet it might seem unwarranted to institute
a comparison between him and these illustrious Founders.
He more closely resembled St. Vincent de Paul. His love
for the poor and the zeal which urged him to labor for
their temporal and spiritual welfare, his humility of spirit,
his constancy in action, his sweetness of disposition, his
ambition to enlist in the service of God and humanity a
body of women who would be ready at all times and under
all circumstances to respond to the call of misery and of
poverty — these virtues marked him as a genuine Vin-
centian. Hardly had he begun his career of usefulness in San
Francisco, when he recognized the need there was of
charitable social endeavor, and he continued to devote
his time and talents to the poor and the neglected until he
was summoned to his reward. He was no ordinary man.
When the venerable Archbishop Alemany was about to
leave San Francisco, he bequeathed to his successor, as he
himself expressed it, "two precious treasures: Father
John J. Prendergast and Father George Montgomery."
And indeed, if zeal for souls, ardent faith, and unquench-

THE RT. REV. J. J. PRENDERGAST 213
able charity, united with a splendid example of Christian
life and priestly virtues, go to make up a precious treasure,
there can be no hesitation about accepting the tribute of
the great Archbishop in all its literal significance.
We cannot write a complete account of Father Pren
dergast's life and labors, but the nature of our work de
mands a tribute to his memory and a brief review of those
activities that bring into greater prominence his solicitude
in establishing and his care in promoting any and every
thing that contributed to the success of the Holy Family
Community. From the earliest days of his priesthood, he had an
absorbing interest in children, especially in the children
of the poor. He felt a need of helpers in the work of
gathering them together and giving them the benefits of
Christian instruction. For years he had this work in mind
and in his prayers and he often enlisted the co-operation
and the prayers of his penitents arid converts. When they
were asked to pray for his intention, it was that God
would send a suitable person to inaugurate a systematic
campaign among the children of the poor and neglectful
parents of his parish.
During his stay at Mission Dolores God blessed his
holy ambition by sending to him Miss Elizabeth Armer.
She was only a girl and had accompanied Mrs; Mary A.
Tobin to the Mission Cemetery to join her in prayers for
departed relatives. Afterwards the two devout women
called on the assistant Pastor to have masses said for the
souls in Purgatory and, from that day on, Father Prender
gast took a deep interest in Miss Elizabeth Armer. She
was, he thought, just the one to begin his work and when,
later on, he was transferred to the Cathedral Parish, he
secured her services as a Sunday School teacher and as an
assistant in caring for the altars. He said nothing of his

214 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
other plans — he was a man of few words — but he con
sulted the Archbishop and calmly awaited the opportune
time for launching his great work. Meanwhile Miss
Armer felt called to religious life. She wished to devote
herself entirely to the service of God and, strange as it
may seem in view of her subsequent career of active ser
vice, she inclined towards a contemplative order. To her
a more thorough oblation of herself to God — a more
complete denial of what human nature craved for — made
strong appeal. But God had other designs. When she
consulted the Archbishop about the advisability of enter
ing a contemplative order, the amiable prelate smiled as
he said: "Father Prendergast and I have another work
for you."
He thereupon unfolded to her the plans that had been
made for the foundation of a new religious institute.
More in a spirit of submissiveness to authority than with
anything like personal ambition or confidence in her own
power the young lady acquiesced. We have seen how
her work began and how it progressed but, though we
have made frequent mention of the Reverend Founder,
we have not done full justice to the interest shown by this
devoted priest in everything that contributed towards
the growth and success of his beloved Community.
He was the spiritual director of the Sisters from 1872
until 1880 and even then he found it difficult to hand over
this important charge to others. In 1880 when the Sis
ters had completed their novitiate, Sister Dolores insisted
on the privilege of continuing to go to "Father" for con
fession. It meant much inconvenience — a trip to the
Cathedral every Saturday — it meant some confusion and
perhaps it indicated a slight human weakness. "I mean to
continue," he wrote, "to be the confessor of the Sisters
until the retreat, but it will not be necessary any longer.

HOLY FAMILY CONVENT, LOS ANGELES

THE RT. REV. J. J. PRENDERGAST 215
On the contrary it would be a loss of time, without any
adequate compensation spiritually, if you were to come all
the way from Hayes Street every Saturday even while
living under the shadow of the Church of St. Ignatius.
Besides, I think the contemplated change is for the best
provided the Sisters select a confessor distinguished not
so much for piety as for good sense and judgment. You
should not heed your personal feelings. After all, the
confessor can do but little ; the real director of the soul is
the Holy Spirit. At the same time, I presume, you will
be free to consult me in any matter of moment — at least,
as long as I occupy the position of Vicar-General."
It was prudent advice and Sister Dolores acquiesced;
still until his death Father Prendergast was regarded
by all, especially by the older Sisters, as their spiritual
director and their guide in all things of importance. The
least word uttered by him in conversation or in spiritual
conference they treasured with the same reverence as they
would, were it incorporated into their rule. Even his
humorous letters are preserved. When, evidently without
sufficient reason, Sister Dolores consulted him about the
permissibility of going out at night, she received a note
in which Father Prendergast, while avoiding a direct an
swer, left the matter entirely to the judgment of the
Sisters. The note is treasured as an heirloom.
Dear Sister Dolores :
With regard to going out in the evening I hardly know
what opinion to give. I suppose it would depend upon
circumstances. If, for example, the convent or an adjoin
ing house were on fire, I think it would be quite lawful,
whatever the Rule may be, to leave the home. It would
be equally lawful, if our Holy Father, the Pope, happened
to visit San Francisco and should go to see the sights on

216 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Hayes Street. As to the particular case regarding which
you consult me, is it a question of right or wrong or of
greater or less? And do you propose to take the entire
community with you, or only one-half? Are you to sing,
or Sister Baptist? By the way, I am told Sister Baptist
has a good voice.
Hoping this answer may be sufficiently lucid for all
practical purposes, I remain, dear Sister,
Yours truly in the Sacred Heart,
J. Prendergast, V. G.
But Father Prendergast would not indulge in anything
humorous when the welfare of the Community was to be
considered. On special occasions he came to the convent
to give spiritual instructions. They were always solid
and spiritually helpful, they always had a note of encour
agement and sometimes a touch of cheerfulness, even on
occasions that might otherwise be regarded as sad. Thus
after Sister Dolores' death, he paid a visit to the Sisters
and spoke to them as follows:
"I am happy to see the Sisters and so many of them.
I knew the Sisters when they were young. I do not mean
that you are so old now except inasmuch as we are all
getting old, especially the first workers amongst us. I am
particularly glad to see so many new Sisters coming in to
take up the work, and to keep it in a flourishing condition.
There is a great need for the work of the Sisters; it
will be a great many years before all the parishes can be
supplied with parochial schools, because it is impossible
to procure the teachers. Parochial schools are necessary
for the proper formation of the children, but next in im
portance come the Sunday Schools. You therefore sup
ply in a large measure for the work that should be done
by the parochial schools.

THE RT. REV. J. J. PRENDERGAST 217
"I am very happy to know that at last the number of
Sisters has reached to a hundred, and I hope that ere this
year has passed away, the number will increase to a hun
dred and fifty. I have seen some of the subjects that
recently applied, and was pleased, very much pleased,
with them. They were bright, hopeful, cheerful, and
happy in disposition. Such are the requisites for all good
religious. They shouldn't have long, solemn faces; they
should be bright and happy, hopeful of the future, what
ever it may bring to them, and ready to accept all things
as coming from God.
"Now, Sisters, I know it is not necessary to ask you to
pray for me and I know nothing that I can do better than
pray for you. So I shall come any morning that Sister
Teresa appoints, to say Holy Mass for the Sisters.
"While we are remembering the living, we must not
forget the dead. We shall offer the Holy Sacrifice for
Sister Dolores and the other deceased Sisters. I shall
come early, but even then some of the Sisters may not be
able to be present. They will have to sacrifice their pleas
ure to duty. Well, that is most pleasing to God, and I
feel that even though Sister Dolores' glory in Heaven
would be increased by the presence of more Sisters, she
would sacrifice that glory, if sacrifice were possible in
Heaven, in order that the Sisters do their duty. That
was her spirit while she lived in our midst — a spirit of
self-sacrifice and charity."
On another occasion, shortly after the celebration of
his fiftieth year as a priest, Father Prendergast came to
the convent and gave an exhortation to the Sisters on
what might be called the Spirit of their Institute.
"It is a great happiness," he said in part, "a special
grace and blessing from Almighty God to be with you this
morning. It is especially a happiness to me, as it is also

218 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
to the Archbishop, to see you all so united. His Grace is
pleased to see peace and union reign among you. He said
that you were a great joy and consolation to him for,
despite your large numbers, you gave him no trouble. You
will continue thus, if you try always to see Christ in your
superiors. He is the Divine Superior of all, but He works
always through some created agency. God never acts
directly with us except on rare occasions, through inspira
tion. Ordinarily He uses human agencies to manifest
His will. Behind all superiors — from the Pope down and
all along the ecclesiastical line — stands Jesus Christ, the
one Superior. If an angel were to come to us from Heaven
to make known the will of our Lord and Master, we
should not think of doing anything else, we should not
hesitate a moment to obey; yet it is just as certainly the
will of God that is manifested to us by our superiors'
orders as it would be were it made known by an Angel
messenger. "I realize more than ever, now that I am nearing
the gates of eternity, that in this world there is only one
thing of value and that is, humbly and faithfully to do
the will of our Lord and Master; everything else is
shadowy, vain, and fleeting. After all my experience and
much thought, I have come to the unalterable conclusion
that, no matter where God has placed us — in the church,
in the hermit's solitude, in community life or in the bosom
of the family — the only way to true peace is to see Christ
in everything. Of course, I do not mean perfect peace —
we can never have that in this world; Christ does not per
mit it. Suffering and sacrifice must come in our daily life,
but these are occasions of merit. I think it was St. Francis
de Sales who said that an ounce of patient endurance was
worth more than years of active labor. St. Teresa said,
'Let nothing trouble you.' Nothing should trouble us but

MONSIGNOR JOHN J. PRENDERGAST, V.G.
Reverend Founder and Director of the Community

THE RT. REV. J. J. PRENDERGAST 219
wrong-doing. Then a sigh of repentance, an act of humil
ity, and all is forgiven. So try to see Christ in everything,
doing your work humbly and energetically, and all will
be well.
"Priests have often asked me what is the special work
of the Sisters of the Holy Family, and I have always said
that they were gleaners — gleaners of souls. Priests can
administer the Sacraments, but after all, there are many
souls they can never reach. Even in the Cathedral Parish,
which was never populous, I was never able to visit any
one oftener than once a month or once in two months. It
is impossible for a priest, with his other duties, to seek
out all these indifferent souls, and unless such work is done
promptly, it cannot be done at all. In a week's time a
soul may be lost. People move away or other things come
up and the opportunity of gaining a soul to God may slip
away unknown to the priest. I can remember one case on
Pine Street, years ago — that of a child of negligent
parents, whose religious training was being neglected be
cause there was no one to go after her and urge her to
attend Sunday School. I used to think then what a bless
ing it would be if there were only a community of Sisters
to fill in and help the work of the pastor by going around
and gathering up all those children who are being
neglected and bring them to instruction. Negligent
adults, too, you can save. I have not changed my opin
ions in this matter. My judgment, after many years of
experience, is the same; that there is need of a religious
community to go about for the neglected sheep and neg
lected lambs, to visit their homes when necessary, to lead
them to, or back to, the fold and to hold them by proper
Christian instruction.
"I may have some years yet to live — I cannot expect
many — and it would be the joy of my life to see the

220 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Sisters of the Holy Family — two or three of them at
least — in every district, not only in the City, but outside,
in parishes where there are no parochial schools, and even
where there are parochial schools. Your work goes
farther than the work of the schools; they cannot reach
all, and who is to save the children of the streets and
lanes? These children are always responsive. They
may fall away in later life, yet they do not forget the
early impressions made by religious instruction. Teach
ing communities could not do this and attend to their
own work. St. Vincent de Paul, a great and thoughtful
soul, saw this need in his own time and established the
Sisters of Charity, but after awhile the Sisters began
taking charge of orphans also. The number of orphans
increased on their hands and they could not take care of
the children at home and go out in search of others, so
the work of gleaning souls was left undone. This is the
special work which the Providence of God seems to have
reserved for us.
"Many years ago, news came from some interior part
of the state — Amador County, I think — to Archbishop
Alemany, of the deplorable religious condition of the
children there in the mountains. They were growing up
without any knowledge of Christ and becoming the foun
dation for a future unchristian generation. His Grace
spoke to me about it and asked if I thought it advisable
to send two or three Sisters of the Holy Family to Ama
dor County. I did not think it advisable at that time.
We should always be perfectly frank with our superiors.
If they ordain anything, we must submit humbly and
respectfully; but if they ask our opinion we must be frank.
I did not think it advisable to send two or three members
away from this Community to the mountains where they
could not have their regular spiritual exercises. They

THE RT. REV. J. J. PRENDERGAST 221
would have to be more than saints to maintain religious
discipline under such conditions, and without the disci
pline of the religious life you would be nothing. So,
though the need was so great and the work of saving all
those lost sheep, or rather lambs, was so glorious, I felt it
was still more necessary to maintain among you the reli
gious spirit, the discipline of the ideal Christian life. If
that is lost, all is lost. I was frank in expressing my
opinion and you were not sent.
"You see what work is to be done in gleaning souls in
the mountains, the foothills, and the valleys, and if it is
to be done at all, the Sisters of the Holy Family must do
it. It is a glorious work. You have done much in the
past and I feel you will yet do much. This is about all I
wanted to say today.
"I thank you for your prayers, and I trust you will
continue to pray for me as I will for you. I have offered
my Holy Mass for you this morning, as I often have in
the past, and I shall continue to do so.
"May God bless you all."
Such was the care which this model Parish Priest had
of the Holy Family Sisters and such the exalted, albeit
humble, ideal he set before them. But the reader is
anxious to know more about the man himself to whom
belongs other glories besides that of assisting at the
foundation and witnessing the completion of the Holy
Family Community. Many events could be chosen from
his long career as a priest, but there is one which, while
manifesting the esteem and admiration of his friends,
both lay and clerical, affords an exceptional opportunity
to study how the Holy Family Sisters endeavored to ex
press, in some way, their gratitude to their venerable
Founder, for all that he had done for them from the begin
ning of their labors.

222 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Father Prendergast lived to celebrate his Golden
Jubilee as a priest. It was an occasion of unusual mag
nificence, owing in great part to the admirable skill and
artistic taste of the Sisters who had charge of the Cathe
dral decorations. St. Mary's Cathedral rich in its
Romanesque outlines, lofty, spacious and devotional, pre
sented a more than ordinarily glorious sight on Tuesday
morning, June 29, 1909, when a solemn High Mass of
thanksgiving was offered in honor of the fiftieth anniver
sary of the ordination of Rt. Rev. Monsignor J. J. Pren
dergast, V. G., then pastor of the Cathedral. Msgr.
Prendergast himself was the celebrant of the Mass, as
sisted by the priests of the Cathedral Parish; while the
Archbishop, the Auxiliary Bishop and the Vicar General
of the Los Angeles Diocese, in the midst of hundreds of
priests and religious, attended in the sanctuary and in
the body of the church, which was crowded to the doors
by members of the parish and friends of the jubilarian
from all parts of the City.
The beautiful high altar was ablaze with lights and
richly decked with flowers — roses in profusion and a veil
of rare orchids over the tabernacle. Never had the Holy
Family Sisters devoted so much time and talent to the
work of decorating the Cathedral. The giant candelabra
shone with hundreds of lights, while the immense vases
at either side were filled with great clusters of American
Beauty roses. The columns of the Sanctuary were twined
with trailing greenery bearing in gold letters on the right
and left respectively the legend "1859" — "1909." The
great electric clusters too were covered with the fragile
asparagus-fern, while the altar railing and the pulpit were
similarly draped and festooned with golden leaves. All
the fairest productions of nature, all the exquisite attrac
tions of art, and all the magnificence of religious ceremo-

THE RT. REV. J. J. PRENDERGAST 223
nial blended in richest harmony to render this jubilee
worthy of the noble priest in whose honor it was cele
brated and to express, in some way, the gratitude of his
beloved Sisters. Crimson and gold predominated, because
crimson was Msgr. Prendergast's favorite color. The
gold vestments, gifts of the jubilee, were worn at the
Solemn High Mass, making the scene one of truly golden
loveliness. The solemn services began at 10 o'clock and with the
groupings of prelates, priests, religious and acolytes, the
scene was an impressive one of light and color, the trailing
Tyrian purple silk of the altar boys' robes — the silver
jubilee gift of the Sisters of the Holy Family to Arch
bishop Riordan — harmonizing perfectly with the robes of
the bishops. But the heart and center of the scene was
at the altar, where humbly and holily, as he stood many
and many a time through fifty years, the venerable jubi
larian celebrated his Mass. No one could resist the silent
impressiveness of that figure, nor fail to join with him,
heart and soul, in the solemn, yet joyful spirit of the
occasion. No one could but lift up his heart in thanks
giving for being present, and in fervent prayer that God
would give the jubilarian many years more to labor for
His glory and the salvation of souls.
Msgr. Prendergast's assistants at the Mass were as
follows: Rev. J. B. Hannigan, deacon; Rev. Chas. A.
Ramm, sub-deacon; Rev. Wm. P. Sullivan, Rev. J. M.
Byrne, masters of ceremonies; Archbishop Riordan was
attended by Rev. P. J. Cummins and Rev. Jos. Sasia,
S. J.; Bishop O'Connell by Rev. John E. Cottle and Rev.
M. D. Connolly; Rt. Rev. Msgr. Harnett, V. G., of Los
Angeles by Rev. P. E. Mulligan and Rev. E. P. Dempsey.
The Sisters of the Holy Family were present in a body in
the church, while Rev. D. O. Crowley, President of the

224 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Youth's Directory, represented that institution which also
owes its origin to the venerable pastor of the Cathedral.
Every religious order in the Archdiocese was represented
by large numbers.
Just before the last gospel, the Most Rev. Archbishop
advanced to the Communion rail and spoke a few words
appropriate to the occasion. He told of Msgr. Prender
gast's wish that nothing be said about him personally, but
added that he could not help giving utterance, on such a
festive occasion, to his heartfelt congratulations to the
Vicar who had finished a half-century in the service of
the Church. Later in the day the Archbishop addressed
the priests who had gathered to felicitate the venerable
jubilarian. "I should like to express my personal indebt
edness to him," he said with much feeling. "Always has
he been to me a wise counsellor and a true friend. The
service rendered to the Archdiocese by the Vicar General
has been such as to be an example to all priests. His life
has been an open book, and there is not a blot on any
page. The character of Msgr. Prendergast has been of
such nobility that the laity have looked up to him as a
bright mark. I have already used the words, but I want
to repeat them — he is a model priest and a devoted
friend." Msgr. Prendergast was visibly affected as he rose to
thank the Archbishop for his warm tribute. He said :
"I feel that the words came really from his heart, and my
thanks to him come from my heart. I thank also the
clergy, one and all, for their testimony of friendship and
devotion." In the evening, the Sisters of the Holy Family had the
happiness of having the model priest and devoted friend
attend an entertainment given by their children of the
Cathedral Sunday School. The numbers, appropriate

THE RT. REV. J. J. PRENDERGAST 225
and interesting, were well rendered and showed the grate
ful esteem and affection of the young, as well as the older
members of the flock, for their Pastor. The pretty cos
tumes worn were specially designed for the event. The
principal feature was an allegorical drama "The Claim of
Two Countries," Ireland and California, each doing
honor to Msgr. Prendergast, and the finale was a grand
pantomime, "The First Te Deum." The tableaux were
magnificent, and enhanced by colored spot-lights thrown
on from time to time, gave an appropriate finishing touch
of light and glory to a very happy feast-day.
In the midst of his honors, Father Prendergast did not
forget his Sisters and the children of the Day Homes.
On Thursday, the Rev. Jubilarian devoted the afternoon
to the children, who entertained him with an interesting
program in their hall at Holy Family Convent, where a
stage, scenery and electric lights had been arranged for
the occasion. A number of the clergy and other friends
of Msgr. Prendergast enjoyed with him the varied num
bers. The afternoon closed with Benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament given in the Convent chapel. All
heartily expressed the wish of the Jubilee song: "May
the diamonds in his crown outshine the gold."
In the summer of 1913 the health of Monsignor Pren
dergast became the object of considerable anxiety for the
Sisters. Sister Teresa asked of Archbishop Riordan the
great privilege of receiving him into the convent and car
ing for him until his death. His Grace, however, decided
that Monsignor needed the constant attention which only
a hospital can afford, and sent him to St. Mary's for the
remaining months of his earthly sojourn. The Sisters
visited him frequently and, during his last week on earth,
two Sisters were constantly by his bedside both day and
night. Sister Teresa remained at the hospital during the

226 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
entire week. Though apparently unconscious at times to
all about him, Father recognized her voice whenever she
spoke and seemed to feel a certain solace in the thought
that she and the Sisters were with him to console him in
his passage to Eternity. He died at two o'clock on the
morning of January 19, 1914.
His death, though expected, was a severe blow to his
many friends and the honor paid him by the immense
throng that filled St. Mary's Cathedral, bore witness to
the affection with which San Francisco cherished his mem
ory. Men and women of all grades and stations in life
were there, young and old, rich and poor alike, and many
a tear-stained face looked wistfully towards the coffin
placed in front of the Sanctuary, whilst through many a
mind thoughts passed, of the days when Father Prender
gast was their friend and counsellor, and his pulsing heart
went out to them in sympathy and charity.
The clergy was numerously represented. In the Sanc
tuary Archbishop Riordan presided. Bishop Edward J.
Hanna celebrated Pontifical Requiem Mass. Bishop
Grace of Sacramento was present and besides these pre
lates and their attendants and assistants, many priests and
religious were seated in the Sanctuary. In the body of
the church sat the clergy in large numbers, along with
the Brothers of Mary and numerous representatives from
every Sisterhood in the Diocese, the Sisters of the Holy
Family occupying, of course, a prominent place.
Catholic organizations were represented by a delega
tion and, from far and near, men and women had come to
pay their last respects to the beloved Vicar. The floral
offerings were few, but those in evidence were of magnifi
cent proportions, prominent among them a large cross
in white with a purple stole entwining it, sent by the com
bined Young Ladies' Institutes.

THE GRAVE OF FATHER PRENDERGAST

SACRED TO THE MEMORY
OF
RT. REV. JOHN JOSEPH PRENDERGAST
BORN 1834 ORDAINED 1859 DIED 1914
DOMESTIC PRELATE TO HIS HOLINESS
1860 PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY AND RECTOR OF
THE MISSION DOLORES
1872 RECTOR OF THE CATHEDRAL 1914
VICAR GENERAL OF THE ARCHDIOCESE 1914
REVEREND FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR
OF THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERHOOD

1867

1874

AN ELOQUENT DISPENSER OF THE WORD
A FRIEND IN ADVERSITY
A LOVER OF THE POOR
HIS MEMORY IS IN BENEDICTION
MAY HIS PLACE BE IN PEACE

THE RT. REV. J. J. PRENDERGAST 227
John J. Prendergast was born in Clogheen, County
Tipperary, Ireland, in 1834. He matriculated for the
priesthood at All Hallows' College and was ordained for
missionary service in California, leaving for San Fran
cisco immediately after his ordination and arriving here
in the fall of 1859. Thus for over 54 years he was
uninterruptedly associated with the Diocese, working un
ceasingly for the good of those in his first charge and
remaining the shepherd of the same flock until he was
called to his reward.
So great had been his talents as a theological student
and so marked his fervent piety that, at the close of his
studies, he was offered a place in the faculty of All Hal
lows'. The authorities communicated with the Arch
bishop of San Francisco to obtain his consent which was
necessary because Father Prendergast had been ordained
for San Francisco. To make sure of the Archbishop's
permission two priests were offered in place of Father
Prendergast. The decision was left to the newly ordained
priest. He refused the proffered honor and repaired to
his destination to take up his labors in a distant country,
known, at that time, chiefly to the gold-hunter, the adven
turer and the speculator.
The extraordinary talents with which he was endowed
were put to good use in his new home. Archbishop Ale
many of beloved memory made him director of the old
diocesan seminary of St. Thomas, located in the quad
rangle of Mission Dolores. But on account of the
scarcity of priests in those days, he was obliged, between
seminary duties, to do the work of Mission Dolores Par
ish, the boundaries of which covered two-thirds of the
present area of the City of San Francisco. Today we
pride ourselves on the splendid preservation of the old
historic Mission, founded in the year 1776, by Father

228 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Junipero Serra, but few of us think that we have Father
Prendergast to thank for its preservation. He took par
ticular care of the ancient structure, strengthening the
weakened places and protecting the adobe against the
inclemency of the elements.
During his pastorate at the Mission Dolores, Father
Prendergast conferred one of the greatest boons on San
Francisco in the matter of higher education. He persuaded
the Sisters of Notre Dame to establish a school for girls
near the church, and thus sprang into existence the now
well known College of Notre Dame on Dolores Street.
From that day until his last, he was always a promoter of
education, and his interest in the young man and woman
never flagged.
During the 'Sixties, he preached missions in many parts
of Northern California and his zeal and priestly dignity
were often recalled by the miners in later years. His
outward reserve, his dignified demeanor, and his utter
lack of anything effusive or demonstrative served to con
ceal one of the warmest and most sympathetic hearts that
ever beat in the breast of a priest of God, a sympathy
which more especially sought the poor and neglected for
whom he was ever ready to make any sacrifice. It was
this love that prompted him, as we have seen, to establish
the Holy Family Sisters. In this Order, and in the noble
work of the good women who daily carry out the inten
tions of their revered Founder, a monument has been
raised in our community, which as long as our City stands,
shall proclaim aloud to all generations the glory of the
saintly priest whose generous spirit and unswerving zeal
gave it life and inspiration.
Another institution which owes to Father Prendergast
its inception is the Youths' Directory for the protection
and education of neglected boys. What the Sisters of

THE RT. REV. J. J. PRENDERGAST 229
the Holy Family have accomplished by their toils for the
working people and the children of San Francisco, has
been emulated by the Reverend D. O. Crowley in behalf
of homeless boys. It was Father Prendergast's humane
and charitable genius which planted the seed that grew
into such a magnificent institution.
When during the 'Seventies, the malign spirit of bigotry
manifested itself in attacks on Catholic dogmas and in
misrepresentation of Catholic customs, Father Prender
gast came forward as a powerful defender of the faith.
He did not resort to words of abuse, but his calm, dignified
refutation of false statements and his lucid exposition of
Catholic thought proved efficacious and caused bigotry to
hide from the light of publicity. In all his utterances,
whether in the letter of controversy or in the interview
granted to the newspaper correspondents, or from the
lecture platform and the pulpit, he never swerved from
the high ideal that he had set for himself the day he be
came a priest of God. He remained until the last, the
consistent, dignified scholar, a perfect gentleman, and
above all, a true Catholic priest.
Named as the Vicar General of the Archdiocese he
manifested these same characteristics towards clergy and
laity in his dealings on all occasions. But while maintain
ing the dignity of his office, his humility was an inspiration
to those intimately associated with him during his long
life. It was this virtue which prompted him to refuse the
honor of a brilliant career as a member of the faculty of
a famous seminary with all the subsequent possibilities.
That again prevailed when the See of Grass Valley be
came vacant, and the mitre of a bishop was offered to
Father J. J. Prendergast. He graciously declined, pre
ferring to remain with the flock which he had so long
and lovingly tended.

230 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Through his long and active life he saw San Francisco
grow from the insignificant town of 1859 to its greatness
of 1914. He rejoiced with the City in its triumphs and
suffered with her in her troubles. He passed through the
two great earthquakes of 1868 and 1906. He saw Arch
bishop Alemany close his successful work in California,
and was present when His Grace, Archbishop Riordan,
celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his election to
the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He saw one of his
former curates, the late beloved George Montgomery,
appointed to the bishopric of Los Angeles and later to
the still higher office of Coadjutor-Archbishop of San
Francisco. Many of those whom he baptized are today
grandparents ; generations came and went during his long
and fruitful life; men passed before his gaze in endless
procession; but now he has followed those that went
before him, those whom he helped to make acceptable in
the sight of God.
He has gone from our midst, but his works remain, and
not the least of these is the Holy Family Community.
When on the occasion of their own Jubilee Celebration in
the Civic Auditorium of San Francisco, on November 18,
1922, the curtains of a specially constructed stage parted
before the gaze of the assembled twelve thousand friends
of the Holy Family Sisters, and discovered the variegated
costumes of 1000 children in a beautifully instructive
pageant, it was, as it were, the unveiling of the monument
which Father Prendergast had erected to his own memory.
It was a monument to him and to Sister Mary Dolores.

SISTER MARY DOLORES

CHAPTER II

Sister Mary Dolores

onors of a most unusual kind were
given to Sister Dolores when, on
August 2, 1905, she breathed forth her
soul into the hands of God. The multi
tude of sorrow-stricken people that vis
ited the Convent to view her remains and
crowded into the Cathedral to assist at the funeral obse
quies on August 5, manifested the esteem in which she
was held by all who had been privileged to know her.
Father Prendergast, assisted by Rev. J. B. Hannigan,
Rev. Thomas McSweeney of Oakland, and Rev. J. Mc-
Quaide, celebrated the Solemn High Mass. Within the
Sanctuary were many parish priests of the archdiocese
and representatives of the religious orders. In the pews
Sisters of the various religious communities were pres
ent in great numbers, and mourners from all classes and
conditions in life joined them in offering heart-prompted
prayers for their revered and devoted friend. The choir
rendered Mozart's Requiem Mass, Mr. Robert J. Har
rison directing. The fervent aspirations of the people,
mingling with the music of the great Catholic composer
and with the clouds of incense that rose from the censers,
were united with the prayers of the venerable celebrant
and all together floated heavenward in earnest supplica
tion for the repose of the soul of Sister Mary Dolores.
In his sermon, His Grace, the Most Reverend Arch
bishop Montgomery, showed a deep appreciation of the

232 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
life-work of this devoted Spouse of Christ and self-
sacrificing servant of the people. He referred to the
grand inheritance she had left to her daughters in reli
gion, of the wonderful fecundity of the Church in pro
ducing souls who would meet the practical needs of the
Church and the age, and of the necessity human beings
feel of leaning one upon another. "This noble woman,"
he said, "seemed to be one of those chosen souls who
sought every opportunity to aid any one who might pos
sibly need her help. If Sister consulted her own choice
she would have preferred for herself and her Sisters to
remain hidden in God; but when it was made known to
her that the outside world needed her labors, she sub
mitted her will to the holy will of God. Unconsciously
to herself, or because she was unconscious of it, her light
shone before men and glorified her Heavenly Father."
The casket, of broadcloth trimmed with oxydized sil
ver — its plate bearing the short but comprehensive in
scription "Sister M. Dolores Armer, the Beloved Mother
and Venerated Foundress of the Sisters of the Holy
Family," was rich in its effective simplicity. It was pro
vided with loving devotion by Mrs. Mary A. Tobin, who
treasured Sister Dolores as an elder daughter, and, in its
very cradle, nurtured the Order of the Holy Family with
all the tender care of her generous Christian heart. The
pall composed of lilies of the valley was the offering of
Mrs. Charles Clark, the daughter of Mrs. Mary A.
Tobin. Friends sent flowers in great quantities to sur
round the casket, for they knew how the departed had
loved flowers and how she had seen in them a gift of God
and a reflection of His beauty. The pall-bearers were
Captain A. H. Payson, Judge Robert Tobin, Doctor L.
Pawlicki, Joseph S. Tobin, J. R. Kelly, Judge J. F. Sulli
van, Edward Tobin, and J. O. Tobin.

SISTER MARY DOLORES 233
Following the casket of the Reverend Foundress were
the members of her Community, bowed with grief, but
self-controlled and composed, though their hearts were
overwhelmed with sorrow and their eyes suffused with
tears. At the cemetery Father Prendergast, assisted by
Rev. Father Hannigan and a number of the clergy, per
formed the last sad rites over the grave of this loving
friend of the poor, one of the greatest benefactors in
the cause of humanity that San Francisco had ever known,
and Foundress of a religious order whose work is for the
benefit of those to whom the Savior Himself loved to
minister — the poor and the little children.
The newspaper accounts of her death and their appre
ciation of her character glowed with enthusiasm. "She
gave freely and generously," said one account, "of the
best with which God had endowed her — strength of mind
and physical endurance, executive ability, extraordinary
patience, artistic taste, refinement of soul and body, con
centration of heart and intellect, and unflinching religious
zeal; giving all in such a way that the character and the
personality, which imparted to them impulse and actuality,
was entirely absorbed in the institution she founded.
Sister Dolores lived and breathed, thought and labored,
in God, through the Order of the Sisters of the Holy
Family. It consumed her identity."
But far more glowing were the tributes of those that
had known her more intimately. Miss Agnes Tobin,
who was related to Sister Dolores by the deepest ties of
friendship, has preserved some of Father Prendergast's
own expressions of admiration:
"Sister Dolores," he said, "was the most remarkable
woman I have ever known. The people of San Francisco
turned out to do her honor; they could not have shown
her greater honor than they did. How little I thought,

234 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
when I first saw her as a young girl, what she would
develop into — what there was hidden there !
"I do not think that she ever had to say in all her life
'I forgot,' in regard to any person or anything. It was
marvellous how she carried everything in her mind, and
never seemed to relax her vigilance.
"The last few years, as I have been apart and merely
looked on, I have often been amazed at all she accom
plished and so quietly. The work was done, everything
completed; but when you looked around, there was no
Sister Dolores. She was away, at home by that time,
perhaps. She obliterated herself.
"Other people are good, are pious, but there was
something in her that was unique and individual — quite
unlike any one else. There seemed to be no barrier be
tween her and the Divine Source of Life, not even the
slightest. She was simply an unobstructed channel for
Divine influence. The great reserve of her nature — the
way in which she withdrew all that she felt into her
inmost self — so that her emotions remained inviolate,
her exquisite sensibility, so that she remained sensitive
and tender as a child all through her life, untouched by
the hardness of the world — these qualities were ad
mirable. "And for such a creature, in return for all her high
aspirations and ideals, in return for her wonderful
achievements, there was a life of pain, a life of great
suffering, almost nothing but suffering!"
Such a tribute from Father Prendergast who knew
Sister Dolores so intimately and who was best qualified
to speak her praises seems to leave nothing to be added.
She was "the most remarkable woman" that Father Pren
dergast had ever known, remarkable in mental attain
ments, in efficiency in accomplishing her work, in humility

SISTER MARY DOLORES 235
in avoiding praise, remarkable, too, in corresponding to
Divine Grace and yet with that great reserve and un
emotional calmness and exquisite sensibility that enabled
her to retain throughout her life the amiable tenderness
of a child. It is an ardent encomium, pronounced by one
who was in a position to judge. But Father Prendergast
has told us more. A few weeks after the death of Sister
Dolores he visited the Convent and spoke to her bereaved
daughters. "Now that we are all together," he said, "I think I
should speak a few words to you about the last moments
of your dear departed Mother, Sister Dolores. I was
sent for in the afternoon, but as she was resting I did
not wish to disturb her. A little later Father Prelato
heard her confession and anointed her, and as she was
getting weaker I was sent for again, and arrived at her
bedside about six o'clock. On seeing me, Sister said, 'I
am going.' I said 'No doubt you would like to see your
work more perfectly finished, and carry out some of the
plans before going to Heaven, to Our Lord; but it is
often the way, we must leave even if our work is unfin
ished — leave it after us to another.' She answered simply,
'God knows best.' I left her awhile to her own thoughts;
after a little she called me and made a request : 'Thank
the Archbishop for me' ; again, after a little pause, she
asked me to comfort Mrs. Tobin. That was all.
"Sister was sinking when Father McQuaide arrived
and gave her Holy Viaticum and the last blessing. The
prayers of the ritual for the dying began and when I had
finished them, she asked the doctor if she might change
her position. I knew then that the end was not far off,
and going over to the right side of the bed, I said the last
aspirations appointed in the ritual, but Sister was too
weak to respond. Calmly and tranquilly without suffer-

236 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
ing the end came, and while your prayers in the Chapel
ascended to the throne of God like the sound of rushing
waters, God sent his angels to bear above the soul of
Sister Dolores.
"During the many, many years that I had known Sis
ter, I had never thought very much about her, that is, of
her virtues or her character; for this is not ours to judge,
especially during one's lifetime. But now that she has
gone to her reward, I cannot help but feel that Sister
Dolores was no ordinary woman. She had especially a
great thoughtfulness for others. She seemed to keep in
her mind every little event, every feast day, and how
kindly in some way or other she would remember these
little anniversaries. I know this was so with the Arch
bishop, with myself, and with many others. She always
remembered us.
"Her unerring judgment was most remarkable, and
then she had that strong positive character so necessary
in ruling others, even in the case of a mother over her
little family of two or three children. Sister's was no
passive character; it was positive, strong and firm, one
on which you could depend. Above all, she was so oblivi
ous of self. She kept her crosses and trials to herself,
never seeking sympathy from others, but bearing in
silence the sword of interior suffering as did the Blessed
Virgin at the foot of the cross, as did Our Divine Savior
Himself, Who through all His cruel passion suffered in
silence for love of us.
"Sister had her trials — bitter, hard trials — but she had
her consolations too. Strive to carry on the good work
of which she has been by the Providence of God the
Foundress; live as she would have you live; keep her
spirit alive within you ; be loyal as she was to Christ, and
from her resplendent throne above the starry heavens

SISTER MARY DOLORES 237
where she dwells with God, Sister Dolores will look down
upon you and aid you by her intercession more than she
could while here below."
When the Sisters went to SS. Peter and Paul's Church
to ask the prayers of the Salesian Fathers for the repose
of the soul of Sister Dolores, the Rev. Father Piperni ex
pressed his sorrow and that of his confreres. Speaking
of Sister, he said : "The voice of the people is the Voice
of God, and the people proclaim her a holy woman."
Other similar testimonials there were, but we need not
reproduce them. One only shall we add, that of the Rev.
B. C. Redahan, Pastor of SS. Peter and Paul's Church,
where the Sisters had accomplished so much under the
guidance of Sister Dolores.
"It has pleased God," he wrote to the children of his
Sunday Schools and to the members of his Sodalities, "to
call to the eternal reward of the just the Rev. Mother
Dolores of the Sisters of the Holy Family, who peace
fully breathed her last on Wednesday evening, at the
Convent on Hayes Street. In the death of Mother
Dolores, SS. Peter and Paul's Church has lost a constant
benefactress and our children a most loving friend.
"Her life spent in the service of God, her Christian
fortitude and beautiful death, make us confident that she
already enjoys the bliss of heaven. But this does not
lessen our debt of gratitude towards this angelic soul.
One of the older Pastors in San Francisco remembers
an interview with Father Prendergast in 1874, a short
time after the great trial. He expected to find him much
depressed and discouraged, but Father used these remark
able words: "There is one who will not fail (Elizabeth
Armer) , and on her God will build the great work."
With such expressions of admiration before us, we
ask very naturally what it was that merited them. We

238 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
can find the answer in her life and her life's work as we
have endeavored to portray it in this volume; but for a
more intimate knowledge of her spirit we may consult
her own writings. What little she has left in writing is
indicative of that strong, positive character, of which
Father Prendergast speaks, and of a refined, well-poised
mind, an indomitable will, an enduring patience and a
generous heart overflowing with love for God and the
children of God.
There is noticeable, first of all, a wholesome growth
of aspirations and ideals — the growth of a flower from
seed to bloom. When, for example, she wrote for the
benefit of her first companions : — "Hospitals shall be your
monasteries; the streets of the city and the houses of
the needy shall be your cloister; hired rooms, your cells;
the parish church, your chapel. Obedience shall be your
solitude, the fear of God your grating, and a strict and
holy modesty your only veil" — she had no idea of the
proportions that were to evolve from her humble begin
nings; she had, apparently, no adequate concept of the
Religious Order that was to rise out of what, in the
beginning, was no more than a pious work piously under
taken by a handful of pious young ladies.
There was, however, one thing which she had thor
oughly grasped, even from the beginning, and that was
the inevitable suffering that is associated with good works.
She writes:
"And I saw the river which must be passed in order to
reach the Kingdom of Heaven, and the name of that river
was Suffering. And I saw the boat which takes so many
souls across that river, and the name of that boat was
Love! Suffering is a precious treasure of which we shall
only know the full value in eternity. Yet when God
spares us from it we must be thankful."

SISTER MARY DOLORES 239
Admirable as were her great courage and patient en
durance, she was more closely endeared to her Sisters for
other traits of her lovable character. No one was ever
so light-hearted and gay at recreation as Sister Dolores
and many are the amusing anecdotes which linger in the
memory of her Sisters of those happy hours when all
gathered together in sweet companionship after the toil
of the day. How often, too, can they recall the sweet
motherly solicitude which would call forth such tender
consideration for even a slight indisposition or over
fatigue, and her ingenious plans to give them a little re
laxation in their continuous round of duties.
It seems, however, that the predominant characteristic
in the inner life of Sister Dolores was a love for suffering.
It is not one of the popular virtues; yet, if it be true, as
has been very beautifully said, that "mint and thyme give
out perfumes only when bruised," it is undeniably a profit
able virtue. If the deepest and divinest music comes not
from the weak notes that are touched with gentle fingers,
but from those that are fiercely trampled under the feet,
and if human hearts be the keys in the great organ of
humanity, exceptional harmony of life is to be looked for
when hearts, brave hearts, are trampled upon in the
struggle that accompanies noble deeds.
Sister Dolores began her long life of suffering when,
for nearly two years, she struggled against difficulties that
would have utterly crushed a weaker heart. She closed
it with a siege of physical ailments which were all the
more distasteful as she was so full of energy and ambi
tion to labor for others. She saw her beloved Sisters
going about doing good, while she was confined in the
infirmary or ordered by the doctors to spend months at
a time in Ukiah, to be near the invigorating waters of
the springs. What other sufferings she had to endure,

240 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
between her early disappointments and the long sickness
that resulted in her death, we are not told; but all are
agreed in this that it was not without a special disposition
of Divine Providence that she was named Dolores.
Some of the world's most famous paintings are of the
Mater Dolorosa. Something peculiarly sweet and tender
and uplifting is found in the worthy representations of
the Mother of Sorrows. It is not the sadness that is
inspiring but the expression of sorrows bravely borne, of
pains patiently endured. If Sister Dolores shared the
sorrows as well as the name of her of whom it is written,
"and there stood by the Cross of Jesus His Mother,"
she was not without something of the Blessed Virgin's
bravery and patience and confidence in God.
"Confidence," she wrote during one of her retreats,
in which she was meditating on St. Vincent de Paul, "was
a virtue which St. Vincent possessed in an eminent degree.
* * * He left God to act as far as he could and
awaited from Him the degree and moment of success.
If anyone, actuated by views of human prudence, repre
sented to him that there was no apparent hope of his
accomplishing what he had commenced, the Saint would
reply : 'Let us leave it to Our Dear Lord, it is His work,
and as it has pleased Him to give us the suggestion, let us
be assured that He will carry it out in the manner most
agreeable to Himself; He will be the first and the second
in a work which He Himself has invited us to do.' "
But we must not suppose that with suffering on the one
side and, on the other, this tendency to leave everything to
God, resulted in anything like weakness. Above all things
Sister Dolores was a valiant woman. A mere glance at
her picture will reveal something of her strong character
and earnestness of purpose, her ardor in the use of means,
her gentleness to the responsive, and firm rebuke to the

SISTER MARY DOLORES 241
stubborn. "The word 'failure,' " she wrote, "should be
blotted out of the dictionary of Religious life, for in that
life there is no such thing as failure. Although all our
actions should appear as such, yet if they have been
offered to God with a pure intention, they will be meri
torious before Him."
But nowhere did she reveal her strength of charac
ter and clearness of vision more thoroughly than in her
"Counsels for Sisters Superior." "Have they made thee
a ruler," she begins, quoting from Ecclesiasticus, "be not
lifted up ; be among them as one of them. Have care of
them and so sit down, and when thou hast acquitted thy
self of all thy charge, take thy place, that thou mayest
rejoice for them, and receive a crown as an ornament
of grace."
"The Superior," she continues in the unconscious de
lineation of herself, "should have, first, a just idea and
perfect knowledge of the spirit and rules of the Com
munity; secondly, experience in spiritual things; thirdly,
much prudence and discretion; fourthly, a great humility
which will prevent her from valuing herself or glorying
in her charge and in her authority, so as to elevate herself
above others, and which will incline her, through a sincere
distrust of her own wisdom, to recur to the lights of those
who constitute her council, and to yield to their opinion;
fifthly, an intimate union with God, to hold herself de
pendent on grace, and constantly to act on supernatural
principles ; sixthly, it is necessary that she be dead to her
self, living only for God and her neighbor whose interests
should become hers, and in a manner absorb all her
thoughts; lastly, she has need of a charity, both sweet
and strong, which will enable her to support the weak,
and await patiently the Lord's time; but nevertheless, this
sweetness must not be allowed to degenerate into weak-

242 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
ness, or favor relaxation. In the exercise of her charge
the Superior ought to unite firmness and kindness; it is
from the perfect union of these two qualities that good
and wise government results ; she should procure the faith
ful observance of the rules more by her example than by
her words.
"She has need of a certain largeness of mind to enable
her to give to each thing its proper value, so as not to
insist with the same rigor on different points which are not
of the same importance and not to wish to conduct every
one by the same way. The rules doubtless are the same
for all; but the direction of the Superior ought to sub
mit to many modifications and accommodate itself as
much as possible to the difference of characters and of
necessities. "There is nothing more animating to a Community
than to see the Superior striving to practice all that she
requires of the Sisters; dispensing herself in no circum
stances but those in which she would dispense others;
shunning all exemption beyond what a necessity renders
unavoidable and faithfully practicing obedience to her
own directors ; performing as an individual religious that
which, as the superior, she commands; indeed if she easily
dispenses herself from the customs, from the points of
discipline she establishes or from the general directions
that she gives she cannot judge wisely or correctly of their
weight or of their fitness for others and may apply to
herself the reproach made by our Divine Lord to the
teachers in Israel, 'They say, and do not; for they bind
heavy and insupportable burdens, and lay them on men's
shoulders but with a finger of their own they will not
move them.' "
If in the foregoing quotations, taken at random from
a lengthy dissertation on the qualities of an ideal Su-

SISTER MARY DOLORES 243
perior, we find ample proof of the strength of mind and
clearness of vision which her friends have attributed to
Sister Dolores, in what follows we may discern her tender
ness of heart.
"It is of the utmost importance that the Superior mani
fest a cordial interest in all that concerns the Sisters.
It is more difficult to bear cold indifference than even
severity; nothing serves more to alienate the heart than
indifference especially in one that holds the place of a
mother. The Superior ought to be the depository of the
joys and sorrows of the Sisters in which she should sym
pathize with maternal kindness. It is only by doing so
that she can safely correct and sustain them and prevent
pernicious confidences and intimacies between individuals
which, if, by any chance, they find a place among religious,
tend so effectually to hinder their perfection.
"She should give the Sisters free access to her, and re
gard their direction as her first and most important duty.
If a Sister seeks her counsel at a time when it is im
possible to attend to her, she ought to appoint her a time
which she will be free to devote to her.
"She shall provide for all the wants of the Sisters ex
cluding all superfluities. Our Divine Lord, in calling
religious to leave all and follow Him, takes on Himself
to provide for all their wants. He appoints the Superior
as the visible instrument of His paternal care, and He
will jealously demand of them a strict account of their
stewardship. A Superior who neglects the necessities of
her Sisters fails in an essential duty of charity and of her
office, and she exposes them to many temptations and the
Community to much misery as all may not have the virtue
to bear such neglect, but, even supposing they have, she
should not give them opportunities of practicing virtue at
her own expense."

244 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
But we have quoted enough. What others have said
about Sister Dolores is borne out by herself in her own
writings. We have been more deeply interested in her
works. "By their fruits you shall know them" is a saying
of Divine Wisdom and in the spirit of that saying we
offer our entire volume as a tribute to Sister Dolores,
to her companion, Sister Teresa, and to their ever faithful
director, Father Prendergast.
They had a purpose in life — to serve God and hu
manity. They studied the story told by our Blessed
Savior of the man who fell among robbers, was stripped
of his goods and left half dead by the wayside. The
Priest who ministered before the Holy of Holies, and
stood before the altar, saw the poor man by the roadside,
but, turning away his eyes, passed by without pity and
without compassion. The Levite who attended at the
sacrifice, who had been consecrated to mingle in the sacred
functions for the good of the people, turned a deaf ear
to the groans of pain and to the appeals for help from
the injured man. But the despised Samaritan, whom
people avoided and looked down upon, being on a journey
to Jericho, happening that way and hearing the prayer
for relief, at once moved by sympathy, went and bound
up the wounds of the sufferer, and pouring in oil and wine,
made kind and generous provision for the poor man's
cure and welfare.
In this beautiful parable they saw depicted the tender
ness and sympathy that shone out so clearly in the life of
the blessed Savior and was emphasized by Him so in
sistently and often in His teachings. They had learned
the lesson. When the Lord comes to judge the world He
will surely be able to say to them : "I was hungry and you
gave Me to eat; thirsty and you gave Me to drink; naked
and you clothed Me."

CHAPTER III

Sister Teresa of Jesus
OW BEAUTIFULLY SHE LIVED ! SUCH WAS
the short but glowing tribute paid by
Mrs. Charles W. Clark — a life-long
friend of the Sisters — to the memory of
Sister Teresa when she heard the sad
news of her death. How beautifully, in
deed, she lived, how religiously, how self-sacrificingly,
only those will understand who enjoyed the privilege of
her friendship, who visited her and sought the benefit of
her prayers and advice. She was occupied solely and
always in pointing out the way to God through the prac
tice of Christian virtues. Even when infirmities were
undermining her strength she manifested a keen interest
in everything that pertained to the service of God and
of her neighbor.
How sweetly she died, how calmly, and how peace
fully, the many who entered the infirmary to pray at her
bed-side can bear testimony. How triumphantly she was
welcomed when she passed from the shadows into the
light of God's presence, to be received into the loving
embrace of her Savior and thrilled with the twofold greet
ing: 'Well done, my faithful servant!' and 'Come, my
beloved!' we shall understand then only when, through
the mercy of God, the prayers of the Saints, and, we may
add, her prayers, we too shall enter eternal blessedness.
First companion of Sister Dolores, first to take her
vows as a religious of the Holy Family, first Superioress,

246 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
and first Mistress of Novices, Sister Teresa has always
been regarded as the co-foundress of the Community.
At the death of Sister Dolores in 1905, she was elected
Superior and held that office until 1921, when her fre
quently recurring illness induced her to ask the Archbishop
that she be relieved of the burden of superiorship. Sister
Teresa even then was looked upon as the Superior 'Erne-
rita,' if such a term, implying as it does a certain degree
of honor, may be used of an humble religious. She de
serves, therefore, a special chapter in this volume. Sister
Dolores herself would be the first to urge such special
distinction, while Sister Teresa would tell us, in her
wonted humility, that for whatever she possessed of
spiritual or other qualities, suitable to the service of God
as a Sister of the Holy Family and as a Superior, she was
indebted under God to the example and instructions of
Sister Dolores. What we say of Sister Teresa will,
therefore, redound to the glory of Sister Dolores.
Monsignor Ryan, the present Vicar General of the
Archdiocese, said on the occasion of Sister Teresa's fu
neral: "If I ever met a saint, she was one." And, truly,
if we may venture to interpret the saying, 'Only the warm
of heart become saints' in such a way that the warmth
is of Divine origin, instilled by God's grace and used for
the uplift of others, then there was much in the life of
Sister Teresa that partook of real sanctity. Hers was,
indeed, a warm heart.
Human she was in many ways. She would go to un
limited passes to help the poor. She would summon her
many wealthy friends and without fear or hesitation
would demand means to carry on her work. Sometimes
it was to give a business course to a promising young lady.
At other times to send a young man through college, but
always, as far as she could judge, with a view to fitness

SISTER M. TERESA O'CONNOF

SISTER TERESA OF JESUS 247
and promise of success. She had so many works of
this kind, that her wealthy friends would sometimes, in
pleasantness, make little remarks such as these:
"When Sister Teresa calls, my mother always sends
for the check-book," or "If the Archbishop wishes to
succeed in his drive" — referring to the Knights of Colum
bus campaign for war relief funds — "he should appoint
Sister Teresa as its director."
Sister Teresa firmly believed that all things were good;
that all her friends were good; that all that is good is
bright and all good people, generously kind; that good
ness and brightness and kindness are the only things that
are great and beautiful. When she summoned friends to
ask a favor of them, it was her sweetness and sympathy
that won immediate response. Her requests were to
them a new kind of music, a chord of Angel-songs coming
into their lives.
Of her vocation we have already spoken. It was un
usual in every sense of the word. Vocations to religious
life are always strange. Sometimes young men and young
women have entered religion when the Order of their
choice was passing through a period of persecution or its
members were being driven into exile. The annals of the
Elizabethan persecution reveal cases of men becoming
religious while in prison, so that they might enjoy the rare
privilege of martyrdom. Sister Teresa's vocation was at
a time when in all worldly calculation the ship was sink
ing. Miss Armer's first companion fell a victim of
hallucination or of nerves. Her second companion aban
doned her. Her work was held in disrepute by outside
observers and, to all appearances, was in the throes of
interior dissolution. When Ellen O'Connor entered, it
was to find herself left alone during Miss Armer's illness.
She had, as we have seen, one object that offered some

248 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
human comfort. "If I am lonesome," she said, "I can
play the piano," but hardly had she taken up her abode
when the piano, which had been stored in the rented home,
was moved away.
When she returned from Benicia she made her pro
fession and was appointed Superior and Mistress of
Novices, with the full burden and responsibility of train
ing her companions, amongst them Miss Armer herself,
in the ways of religious life. At the close of the Novi
tiate, Sister Dolores was made Superior, but it remained
the duty of Sister Teresa to train the novices until she
herself was elected Superior in 1905.
At this time the two Day Homes and the Training
School on Sixth Street were well filled with children, and
the Sisters were assisting in twenty different Sunday
Schools in San Francisco, besides going as far down the
Peninsula as Colma and South City, San Bruno and
Burlingame. The Community numbered about seventy
members, and new calls were being made by the priests
of the City for the services of the Sisters.
Sister Teresa was, during her whole religious life,
either Superior or Mistress of Novices, and since her inti
mate association with Sister Dolores made it possible to
imbibe her principles, the spirit of Sister Teresa may be
said to be the spirit of Sister Dolores and this, in turn,
the spirit of the Community. The concrete exemplifica
tion of that spirit in the life of Sister Teresa will help
towards its more thorough understanding and proper
appraisement. First of all — if we may begin with what to some may
seem a limitation — Sister Teresa was not a student, if by
that word we are to understand one who seeks knowledge
of spiritual things in books. It all seemed so simple to
her — the meaning of prayer, its necessity, the importance

SISTER TERESA OF JESUS 249
of regular observance, the dignity of submissiveness, the
heroism of self-sacrifice, the comforts of laborious hours
spent in teaching children — that a fault, a spirit of mur
muring, an undue attachment to parents and relatives was
in her mind altogether unintelligible.
It is important to study this spirit more thoroughly.
When in 1917 the Archbishop, with an eye to greater
efficiency in the work of the Sisters, sent some of them
to the Catholic University at Washington, for a special
course in the principles and practice of education and
sociology, Sister Teresa was surprised. Perfectly sub
missive to the authority of His Grace, she could not under
stand the need of University training.
"It is not," she said to an intimate friend, "according
to our spirit. Our work is to teach the catechism, to
visit the poor and the sick, to take care of children.
Training is necessary, yes; but it is training in Christian
Doctrine and in kindergarten work that is necessary."
"But," it was urged, "the priests influenced by modern
conditions demand a more up-to-date method in teaching
the catechism."
"We have our own method," she insisted, "the method
given to us from the very beginning by Father Prender
gast and followed with scrupulous fidelity and with un
deniable success for nearly fifty years. The most that
can be accomplished by a university training or the study
of psychology is the mental development of the Sisters
themselves. And even they are not immune from the
danger of a 'little' learning."
"The one thing necessary," she added, "is that the
Sisters of the Holy Family know our Lord as He was
and therefore as He is. Knowing Him, they will love
and imitate Him and be able to fulfill the duties of their
calling without the specious accoutrements of University

250 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
degrees or College diplomas. These accessories may help
the work of Sisters who teach in High schools, especially
when their schools are affiliated with the Universities, but
to teach Catechism, to instil into the minds of the young
the fundamental truths of religion and the fundamental
principles of morality, to point out to them the need they
have of the Sacramental aids of Divine Grace, Father
Prendergast's method is all sufficient. The sole benefits
of the University training," she concluded, "as far as
the Holy Family Sisters are concerned, is to show them
what they should not be and to what they should not
aspire." There may be some doubts about the soundness of
Sister Teresa's attitude, were it to be urged on all. Some
need the helps of educational training to supply the de
fects of their own mentality; but in the case of Sister
Teresa herself, endowed as she was with such mental
alertness and keen perspicacity, with such natural at
tractiveness and so winning a personality, pedagogical
training seemed to be quite unnecessary.
On the other hand, there can be no doubt of the sound
ness of her objective. The importance of knowing our
Lord as he was and as He is, is paramount. How wither
ing is the thought that one may read and study the lives
of Christ, spiritual and mystical books, letters and biog
raphies of the Saints, inspiring histories, records of
martyrs, Church annals, to say nothing of treaties on
practical psychology, the psychology of the class-room,
the secret of arousing and retaining attention, and at the
same time neglect to study the authentic life of Christ
that is presented in the simple narrative of the Evan
gelists, simple narrative and yet so wonderful that it
provokes thought in the wisest and can be understood by
children. Everything else is of importance only in so far

SISTER TERESA OF JESUS 251
as it helps to unfold the Christ of the Scriptures. Pictures
of our Savior, however beautiful and fascinating, are the
fancies of imaginative artists, and, if they do not conform
to the delineations of His character left us by Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John, they are empty and perhaps
dangerous fancies.
Sister Teresa was so interested in the Source of all
genuine culture that she regarded daily meditation on the
life of Christ as more potent than a two year course in
pedagogics. There is something supremely important in
her contention ; one who goes to the Source will find food
for thought and material to shape into a Christ-like life.
He will find, first of all, that Christ was characterized
by a directness and clarity of vision which nothing could
divert or obscure. Firm and decisive in His judgments,
He spoke 'as one having authority,' so that even His
enemies were forced to exclaim : 'Never has any man
spoken as this man speaks.' Unerring in His estimates
of men, He distinguished surface appearances from real
good or evil; He did not confound sin with misfortune;
He was deceived neither by the conventionally good nor by
the apparently confirmed outcast. The Publican was
dearer to Him than the Pharisee.
Linked with that clear vision, that certain grasp of
truth was an infinitely tender heart. He was a true but
not a condescending friend. He wins the love of all that
are not steeled against His attractive sweetness, because
He is so strong, so true, so unselfish, so utterly unable to
deceive and so tenderly lavish in His expressions of love.
While men find reason to condemn, He is willing to for
give, always willing to open the flood-gates of affection to
those that apply the key — belief and confidence.
His clear understanding and open heart are linked with
strength of will manifested in constant and untiring

252 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
action. "He has a definite work to do, a definite life to
lead, a definite death to die and never for a moment does
He swerve from its accomplishment. Failure may de
press Him, but He does not despond; opportunity may
alter His plan, but it does not slacken His effort; deceit,
falsehood, trickery on the part of His enemies; faith
lessness, weakness, even desertion on the part of His
friends — nothing can lessen His endeavor, make His
hand tremble, or His feet to falter. Steadily He walks
through life 'giving testimony to the truth.' Constantly
He stretches out His hands to bless and to heal. To the
deserving and undeserving, to friend and enemy, to saint
and sinner, He imparts His blessings and for the benefit
of all He strews kindness along His path."
These are the main lines in the Scriptural portrait of
Christ. Sister Teresa could not understand how any
university training could help towards their comprehen
sion. She could not understand how psychological studies,
however useful they may be in other endeavors, could
contribute towards a more ardent love of our Blessed
Savior. To know Him is to love Him, and love for Him
will flower into imitation.
Strong in her stand, she did not always make allow
ances for the natural benefits of human wisdom and, if
she had her faults, one of them was the difficulty with
which she understood the differences which naturally exist
among human characters. She thought all the Sisters
should be like Sister Dolores. She was intolerant of
nervous individuals. She could not understand the scru
pulous. Her own great trust in the mercy and goodness
of God, her consequent evenness of life, her calmness of
soul and sweetness of temper made her appear severe
towards those to whom God had given a different dis
position. She did not like excessive introspection. She

SISTER TERESA OF JESUS 253
saw danger in an everlasting pecking at one's soul. She
wished that all could, like herself, experience the joys of
God's absorbing presence, and of the invigorating com
pany of the incarnate Son of God. She thought that more
time should be spent in loving admiration of the life of
the great Master of the world — enjoying His friendship,
interpreting His mind, and sympathizing with the joys
and sorrows of His heart — than in worrying about one's
own weaknesses and imperfections. Unconsciously she
became even more and more like unto Him, and espe
cially in her later years, was able to attract even the
worldly minded to her presence, and to send them away
from the Convent with a strange experience of something
that this world cannot give.
For the practical purposes of the Holy Family Sisters,
her principles were of the utmost utility. Christ began
to do and to teach. No man ever taught as He taught,
but His method was simple. He illustrated the most
sublime truths by the most simple object lessons, He
taught in parables, and He insisted on lives in keeping
with His principles. It is the very method drawn up for
the benefit of the Sisters by Father Prendergast. Illus
tration, object-lesson, anecdote or parable, and finally, a
practice should accompany every instruction in Christian
Doctrine. If we study the work of the Sisters — taking
care of the poor and of little children — we find that there
is no possible exemplar comparable to the Savior Himself.
He loved little children and was the Friend of the poor.
There is, then, much food for thought in the spirit of
Sister Teresa, as we have suggested it. She was the last
person in the world to spurn human and natural aids, but
she demanded that they be, indeed, aids to know, love and
imitate the blessed Savior — and not the empty pretense
that so frequently masquerades as education.

254 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
In her death, Sister Teresa was a model of resignation
and patience. A sweet smile of contentment lighted her
pallid face, a look of satisfaction shone from her fading
eyes and, even to the end, though unable to move, she
seemed perfectly conscious, recognized her friends, and
murmured a response to the prayers for the dying. Like
Sister Dolores, she too was honored in death. A large
concourse of people assisted at her solemn obsequies in
St. Mary's Cathedral; Most Reverend Archbishop Hanna
spoke feelingly of her long life of service. Sisters of
different orders, priests from all parts of the Diocese,
the rich and the poor, little children and those that had
known her for years, wept as they viewed her remains
and prayed for the repose of her great soul.
One of the Sisters wrote the following loving tribute to
her memory, taking for inspiration the words of Scrip
ture : I have loved, O, Lord, the beauty of Thy house
and the place where Thy glory dwelleth.
"These few words portray the life of our dear Mother
Mary Teresa whose every thought, word, and deed were
characterized by the greatest reverence for everything re
lating to the Church. Her constant desire was to beautify
the House of God. In each of God's ministers, she
beheld the representative of the Great High Priest; in
each and every one of her Sisters and all those consecrated
to God, she saw only the Spouses of Christ; every person
was reverenced by her as the temple of the Holy Ghost
and she endeavored during her life to impart this spirit
to all with whom she came in contact, — to the members
of her own dear Community which she loved so tenderly,
to the many friends who sought from her advice or con
solation and to the little children who were so sacred in
her eyes, because, as she used to say, 'Their angels behold
the face of their Father in Heaven.' "

CHAPTER IV
The Roll of Honor
NROLLED IN THE ANNALS OF THE HOLY
Family Convent are two classes of
names; the first is of their Benefactors —
those generous men and women who
stood by them through all their fifty
years, rejoicing in their triumphs, sorrow
ing with them in their trials, and bearing, when necessary,
the burden of their charitable works — and the second is
of their beloved dead, of those who were privileged to
persevere in the service of God and humanity until the
great summons, sounding in the depths of their souls,
bade them come Home — to their Beloved.
This book would be incomplete if it did not contain
some reference to both classes. Of the benefactors and
benefactresses we cannot give a complete list; they are
far too numerous. Thousands, yea tens of thousands,
have helped the work of the Sisters during the past fifty
years, some more munificently than others, some more
magnificently. In no form of generous giving can we
find more admirable examples of the widow's mite, than
in cases where charitable workers go from house to house
in an effort to relieve the suffering poor. Instances of
those that, from their own very limited means, give to the
Sisters that they may help the more indigent poor, could
be multiplied indefinitely. Only on the last day shall we
be able to understand the degree of merit attached to
almsgiving. Now we can understand general principles

256 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
only. To share the last loaf of bread with those that
are in need is far more valuable in the eyes of an all-seeing
God than to give freely of one's abundance.
The Sisters of the Holy Family have a custom, sanc
tioned by the Archbishop and almost as old as the Com
munity itself — that of going about, once every year,
through the entire City, to dispose of tickets for their
annual lecture. Were they to publish the names of those
that receive them with hearty welcome and contribute
with generous hands to the cause they represent, the list
would be endless. It will not, therefore, be expected;
but to show their appreciation of the assistance received
from all, they have consented to allow the author of this
book to publish the names of some. It will, they feel
certain, be no lack of gratitude to the thousands who have
shared in their good works, if they single out some for
special mention. When, after a victorious charge in
battle, some few of the brave soldiers are summoned for
special decoration, or for Distinguished Service Medals,
all men who reflect are fully aware of the fact that the
distinguished service is, in great part, the result of special
opportunity, and that hundreds of others not cited would
have distinguished themselves had they found themselves
in similar circumstances. In the battle against poverty
and need, the rich have the opportunities and when they
are placed on the Roll of Honor, they are the first to
acknowledge that their distinguished service might have
been surpassed by others, had others had similar means.
It is a fortunate thing to be able to help; it is a glorious
thing to help and, if the glory shines out more conspicu
ously in the case of the rich, it is because it strikes the
eye of the observer.
With this general principle understood we give the
names of the more noted benefactors of the Sisters.

ROLL OF HONOR

257

Early Benefactors

Mrs. A. Brenham
Mr. William T. Coleman
Mrs. Marie Coleman
Mr. Jas. V. Coleman
Mr. Justinian Caire
Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Casserly
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Carrigan
Mrs. Richard Carroll
Mrs. Geo. B. Cooper
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Donahue
Mr. and Mrs. Jos. Donohoe
Mrs. Marie DeLaveaga
Mrs. Margaret Deane
Mrs. M. H. de Young
Madame de Guigne
Madame d'Audigne
Mrs. Theresa Fair
Mr. James Flood
Mr. Edward Gallagher
Mrs. Emdlie Hager
Mrs. Judge Hyde
Mrs. Grace Hayne
Dr. and Mrs. B. Lyford
Mrs. Eleanor Martin
Mrs. Frank Sweeney Mahan
Mrs. Cech-ia May
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander
Loughborough
Mr. and Mrs. McDonough
Mr. Edward McLaughlin
Mr. John Mackey

Marquis D. Oliver
Mr. and Mrs. C. D. O'Sullivan
Mr. and Mrs. Bryan O'Connor
Mr. and Mrs. Michael O'Connor
Mr. and Mrs. Matthew O'Connor
Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius O'Connor
Mrs. James O'Brien
Mrs. J. J. O'Brien
Mr. and Mrs. James Phelan
Mrs. R. A. Pescia
Mr. Tiburcio Parrott
Mrs. Abigail Parrott
Captain and Mrs. Payson
Dr. and Mrs. Ladislas Pawlicki
Mr. and Mrs. James Regan
Mr. John Rourke
Mrs. Sisson
Mrs. E. Sawyer
Mr. and Mrs. Myles D. Sweeney
Mrs. Leland Stanford
Mrs. Henley Smith
Mr. and Mrs. John Sullivan
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Tobin
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Tobin
Mr. and Mrs. G. Touchard
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Wensingbr
Mr. and Mrs. P. J. White
Mrs. Berthe Welch
Mr. Raphael Weill
Mrs. A. Cooper de Wohler

More Recent Benefactors

Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Agar
Mrs. Wu-liam Babcock
Miss M. Casserly
Mrs. Charles W. Clark
Mrs. John B. Casserly
Mrs. George Cameron
Mrs. Maurice Casey
Mrs. Chas. de Cazotte
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Eyre
Miss M. Hyde
Mrs. L. Oelrichs Martin
Miss Frances O'Connor
Miss Emelie Parrott
Hon. James D. Phelan
Mrs. John Parrott

Miss Mary Louise Phelan
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Queen
Mrs. Oscar Sutro
Mrs. Frank Stanton
Mr. Frank Sullivan
Baroness Von Schroder
Mr. Richard Tobin
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Tobin
Mrs. Joseph Sadoc Tobin
Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Tobin
Mr. and Mrs. Cyril Tobin
Mr. and Mrs. Nion Tucker
Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Thierot
Mrs. Virginia Vanderbilt
Mrs. Katherine Winship

258 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
The foregoing names are of the benefactors of the
Sisters in San Francisco only. "They are the prime in
order; the rest were long to tell." We have not forgotten
the generosity of friends in San Jose, Oakland, and Los
Angeles; but we must pass to the second group, that of
The Departed.
In some fraternal societies it is customary during the
annual memorial services to call the roll of the departed.
With much solemnity and in the midst of religious or
quasi-religious gloom, the secretary calls out the names of
the dead brothers and when, "from the voiceless silence
of the unreplying dead," there comes no response, the
presiding officer, or some speaker chosen for the occasion,
delivers the eulogy, telling how, in every case, the brother
realized in his life all the qualities or natural virtues that
go to make up the ideal member of that society. In a
spirit somewhat similar, and yet in many ways dissimilar,
we shall run through the list of the Holy Family dead —
the dear departed, as they are called — dear not only be
cause their memory lingers, but because their perseverance
until death in God's service gives assurance to those that
are sojourners on earth, that their departed Sisters still
help, by their prayers, the good works of the Community.
Sister Mary Magdalen (Javet). The name is first
on the list, because she was first to be called to her reward.
She was, as we have seen, one of the first companions of
Sister Dolores. Called to the vineyard at the eleventh
hour, she made up in intensity what was wanting in
time. Her's were the humbler duties of housekeeper — her
chapel, the kitchen ; her chaplet, the cooking utensils. And
yet she was often found on her knees, when duties per
mitted, making, as she explained, a spiritual visit to the
Blessed Sacrament. Her death occurred in January, 1886.

ROLL OF HONOR 259
Sister Mary Augustine (McKeon). Lovingly en
shrined in the memory of all who knew her, Sister Augus
tine was the fifth member of the Community and the
second to be called to her reward. Her lot was to suffer
as well as to labor. Of delicate constitution and subject
to severe headaches, she had, in her early religious life
the additional misfortune to meet with a severe accident
which seriously affected the spine. Her fortitude under
this affliction was heroic; she bravely remained on duty
and the brightness of her disposition seemed to grow in
lovableness. When unable to engage in exterior work,
she delighted to do as much indoor work as possible, that
others might have more time to devote to the religious
education of the children in the Day Homes and the
Sunday Schools.
Sister Stanislaus (Bryant). She was a convert
who had been sent to the Sisters for instruction by her
spiritual adviser, Father George J. Montgomery (later
Archbishop Montgomery) . Sister Agnes had instructed
her, she was baptized at the Cathedral by Father Mont
gomery — then came the happy day of her first Holy
Communion and Confirmation. Nothing could quench
her ardent longing to make the complete immolation of
herself by the vows of religion. Sweet of character in
reality as in appearance, she won the love of every one
with whom she came in contact. Her versatility was a
constant wonder — there seemed no field of accomplish
ment where Sister Stanislaus could not achieve remarkable
results. As a kindergarten teacher in St. Francis' Day
Home and Catechism teacher in SS. Peter and Paul's Sun
day School, she labored faithfully and well to establish
the reign of Christ in the hearts of her little charges. Her
death occurred in March, 1893.

260 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Sister Cecilia (Powers). Mary Powers was one
of the Sisters' own children in the Cathedral Sunday
School. She entered the Community very early in life.
She was another child of patient suffering who bore her
long sickness with resignation and a fortitude which kept
her on duty despite her pain. She, also, taught at SS.
Peter and Paul's Sunday School, at St. Brigid's, and in
St. Francis' Day Home. She was remarkable for her
influence over the children and over their parents as
well. Her death in November, 1894, was the first to
occur in the Convent at Hayes and Fillmore Streets.
Father Calzia, who attended her in her last sickness, was
heard to say after leaving the convent, "I have been
present at the death-bed of a saint." Those who had
known her during life found nothing surprising in this
testimony of the Jesuit Father.
Sister Mary Bernadette (Donnelly). Nine years
elapsed before Death again visited the Community. On
the eve of All Saints' Day, 1903, Sister Bernadette was
called to an early reward after seven years of religious
life, marked by unceasing patience and sweetness, despite
constant ill health. Her characteristic virtue was charity.
In announcing her death Sister Dolores said: "Last
night our Lord took Sister Bernadette to her Home in
Heaven. Let us offer Holy Communion this morning in
thanksgiving for all the graces bestowed upon her."
Sister Rosalia (Tierney). She was only a novice.
Like St. Stanislaus, she fulfilled a long time in a short
space. One year in the service of God, but ripe for
Heaven ! Her spirit of prayer and the fragrance of her
example endeared her to all the Sisters. On November 13,
1903, the Feast of St. Stanislaus, she was ready to go, but
she lingered until November 15.

ROLL OF HONOR 261
Sister M. Sebastian (Morrison). She was of a
family which has given many members to religion. The
names of Morrison and McKinnon are often found on the
Catholic pages of California's history as priests and as
members of religious orders. Rev. Wm. McKinnon who
gave his life "for God and for Country" in the Philip
pines was closely related to the Morrison family. Mr.
Jonas Morrison, the father of Sister Sebastian, was
among the first benefactors of the Community. He do
nated all the lumber used in the building of St. Francis'
Day Home and remained a benefactor of the Sisters.
Though her religious life lasted but three and a half
years, the fragrance of her virtues still lingers in the
Community. She had the happiness of pronouncing her
final vows the day before her death, which occurred in
July, 1904.
Sister M. Anna (Alves). Born on the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception, entering religion on the same
great Festival, she was a favored child of Mary and
practiced in a marked manner the characteristic virtues of
her Immaculate Mother — humility and charity. She died
in Mary's month, the day after she had pronounced, by
special dispensation, her final vows.
Sister M. Ignatius (Doyle) . Sister Ignatius' charac
teristic virtue was zeal for souls. For their salvation she
labored constantly and generously, giving her health and
talents unstintingly, that children might be brought to
know and love God, that souls who strayed away might
be brought back to the fountains of grace. Endowed
with a brilliant mind, which had been well cultivated, and
gifted in art and music, her soul was ever in tune with
the 'Suscipe' of her patron, St. Ignatius : "Take O Lord

262 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
and receive all that I am and all that I have." Her
sacrifice was accepted for her health gave way and the
last two years of her life she was no longer able for duty,
except for that highest and most meritorious part in the
field of supernatural achievement — patient suffering.
Sister M. Agnes (Block). In two months followed
the death of one who was dearly loved by all. This was
Sister M. Agnes. She was Mistress of Novices at the
time of her death and had taken a notable part in the
formation of the Community. She was the sixth in rank
among the Sisters who formed the foundation of the
Institute, having entered in 1877 when the Sisters lived
in the little house on Pine Street. As Miss Catharine
Block she had assisted Sister Dolores and between them
there always existed the strongest ties of affection. Hers
was a nature which won every one's confidence, possessing
that precious gift of tactful sympathy which means as
much in a Religious Community as in a family. No one
in difficulty came to her without being relieved and com
forted by her gentle admonition or cheering word of
encouragement as the need might demand. Her joyous
spirit was like a sunbeam in the Convent; its radiance
enveloped all with whom she came in contact. Her affec
tionate nature, which won the love of others, was sure
to give love in return; but no individual affection ever
reached the strong loyal love she had for the Community
itself. "Much as I love Sister Dolores," she once said,
"I love the Community more." She had taught in St.
Francis' Sunday School, at the Cathedral, and was, for
several years, in charge of Holy Family Day Home on
Sixth Street. In May, 1912, her soul, freed from the
body, took its flight to Heaven, as it is always customary
to assume of those that serve God so faithfully.

f

V i

MRS. M. A. TOBIN

MRS. C D. O'SULLIVAN

The First Benefactresses of the Sisters

ROLL OF HONOR 263
Sister M. Francis (Boyle). It is difficult to record
briefly the virtues and the labors of Sister M. Francis,
the next in the order to depart for Heaven. Though
called in the noontide of life to the vineyard of the
Master, she gave the full day's work and came forth in
the evening with sheaves in abundance. Sister Francis was
a familiar figure in every section of the City, in the homes
of the wealthy, where she did not hesitate to ask assistance
for her poor, and in the hovels of the poor and lowly,
where with a bright smile and cheery word, she brought
so much comfort and left so much joy. She did not hesi
tate to perform even the most menial offices; she realized
that, to be of service in this world, one must, when the
occasion demands, be ready to scrub; she was fond of
preparing nourishing food and tempting delicacies for
the sick. Her entrance into the homes of the poor was
like the coming of a blessed Angel. She radiated sunshine
even amid the darkest gloom.
But it was in ministering to the soul rather than to the
body that her greatest work was done. In bringing the
priest to the sick, in offering prayers for the dying, in
admonishing the sinner — when these works were neces
sary — Sister Francis was indefatigable. Up and down
Telegraph Hill and Russian Hill she would walk on her
daily errands of mercy. "I cannot keep up with her,"
said her companion who was still young whilst Sister
Francis was in her sixties ! Among her particularly good
friends and contributors to the cause she represented,
were the members of the San Francisco Fire Department.
She endeavored to repay their kindnesses by spiritual
alms. At her death, the Firemen asked permission to
form an escort of honor in her funeral procession. As
the permission could not be given, they attended the
Requiem Mass in large numbers.

264 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Sister M. Cecilia (Beardsley). The life of Sister
M. Cecilia Beardsley has a beautiful coloring and peculiar
attraction. As Miss Grace Beardsley, she was a charming
young woman with a well-cultivated mind, a sweet voice,
and unusual musical talent. Because of these gifts she
received the name of (St.) Cecilia, to whom she had a
tender devotion. Little children loved her and her in
fluence over them was very great for she had the happy
faculty of keeping them happy, at the same time instilling
useful lessons. Completing the kindergarten course after
her profession, she became one of the Community's most
successful teachers. For eleven years she labored for the
children, until her health gave way under the strain. Dur
ing her lingering illness she edified all, and her death
which occurred on March 7, 1914, was as beautiful as her
life. It remains one of the cherished memories of the
Sisters, and has been so beautifully described by one of
them that we must give the reader the privilege of seeing
how sweet it is to die after a life spent in God's service :
"It is the first Friday of March," runs the account,
"and the last notes of the sweet Benediction hymns —
which had seemed so strangely sweet that evening — die
away on the incense-laden air of the chapel. In an adjoin
ing room a dear Sister waits the summons to the heavenly
choir and to the contemplation of the beauty of her
heavenly Spouse. Her voice of yore soaring so blithely,
so joyously, seemed to us like that of a nightingale, and
now it is no longer heard. We know that she never sang
lovelier songs than those she raised to our Lord during
the days of illness and incapacity, — sweet, true notes of
perfect resignation and love, even of joy and thanks
giving. Now she is to sing the 'new song' in the bright
light of Heaven's Eternal Day! In obedience to a signal,
we leave the chapel and hasten to her room. But how

ROLL OF HONOR 265
describe the sight that meets our eyes as we enter and
sink on our knees with awe and love. We see the tall
white lilies, the table with thurible and censer, the priest
standing by in surplice and stole, and, through the open
window, the calm, peaceful sky just purpling with shades
of night. Sister Cecilia is sitting almost erect, a soft
veil only half concealing the bright hair, her slender
fingers, twined round her beads, are holding a lighted
candle, and her face so wonderfully beautiful and radiant !
We almost seem to see the bright company of virgins
surrounding her, the angel by her side waiting to bear to
heaven the 'final vows.' Sweetly the strains of the Veni
Creator fill the room, and in clear, distinct, strong tones,
Sister Cecilia asks to be permitted to make the vows that
will bind her forever to her Lord. After their pro
nouncement with all her former winning brightness, she
thanks Father and listens to his words of congratulation
and rejoicing. Again the Sisters' voices, that so often
blended with her own, sing for her the hymns she loved
so well, and leaving her there in the midst of the lilies,
with the City below her and the Heavens so near, we
go back to the chapel with full hearts from which all
shade of sadness has fled."
The night which followed the scene just described,
Sister Cecilia spent in prayer and thanksgiving, and per
suaded the infirmarian, who remained with her, not to
insist upon giving her a drink after midnight, though her
throat and lips were parched with fever. "It will be my
last Communion," she said, "and I want to receive our
Lord fasting." Her request was granted and she re
ceived the Blessed Sacrament during the early Mass. At
nine o'clock in the morning, Archbishop Riordan called
and gave Sister Cecilia the Papal blessing just before she
departed for Heaven.

266 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Sister M. Annunciata (Sullivan). Her vocation
was a singular one. Coming from the southern part of
the State, and wholly unacquainted with any of the Sisters,
she visited the Convent at the recommendation of her
director "to learn to be a Sister," as she so simply ex
pressed it. As she had no acquaintances in the City, she
was received as a guest, and she remained in the Convent
for some weeks, becoming acquainted with the work of
the Holy Family Sisters. After communicating with her
family and her spiritual director, from whom she received
the necessary credentials, she entered as a postulant, com
pleted her novitiate, made her profession and shortly
after was warned by serious illness of approaching death.
The same simplicity and unalterable trust in God mani
fested throughout her sweet young life, remained with
her to the end. She died four years after her admission.
Sister M. Hilary (McShane). She entered religion
in her girlhood and was one of those gentle, unobtrusive
souls, who move through life so quietly that they seem
to be doing but little, and yet cause wonderment when
the results of their work are seen. She labored faithfully
in the Day Homes and with the children at Corpus Christi
Church. Her inner life was revealed on her death-bed,
when after receiving the last Sacraments, she lapsed into
semi-consciousness. During the twenty-four hours that
elapsed before her death, she never ceased uttering
prayers and aspirations, though it was impossible to rouse
her to the recognition of anything on earth. She died in
San Jose, in July, 1915, in the eleventh year of her reli
gious life. Her remains were brought home to the Con
vent chapel, for it was in San Francisco that she had spent
most of her life in laboring among the children in the
Sunday Schools, particularly at Corpus Christi Church.

ROLL OF HONOR 267
Sister Mary Raymond (O'Farrell). For more than
twenty years Sister Raymond labored in the Day Homes,
caring for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the chil
dren, drawing them ever closer to God by her kindly
influence and instructing them in the truths and practices
of our holy religion. Her last years on earth were years
of intense suffering which she bore with heroic fortitude
and resignation. Fortified by the last Sacraments she
departed for Heaven on November 5, 1915. Her loss
was mourned by many a former pupil whose early years
she had molded to virtue. Rev. M. D. Connolly, a life
long friend of Sister Raymond, celebrated the Requiem
Mass which was offered in the Convent chapel.
Sister M. Bernadine (Ivancovich). She was one of
the younger members of the Community to be called to
her eternal reward. Beautiful and accomplished, Miss
Pauline Ivancovich startled her companions when she
entered the Holy Family Convent, but she did not startle
those that knew her, for, though bright and happy as any
of her companions, her heart was kept for her Lord alone
and with great fervor and generosity of spirit she gave
up all for the love of her heavenly Spouse. She was a
graduate of Notre Dame College, San Jose, and in reli
gion received the name of Bernardine after Mother
Bernardine, then Superioress of the Notre Dame Sisters.
All her religious life was characterized by zeal for her
own perfection and zeal for the souls committed to her
charge. She labored with great success among the chil
dren of Holy Cross and the Cathedral Parishes. Always
full of plans for the good of her young charges, she used
«very means in her power to allure them to the church
and the Sacraments, and to give them the benefits of
religious instruction. Every gift of nature and grace, of

268 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
cultivated mind and noble soul, she gave back to God in
her zeal for the little ones of His fold. When her last
illness came, she was the only one in the Community who
thought of the possibility of death. "I am going on the
Feast of my baptismal patron," she said, and so indeed,
she did. Early in the morning of June 29, the Feast of
St. Paul, 1917, she breathed her last after having been
fortified with the Holy Sacraments, and having received,
with her parting breath, the final absolution and plenary
indulgence. Great was the grief of the Sisters when they
received the news that Sister Bernadine, their beloved
companion, the truly zealous laborer, had been so un
expectedly and so prematurely taken away from her
labors. Sister M. Barbara (Ney). Her death occurred that
same year, 1917. "Sister M. Barbara," wrote one of her
companions at the time of her death, "who this evening,
the feast day of her patron saint, December 4, is brought
into the chapel in her casket, stands in memory's light
as a model of a true Sister of the Holy Family. Every
utterance concerning her by members of the Community,
whether in the days of her health and activity or during
her long illness, bears witness to this dominant charac
teristic — she was a perfect religious. She was a religious
in her words. Who can recall a single violation of charity
or a word unbecoming or imprudent? She was a religious
in her bearing — ever grave yet cheerful, ever sweet and
obliging despite a pressure of duties, calm and prayerful
under all circumstances. Above all was she a religious in
her interior life. The motive prompting such great gen
erosity in her exterior duties and underlying the continual
edification which, all unknowingly, she gave to her asso
ciates, was an unusually ardent love of God.

ROLL OF HONOR 269
Sister M. Bernard (Collins). She has been men
tioned in Father Galli's account of his Sunday School days
at SS. Peter and Paul's Church. In this busy field, Sister
Bernard taught the prayer classes for over twenty suc
cessive years. How often, during those years, did she
impress on the little children's mind that fundamental
truth in the first lesson of the Catechism: "God made me
to know, love and serve Him in this world, and to be
happy with Him forever in Heaven." And may we not
believe she has already met in Heaven many now "happy
forever with God" Whom they were taught "to know,
love and serve in this world?" Sister Bernard also spent
many useful years in the Day Homes, where her wonder
ful influence over the children is remembered even to this
day. Although she never raised her naturally low and
gentle voice, she gained their ready obedience and roused
their wholesome interest in the instructions. Doubtless
the secret of her success lay in the spirit of fervor
and self-denial with which her works were performed.
Printed as a heading on the little ordo of daily work,
which hangs in each Day Home, is the admonition of St.
Paul: "Labor the more that by good works you may
make sure your calling and election." This Sister Bernard
faithfully followed and, in all humility, graced her calling
by constant fidelity to duty. She was called Home on the
Feast of the Epiphany, 1918.
Sister M. Helena (Carroll). Less than a month
after the death of Sister Raymond, another was called —
this time a younger religious. It was Sister M. Helena
whose death occurred February 3, 1918. Though deli
cate, she longed to show by laborious efforts her appre
ciation of and gratitude for her holy vocation. With a
spirit of fervor and generosity, she tried to overcome

270 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
physical weakness and gave to God and her Community
valuable service during the fifteen years of her religious
life. She was so full of energy, that for the sake of her
health, her fervor occasionally had to be checked, yet she
continued to work to the end.
Sister M. Carmel (Barlow). She was the second
Superioress of San Jose. Her name in connection with
her works has been already mentioned in these pages. A
native of South Carolina, she inherited the strong, ardent,
independent nature of her forefathers. Most admirable
in a character such as hers is the practice of the virtues
of religion. Sister Carmel was firm and uncompromising
when principle was involved, but gentle and yielding
whenever children's tears or any form of human need
called forth the sympathy of her tender heart. One did
not know which to admire most — the great business
ability and foresight with which she managed the tem
poral affairs of the Convent, or the tender accents with
which she taught a class of little children their prayers, or
sang with them their sweet, simple hymns. While children
never dared to disobey her, still they loved and trusted
her, and her success with them was due to a Christlike
combination of kindness and firmness. If there was one
virtue more than another which shone in her, it was her
zealous use of time. Even when the weakness of ill-
health obliged her to rest from active duty, her hands
were not idle. With her needle she accomplished won
ders, and the result of these forced periods of inactivity,
if such they could be called, were large stocks of new
altar linens, cassocks, or other necessary supplies for the
Convent chapel. She died in San Jose March 8, 1918.
Her many friends sent expressions of sympathy to the
bereaved Community and San Jose keenly felt her loss.

ROLL OF HONOR 271
Sister M. Regis (Harper). She seemed to belong
wholly to Heaven, and to have been but lent to earth to
fulfill an apostleship of good example. Fervor and exact
ness characterized all her duties, yet so quietly did she
labor, that one hardly felt her presence otherwise than
in the light of her virtues. Timid and sensitive, she
naturally shrank from the external duties of the Com
munity, yet cheerfully and bravely accepted all that
obedience placed upon her.
She was sacristan for several years in which charge she
felt great joy — being so often near her heavenly Spouse,
to Whom her heart was ever turned in love. The last
year of her life she spent in San Jose. Favored with every
spiritual gift that Mother Church could grant her, she
spent some months in preparation for her holy death,
which occurred December 27, 1918.
Sister M. Christine (Johnson). Thirty-four years
in religion, many of which were spent in the Homes
silently, patiently, cheerfully, caring for the little ones of
her charge, giving to them all the spiritual and cor
poral ministrations in her power and according to their
needs ; thirty-four years of loving, prayerful service to the
Master Whom she saw in each little child entrusted to
her — these were the works brought to a close by the death
of Sister M. Christine, which occurred in San Jose in
1920. How many wholesome lessons in those years were
given to the children. She mingled in her talks with them
the Name of the Lover of children, Whom she ever held
up as a model for their imitation, and the names of
His Holy Mother and St. Joseph. She impressed on their
minds a lively sense of the presence of God, and formed
them to habits of prompt obedience and unselfish kindness
towards their companions.

272 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
Sister M. Baptist (Tully) . A noble life full of good
deeds and self-sacrificing devotion in the service of the
Divine Master closed on March 11, 1922, when Sister
Mary Baptist passed to her eternal reward. Giving her
self with generous ardor to God in her youth, to the trials
and tribulations that a new community must necessarily
encounter in its foundation, she continued during forty-
four years of active religious life to labor with the same
generosity. She was born in El Dorado County, Cali
fornia, entered the Community of the Sisters of the Holy
Family on the Feast of Christmas, 1878, and after a
novitiate of two years made her profession in Decem
ber, 1880. In 1882, she taught Sunday School in St.
Brigid's Parish where Rev. T. Callahan was pastor.
With tireless enthusiasm which bore consoling results, she
labored among these children, until a parochial school was
established in 1887 and the Sisters of Charity, B. V. M.,
undertook the spiritual care of the children.
A greater field awaited her at the Church of Saints
Peter and Paul, where in addition to the work of religious
instruction she established a sewing school and almost
countless numbers of children of Italian parentage came
under her influence. Later, Holy Cross Parish was the
scene of her faithful labor.
When in 1907, Archbishop Riordan requested the Sis
ters to extend their work to San Jose, Sister M. Baptist
was appointed Superioress of the first branch house, where
she directed the opening of new Sunday Schools and of
St. Elizabeth's Kindergarten and Day Home.
After five years, on the death of Sister M. Agnes,
Sister M. Baptist was recalled to the Mother House in
San Francisco to receive the appointment of Mistress of
Novices, and the last ten years of her life were spent
in this important office, training young souls for future

ROLL OF HONOR 273
service in the vineyard of our Lord. She had also been
active during the past three years in assisting the pastors
of Mill Valley, in giving religious instruction to the chil
dren of Mt. Carmel Parish, and preparing them for the
Sacraments. To her Community and to those who knew her best,
she has left the precious legacy of the example of
great virtues practiced with constancy, cheerfulness and
courage. Her religious life has been marked by the most
absolute self-renunciation and conformity to Divine Will.
Her favorite ejaculation was "Welcome be the Will of
God," and no matter how adverse the circumstances these
words were ever on her lips.
Sister M. Veronica (Gilfillan). But one more name
remains to be inscribed on this Roll-Call ! When this
book was in preparation, some of the Sisters laughingly
remarked : "Whoever wishes to get on the Roll of Honor
must gain Heaven before our Golden Jubilee celebrations
are completed." Sister M. Veronica lived to celebrate
the Golden Jubilee of the Community, and then quietly
slipped away to Heaven just in time to be on the Roll of
Honor. When the first chapters of this book were
already in proof-form, Sister Veronica was on duty; ere
this last chapter was completed she had gone to her well-
earned reward.
Twenty-nine years of loving and faithful service she
had given to the Master, all of which were spent at the
Mother House, and nearly always in the work of sewing.
Well may she call her needle her "Key to Heaven" as
did the saintly Brother in the well-known poem. Because
the Habits she made were for the Spouses of Christ,
every stitch became an act of love, and her spirit of faith
gave fresh vigor and constant joy to what otherwise

274 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
might be deemed monotonous labor. Just one week after
the Pageant at the Auditorium, Sister M. Veronica was
laid to rest beside her beloved Sisters, in the little plot
at Holy Cross Cemetery — having most peacefully taken
her departure during the first half-hour of the new day
of November 23, 1922.

PART FOURTH« «
Sanctifying the Fiftieth
Year

"AND THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES IN MOUNT
SINAI, SAYING: » * * THOU SHALT SANCTIFY
THE FIFTIETH YEAR, * * * FOR IT IS THE
YEAR OF JUBILEE." LEVITICUS XXV, 1, 10.

CHAPTER I
Sounding the Note of Jubilee
ARGEST ATTENDANCE IN THE HISTORY OF
St. Mary's Cathedral ! Such was the
caption of a newspaper account of the
opening services of the Holy Family Sis
ters' Golden Jubilee. It conveys some
idea of the throng that filled the spacious
edifice during the triduum of solemnities. If the state
ment be slightly exaggerated, it is not possible to exag
gerate the grandeur of the services. The Cathedral was
profusely and artistically decorated with great masses of
golden and bronze chrysanthemums banking the altars in
harmonious setting for the resplendent vestments of the
noted prelates who chanted the Jubilee Masses. An at
mosphere of spiritual sublimity prevailed, fragrant of
incense that rose from the swinging censers and, mingling
with odor of flower and foliage, floated sweetly through
the spacious vaults of the great edifice.
About one hundred of the Holy Family Sisters occupied
a reserved section; children from the various Sunday
Schools in the City were present in large numbers and
scores of leaders of the hierarchy and clergy of the West
assisted in the Sanctuary, while the Right Rev. Joseph S.
Glass, Bishop of Salt Lake City, offered the Pontifical
Mass of thanksgiving and praise to God for His good
ness to the Community. A musical program of solemn
beauty was rendered by the Cathedral choir under the
direction of Professor A. L. Artigues.

278 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
The officials at the Mass were as follows: The Right
Rev. Joseph S. Glass, Bishop of Salt Lake, pontificant;
Rev. D. O'Sullivan and Rev. A. Santandreu, chaplains to
Archbishop Edward J. Hanna ; Rev. Joseph P. McQuaide
and Rev. James A. Colligan, S. J., deacons of honor;
Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph T. Gleason, arch-priest; Rev.
Cornelius Kennedy, deacon; Rev. Henry I. Stark, C. S. P.,
sub-deacon ; Rev. H. Smith and Rev. H. Crampton, cross-
bearers. The Rev. D. J. Kavanagh, S. J., preached the sermon,
which is herewith reproduced in full:
Fifty years ago, in the old Cathedral Parish, then the
center of a large, mixed, turbulent, pioneer population,
two young women took up their abode in a rented house
on Pine Street near Jones, for the purpose of consecrating
themselves with all their youthful energy and enthusiasm
to the service of God and humanity. Guided by Father
John J. Prendergast and fortified by the blessing and sanc
tion of Archbishop Alemany they began what they hoped
would be their life's work. Visiting the poor, especially
the sick poor, instructing children in Christian Doctrine
on Sundays, going about, during the week, in search of
the little ones of Christ's flock who, for want of proper
home influences, ran wild through the streets of the City,
speaking words of comfort in bereavement, wiping away
the tears from the cheeks of sorrow and bringing sunshine
into the lives of those whose hearts were chilled by the
icy hand of a cold and unsympathetic world — such were
the activities to which these two young women devoted
themselves on November 6, 1872, a day that should be
ever memorable in the annals of our City and our Archdio
cese, as the birthday of the Holy Family Community.
It was not of a sudden and, as it were, by chance that
this nascent religious congregation sent forth its first frag-

SANCTUARY, ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL
GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATION, NOVEMBER 4, 5, 6, 1922

SOUNDING THE NOTE OF JUBILEE 279
ranee into the homes of the poor, into the haunts of sick
ness and sin, and out into the very streets of the City to
mingle with and, as far as was possible, purify the poison
ous vapors that hung heavily and ominously over the City
of St. Francis during the early 'Seventies. Like a beauti
ful flower it unfolded its loveliness and filled the air with
the odor of its sweetness only after laborious effort and
painstaking solicitude on the part of those whose glory it
is, as it was their privilege, to give to San Francisco a
select body of social workers and to the Church of God a
new Community of consecrated religious women.
For two years the infant Community had to struggle
against difficulties from without and far more serious
difficulties from within. One of the two young women
proved a sad disappointment. Another came, but she, too,
abandoned the work. And so Miss Elizabeth Armer, who
was afterwards known and revered as Sister Dolores, was
left alone to the thoughtless reproaches of friends and to
the bitter abuse of enemies. Even Father Prendergast
seemed at times to lose heart. He repeated half hope
fully and half despairingly the words of St. Alphonsus
Liguori : "The new institute will not stand, you say. If
it comes from God it will stand in spite of all storms ; if
it does not come from God it will fall and then what harm
can it do to you?"
But his discouragement was not real. In spite of storms
without and disasters within, he hoped and prayed and
Miss Elizabeth Armer hoped and prayed. "The charity
of the Church is as broad as the needs of humanity,"
Father Prendergast used to say, and as there was at the
time a crying need for the social and religious activities,
which he had planned for his new institute, the charity
of the Church would not, he felt confident, be found
wanting. His trust in God was rewarded. On June

280 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
29, 1874, another day that should be as memorable in
the annals of San Francisco, as it is in the annals of the
Holy Family Community, a young girl, beautiful in fea
tures, keen of intellect, fervent of heart, Miss Ellen
O'Connor, afterwards known as Sister Teresa of Jesus,
was welcomed by Miss Armer and the two knelt before
the shrine of the Blessed Virgin, in the little Pine Street
home, and consecrated themselves to the service of God.
The Holy Family Community had a new birth. Zeal
ously and untiringly the two began to work, now caring
for the most loathsome forms of disease, now teaching
Catechism in the old Cathedral, now walking down either
side of Pacific Street announcing to the children the time
of Sunday School and distributing holy pictures or objects
of devotion to arouse their interest in the things of God.
They were joined in 1875 by two others, Mrs. Javet, a
widow, and Miss Catherine Kelly. The former was not
accepted as a regular member of the Institute until she
had made provision for her two sons. And as this was
not done until 1876, Miss Kelly, afterwards known as
Sister Joseph, may be regarded as the third member of
the young Religious Order. Sister Teresa of Jesus,
Sister Mary Dolores, Sister Joseph — they were sealed
from the beginning with the Sacred Names of the Holy
Family. It was not, however, until March 19, 1880,
the Feast of the Guardian of the Holy Family, that the
Community reached the full flush of maturity as a reli
gious congregation. On that day, in the chapel of the
newly built convent on Hayes Street near Polk, five Sis
ters, who had made their novitiate under Sister Teresa,
knelt before the altar and pronounced the three vows of
Poverty, Chastity and Obedience; on that day the Holy
Family Sisterhood took its place among the religious con
gregations of the Church.

SOUNDING THE NOTE OF JUBILEE 28 1
Today the Community is firmly established as a Dio
cesan Institution, and is known throughout the state.
In San Francisco, and down the Peninsula as far as San
Mateo, in San Anselmo, San Jose, Oakland, and Los
Angeles the Sisters of the Holy Family are familiar fig
ures. They may be seen going about doing good; they
may be found in their Convents engaged in prayer or in
study, in their Day Homes, taking care of little children
whose mothers have to work during the day. On Satur
days and Sundays and frequently during the week they
instruct the young of Christ's flock in the principles of
religion and morality. If their work for the sick and the
dying has apparently lost some of its original intensity,
it is because the Helpers of the Holy Souls have so ad
mirably and so efficiently entered this particular field of
labor. If their visits to the poor are not as frequent as
in the 'Seventies it is because the St. Vincent de Paul
Society is doing now what fifty years ago was done by
the Sisters of the Holy Family.
In their other works there has been no cessation. On
the contrary, these have grown in intensity and fruitful-
ness. In the annual report of the State Board of Chari
ties and Corrections for one year beginning July 1, 1920,
and ending June 30, 1921, we are told that during that
year the number of families assisted in the Day Homes
alone was 1,339, and that the aggregate number of chil
dren cared for during the year reached the colossal num
ber of 143,130. From another report we learn that
about the same time the daily attendance at the Day
Homes exceeded 600 children. Now, if we bear in mind
that these 600 children receive their noonday meal and
afternoon lunch, that most of them are under the school
age and that many are infants, we can form some idea of
the work and expense entailed.

282 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
But that is not all; they have their Sunday Schools and
by actual count the Sisters of the Holy Family are now
instructing in the Christian Doctrine about 10,000 chil
dren, or more than half as many as in all the parochial
schools of the Archdiocese. A few of these children are,
of course, from parochial schools, but most of them are
not. How many thousands of non-parochial school chil
dren have they instructed in the past fifty years !
In view of this marvellous growth and these fruitful
labors you have come to rejoice with the Sisters, and I
have been asked by the Archbishop to sound the note of
jubilee at this opening service of what, to every lover of
San Francisco, ought to be a most significant and a most
solemn celebration. Like a herald announcing the ap
proach of some royal procession, the opening of some
gorgeous festival, I am privileged to stand before you
this morning with the glad message that the Jubilee of
the Holy Family Sisters has begun; the festival is on;
the clergy and the laity, religious of other orders and
little children unite to congratulate the Sisters and thank
God for His goodness to them and, through their min
istrations, to every citizen in San Francisco.
We have many celebrations in this metropolis of the
West, many interesting anniversaries and many signifi
cant festivities. We commemorate the achievement of
Don Gaspar de Portola to whom we have agreed to give
the glory of having discovered San Francisco. Everybody
knows that the glory belongs by right to the courageous
sons of St. Francis, but Portola is a more picturesque
figure for our secular celebration, and it is but natural to
rejoice and to feel the enthusiasm of it all when we think
of the Spanish soldier standing on the western hills of
our City and surveying the broad expanse washed by the
placid waters of the Bay.

SOUNDING THE NOTE OF JUBILEE 283
But if it be true, as it most certainly is, that there is
more in our City than its hills and valleys, its opportuni
ties for industrial growth and commercial advantages;
if that something is deeper than even the boasted spirit
of hospitality, which is laudable enough, if it is more
perdurable than even our spirit of appreciation for music
and all that is beautiful and elevating in the arts — if in
one word, San Francisco has a soul which is to be sought
in the spirit of love and of Christian charity, in the open
hand and in the uplifting hand, in generous beneficence,
and in self-sacrificing devotion to those that are hungry
and cold, to those that are ignorant and weak, to those
that are lonely and friendless; then who is there, with
any, even the least, knowledge of the facts, who will fail
to acknowledge that the Sisters of the Holy Family have
had no insignificant part, not in discovering but in foster
ing and watching over the growth of the soul of San
Francisco? To discover its bay, its hills, and its vales is
one thing; to foster or to be among the number of those
that foster the City's soul is quite another and far more
glorious achievement.
Perhaps a more characteristic celebration — one which
of recent years has lost some of its earlier enthusiasm — is
the anniversary of the "unpleasantness" of April 18, 1906.
It is not the disaster itself that is commemorated, but the
dauntless spirit of those that rebuilt the City. San Fran
cisco was, and San Francisco was not ; but in a short time
San Francisco rose again from its ruins, all the more
beautiful by reason of it reconstruction. It is an event
worthy of a celebration; but our City was neither built
nor rebuilt of steel, or stone, or mortar and bricks. Nor
was it built on mere human courage and dauntless char
acter and commercial enterprise. "Unless the Lord build
a city, in vain they labor who build it." The Lord builds

284 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
on the solid foundation of Christian virtue and first
among these is charity. When, therefore, we think of
the spirit that rebuilt the City we must not overlook the
fact that, for fifty years, the Sisters of the Holy Family
have been contributing no little share to whatever is solid
and lasting in our City's life, to whatever is worthy of
admiration and of praise in our City's boasts. When,
after the earthquake, a Red Cross representative called
on the Sisters to receive their bill for services, Sister
Teresa smiled as she said : "We do not serve for money!"
There is more to be proud of in that answer than there
is in the rebuilding of Market Street.
We have reason, therefore, to rejoice today; there is
ample ground for our jubilation and our songs of tri
umph. But how can I rise to the joyous spirit of the
occasion? Whence shall I take the note of jubilee?
Shall I go back to the royal psalmist, David, and bid
him sweep the harp's most exultant strings until their
harmony ascends to highest heaven and thence echoing
back warms our poor hearts with sentiments of jubila
tion? He was familiar with the song: Jubilate. "Shout
with joy to God," he cries in an ecstacy of fervor, "shout
with joy to God all the earth; sing ye a psalm to His
name; give glory to His praise!" He even calls on the
Gentile world. "O bless our God, ye Gentiles; and
make the voice of His praise to be heard!" Or shall I
appeal to the prophet whose lips God touched with fire —
shall I call upon Isaias, rapt to the mountain-top of vision,
to shout down a message of jubilation for our jubilee?
"Give praise," he would answer back. "Give praise, O
ye heavens, for the Lord hath shown mercy; shout ye with
joy, ye ends of the earth; ye mountains resound with
praise, thou, O forest and every tree therein : for the Lord
hath redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified."

SOUNDING THE NOTE OF JUBILEE 285
When we consider fifty years of uninterrupted service,
we are inclined to indulge in such triumphant shouts of
joy; but I venture to say that, apart from the invitation
to give praise to God, these ecstatic cries find little re
sponse in the hearts of the Sisters of the Holy Family
who are living or in the souls of the Sisters of the Holy
Family who have been called to their reward.
Indeed, my dear brethren, when I sought inspiration
for my feeble effort I went back in spirit to those happy
days when Sister Dolores lived and when Sister Teresa
lived and I imagined them speaking to me. In spite of
deep Christian humility, they had their own ideas and
ideals. Do not, they seemed to say to me, do not seek
for inspiration in the rhapsodies of psalmist or prophet.
Go rather to the Master as you find Him depicted in the
ninth chapter of St. Mark: "And sitting down He called
the twelve and said to them: 'If any man desire to be
first, he shall be last of all and the minister of all.' And
taking a child, He set him in the midst of them. Whom
when He had embraced, He sayeth to them : 'Whosoever
shall receive one such child in My Name, receiveth Me.
And whosoever receiveth Me, receiveth not Me, but Him
that sent Me.' "
This is the note of our jubilee. It is far more eloquent
than the exultant cry of prophet or psalmist, far more
expressive of the spirit of the work that has been accom
plished by the Sisters of the Holy Family during the last
half a century and far more comforting to the Sisters
and their friends, not merely because the words are those
of our Blessed Lord, but because they explain at once the
reward of service and the motive that actuates those that
serve. You may be familiar with the colloquy between the
Godless doctor and the believing nurse in one of Tenny-

286 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
son's poems — "The Children's Hospital." The doctor
after examining one of the children, turned to the nurse
and said, as she herself relates :
"He will need little more of your care."
"All the more reason," said I, "to seek the Lord Jesus
in prayer."
Then he murmured half to himself, but I am sure I could
hear him say:
"All very well, but the good Lord Jesus has had His day."
"Had! has it come? It has only dawned. It will come
by and bye !
"How could I serve in the wards, if the hope of the
world were a lie?
"How could I bear with the sights and the loathsome
smells of disease,
But that He said, 'You do it to Me, when you do it to
these.' "
Thus, in the words of our Lord, "Whosoever shall
receive one such child in My Name, receiveth Me," we
find the motive and the reward of service.
It is not alone for children that the Sisters work. Dur
ing their early years they were found wherever human
misery called for comfort; they distinguished themselves
as nurses of sick soldiers during the Spanish American
War. They converted their convent into a refuge for the
demented during the earthquake days and won the admira
tion of all for their relief work throughout the City.
They were conspicuously laborious during the influenza
epidemic, and even to this day respond to every call upon
their charitable service. But in Sunday Schools and Day
Homes, in their nurseries and sewing schools you will
find their most distinctive work. They are essentially

SOUNDING THE NOTE OF JUBILEE 287
Sisters of the children and devote their time and energies
chiefly to neglected children.
It is important work; it is necessary work. It is work
that was dear to the heart of the Father of the Holy
Family Community, Rev. John J. Prendergast. Had we
no other way of judging of its importance and necessity,
his view of it should be sufficient. Father Prendergast's
one great aim in life was to be of service to his fellow-
men. Never did he turn a deaf ear to the cry of misery
or of misfortune. No one could say of his religion that
it was emotional responsiveness without practical issue,
or that he substituted delight in hearing or preaching the
Gospel for diligence in living according to its dictates. To
him religion meant work, work in a sordid world. The
world as he viewed it needs perpetual cleaning and ren
ovation and no one can boast of service who is ashamed
to scour and scrub. His whole life was devoted to others
and when he was himself unable to be of assistance he
enlisted the services of those that could help.
He began his career as a priest in Mission Dolores.
His greatest work was during the depression of the early
'Seventies. Grim penury and want stalked unimpeded
through the City's alleys and by-ways. Many lost all they
possessed through fraudulent stock manipulation or
through the failure of banks. Father Prendergast was
not one of those that walk through the main thorough
fares of the world with heads in the air, breathing in an
atmosphere of their own, and congratulating themselves
that they are not like the rest of men, while in the City
slums poor underfed children cry for bread with no one
to break it unto them. He did not close his eyes to misery
or close his ears to cries of distress.
He knew that even in what was called respectable
societv the forces of corruption were at work, but the

288 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
cause of the corruption was not so easily discernible. In
the homes of the poor the moral sordidness was often
caused or occasioned by physical uncleanness. And so,
even as a curate in Mission Dolores Church, he longed to
have at his disposal a battalion of women to work for
neglected children and to teach them to know, love, and
serve God. While others boasted of scientific knowledge, •
he asked himself:
"Is it well that while we range with Science, glorying in
the time,
City children soak and blacken soul and sense in City
slime?"
Some boasted of progress, but, thought Father Pren
dergast,
"There among the glooming alleys, Progress halts in
palsied feet;
Crime and hunger cast our maidens by the thousands on
the street."
And there were prosperous men who felt satisfied with
their wealth and the things that wealth can buy, but
"There the smouldering fire of fever creeps across the
rotted floor
And the crowded couch of sickness in the warrens of
the poor!"
Such work is of importance for the preservation of the
Catholic Church itself. The Church with ten thousand
victories, the Church which harnessed to her triumphant
chariot car all the forces of civilization and culture and
marched victorious down the centuries, the great freedom-
loving, truth-dispensing, virtue-promoting Church, would
vanish like a beautiful dream from the face of the earth
in a single generation, were it not for the work of those

SOUNDING THE NOTE OF JUBILEE 289
that mould the hearts of children to virtue and train young
minds to a knowledge and love of God. Jesus Christ,
yesterday, today and the same forever! Yesterday He
bade little children to come unto Him, today He bids them
come. As long as the Church is true to the principles of
Christ, — and that it will be true until the consummation
of the world, we have Divine assurance — she will regard
her fostering care of little children as not the least essen
tial part of her work, and not the least glory of the
zealous men and women that assist her in its accom
plishment. Bringing little children to Christ, teaching them to lisp
His Holy Name, preparing them for early Holy Com
munion, so that receiving the blessing and sweet embrace
of Christ, they may, with greater ease, avoid the contam
ination of a sinful world, is so important a matter that
our Sovereign Pontiff of holy memory, Pius X, deemed
it a sacred duty of pastor and parents to see to it that,
in their tender age — at the first dawn of reason — little
children be admitted to the Sacrament of Christ's love.
I have said little of the persons to whom, after God,
this glory is due; but were Father Prendergast here he
would not hesitate to mention names, not only of Sister
Dolores and Sister Teresa, of Sister Baptist, Sister Agnes,
Sister Cecilia, Sister Bernadine, and the others who have
been called to their reward ; but I think he would tell you
of some who, though in the world, had the spirit of the
Holy Family Sisters. He could give a long list. I do
not know them all, but there is one who was so intimately
connected with the Sisters, from their earliest beginnings,
so generous in giving aid, financial and otherwise, so
prudent in her counsels, that when the roll of honor of the
Sisters of the Holy Family is called on the last day, it
would not be surprising to those who know the whole

290 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
story, to find heading the list the name of Mrs. Mary A.
Tobin. The foster-mother of Sister Dolores, she stood by
her in difficulties and trials, she accompanied her and the
other Sisters on errands of charity, and was willing to give
all that she had to promote their work. God blessed her
zeal and devotedness. She lived to see the work of her
adopted daughter, Lizzie Armer, spread out into San
Jose and Oakland and she handed down to her children
as a sacred legacy an undying affection for the Sisters.
Enough has been said of the work accomplished by
these good Sisters in the past. What of their future?
Let Father Prendergast speak. In the evening of his
life — a life so full of merits and good works — he gave, as
was his wont, an exhortation to the Sisters, and they have
preserved his earnest words :
"I may have some years yet to live," he said, "I cannot
expect many, and it would be the joy of my life to see the
Sisters of the Holy Family — two or three at least — in
every district not only of this City, but in outside parishes
where there are no parochial schools, and even where there
are parochial schools. Your work goes farther than the
work of the schools, for they cannot reach all, and then
who is to save the children of the streets and lanes?
Priests have often asked me what is the special work of
the Sisters of the Holy Family, and I have always said
that they are gleaners, gleaners of souls!"
There is, then, room for the Holy Family Sisters in
every parish of the Archdiocese. God grant that they may
increase in numbers and in fervor and be instrumental in
bringing more and more little children to His Blessed Feet
and to His Loving Heart, Who so loved the little ones
as to say : "Whosoever received one of these in My Name,
receiveth Me."

CHAPTER II
Res Gestae Christi
ONTIFICAL HIGH MASS WAS AGAIN CELE-
brated on Sunday, November 5. The fol
lowing representatives of the clergy offi
ciated: Right Rev. John J. Cantwell,
Bishop of Los Angeles, pontificant; Right
Rev. Msgr. P. L. Ryan, V. G., arch-
priest; Rt. Rev. Msgr. C. A. Ramm and Rt. Rev. Msgr.
M. D. Connolly, deacons of honor; Rev. Pius L. Moore,
S. J., and Rev. M. P. Ryan, chaplains to the Archbishop;
Rev. Jerome B. Hannigan, deacon; Rev. Thomas O'Con-
nell, sub-deacon ; Rev. Richard Hammond and Rev. Cyril
Kavanagh, S. J., cross-bearers.
After the chanting of the Gospel the Most Reverend
Archbishop read the following cablegram, which he re
ceived from Rome, signed by Cardinal Gasparri, Secretary
of State :
The Most Holy Father, mindful of the
labors and the sacrifices of the slsters of the
Holy Family, on the occasion of their Golden
Jubilee sends to them his high word of ap
proval, begs for them Heaven's choicest fa
vors, AND WITH FULL HEART IMPARTS TO THEM HIS
APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION.
Then with words of glowing eloquence, His Grace ex
pressed his own sentiments of grateful appreciation of

292 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
the work done by the Holy Family Sisters in the Arch
diocese of San Francisco.
The Rev. Peter C. Yorke, D. D., preached the follow
ing masterful sermon :
It is a precious privilege for all of us to be associated
with the Sisters of the Holy Family in the celebration of
their Golden Jubilee. For fifty years the people of San
Francisco have been the beneficiaries of their charity,
patient and kind. Through God's blessing the field of
their zeal has been widened and other cities and communi
ties share today in their good works, yet San Francisco is
the cradle of their institute and this altar the very hearth
stone of their home. It was in this City that Elizabeth
Armer was inspired to devote herself to the service of
God's poor. It was in the old Cathedral and here that
she set timidly out on her mission of well doing. It was
the pastor of this parish, Father Prendergast — clarum
AC venerabile nomen ! that blessed her vow and en
couraged her resolution. It was his generosity that sus
tained Mother Dolores in her humble beginnings. It was
his wisdom that counselled her and his courage that com
forted her in the dark days that descend on every work
of God, and it was his steady hand in the after years that
held the ship true to its course, when a less resolute spirit
might have trimmed it to the shifting winds or let it drift
with the changing currents.
Indeed as we stand in this Sanctuary today we can see
through the mist of the years the saintly figures of Mother
Dolores and Mother Teresa and their companions now
with God, move gently through the aisles and before the
tabernacle, intent on the care of God's house and the
beauty of the place where His glory loves to dwell.
But while we are gathered here to thank the Sisters
of the Holy Family and to congratulate them, we must

RES GESTAE CHRISTI 293
not overlook the real meaning of their existence and the
true significance of their achievement. Christ came into
the world as a challenge to the world and as a sign that
should be contradicted. The Church of Christ was built
as a beleaguered city against whose adamantine walls the
gates of hell forever rage and forever rage in vain. This
order and every order founded on Christian faith and
Christian charity, are an offense to the world and a stone
of stumbling; and never was the world since the days of
the Apostles so strong, so self-sufficient, so proud, so
secure. The world recognizes them at once as its con
natural enemies, and fears them even while it scorns them
as a threat against its strength, a protest against its pride,
an indictment of its self-sufficiency and a testimony against
its peace.
What then is the meaning, what the use of such a con
gregation as that of the Holy Family, especially in San
Francisco, this crowned city, this Tyre of the Pacific,
whose merchants are princes and whose traders are
honored throughout the earth? Here is a State that
spends more money on the care and instruction of children
than on all its other activities besides. Here is a com
munity that nurses its destitute sick in palaces and that
would lodge its aged paupers in the houses of kings. What
form of beneficence is unknown to our civic oversight and
what is this little flock of humble women to the well drilled
army that serves the State?
The very same meaning and the very same reason that
the Church has when she proclaims in our unheeding
streets the faith of Jesus Christ. Once the voice of the
Church commanded the attention of the world. The
world indeed hated the Church and rejected her message,
but still the world listened. Today the Church lifts up
her voice and the world hurries by, impatient as one would

294 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
hurry by the whining mendicant of the market place.
Science has dethroned God. Man has taken God's place.
The dim twilight of religion has given way to the splen
dors of reason. We are lords of the world, masters of
our fate, makers of the heavens to be. Yet in the face
of all this the Church stands before mankind today as
she stood before mankind in the beginning and still bears
witness to the undying truth: "Thou O Lord, in the
beginning didst lay the foundations of the earth : and
the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall
perish : but Thou shalt continue : and they shall all grow
old as doth a garment, and as a vesture shalt Thou
change them and they shall be changed: but Thou art
ever the self-same and Thy years shall not fail."
Let me explain the parallel more at length. What
after all in our day is the most popular doctrine among
those writers and speakers who cater to the superstitions
of the unlearned and unstable vulgar? Is it not that
religion in general and the Catholic religion in particular
is hostile to human reason and refuses the mind of man
its rights in the search for truth? They say that by laying
such stress on the necessity of faith we weaken and
finally atrophy the intellectual faculties. "Believe or be
damned" is their description of the methods of the
Church. Therefore they say that religion has no attrac
tion for strong spirits like themselves, who realize the
dignity of human nature and are able, like the young
eagles, to gaze unblinking on the sun.
Yet as in so many other cases, this is a ridiculous per
version of the teaching and practice of the Church. It is
possible that it is merely a pose or at most a misconcep
tion. In the same breath these writers and speakers give
the leaders of the Church credit for learning beyond the
common run, and wisdom that is superhuman. The only

RES GESTAE CHRISTI 295
way they can justify their attitude is to deny our sincerity
and suppose that we devote all these resources of wisdom
and learning to keep the multitude under our thumbs.
It is easy to believe this in a community where Catholics
are few, but in a city like San Francisco, where the clergy
come in and go out among all sorts and conditions of
men and could not if they would hide their true character,
and in a citizenry like ours where Catholics are leaders
in every walk of intellectual, civic and business life, it is
hard to convince even the most prejudiced that our Church
is made up merely of deceivers and their dupes.
On the contrary there is no Church or school that has
stood so strongly for the rights of reason as the Catholic
Church. Just as she upheld, against Calvinism, the essen
tial goodness of human nature, so she has upheld the
native power of the human mind to arrive at truth, aye
even at that supreme and ultimate truth, the existence of
God. As late as the Vatican Council she reminded the
world of the ancient words of David: "The heavens
show forth the glory of God and the firmament declareth
the works of His hands." In a special decree she laid
down to her children the explicit teaching of St. Paul, that
the one true God, our Lord and Maker, could be known
for certain from the things that are made, as the Apostle
writes to the Romans concerning the pagans: "For the
invisible things of Him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made. His eternal power also and Divinity, so that they
are without excuse."
At the same time the Church is nothing if not practical.
She is not intrigued by the fairy tales of science or deluded
by the vagaries of the illiterate evolutionists of the Sun
day supplements. Man is not a mere animal that is
slowly emerging from the primeval slime and human

296 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
nature does not grow angelic with the process of the suns.
She has learned enough in her long life to prefer facts to
theories and she knows as a fact that human nature essen
tially good as it is, has been damaged in some great catas
trophe. Of that catastrophe she sees the results in the
darkness of the understanding, the weakness of the will
and the strong inclination to evil, that every son of Adam
knows to be his inheritance if he would not close his eyes
to his own experience and lie to his own soul.
Hence putting aside that necessity of Divine Revelation
that arises from the decree raising man to an end that
surpasses his nature, and every created nature, namely,
the Blessed Vision of God, we must recognize from the
logic of facts the moral necessity of the intervention of
God if man is to be enabled to obtain such a body of
doctrine and such a code of laws as will teach him to
know God and God's Will, in a sufficient and effective
manner. Revelation, or the speaking of God to man, is
morally necessary in this sense and that such a revelation
was given is witnessed by St. Paul at the beginning of the
Epistle to the Hebrews : "God who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake in time past to the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these days last of all spoken to us by
His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things."
It needs but a slight acquaintance with ancient history
to perceive the force of the argument. If religion be
only a phase of culture, as they teach your children in
the San Francisco Normal School, which has developed
out of the nightmares of an overfed caveman, there is no
reason why in the long period before the coming of Christ,
religion should not have been brought to its highest per
fection. Every other side of culture received its finishing
touch from the skilled Greek hand. No age, not even our
own, has equalled the glory that was Greece and the

RES GESTAE CHRISTI 297
grandeur that was Rome. There were giants in those
days. They were the heirs of Egypt and of Chaldea, and
of the forgotten civilizations that the spade of archaeolo
gist is bringing every day to light. They were masters
of the resources of the world. God had endowed them
with genius, and the sense of beauty, and the thirst for
knowledge, and the feeling of religion, and yet — it was
as if He were emphasizing that divine foolishness which
was wiser than men — He buried His truth in the wild
hills of Judea while the terrible picture St. Paul draws
of the Roman masters of the world teaches us how low
human wisdom had sunk in the things that pertain to
religion. "Because that, when they knew God they glori
fied Him not as God : neither were thankful ; but became
vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was
darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God
into an image made like to corruptible man, and to
birds, and to four-footed beasts, and creeping things, and
changed the glory of God into a lie and worshipped and
served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed
forever. Amen."
Now, my dear brethren, the thing that was true in the
province of faith was also true in the province of charity.
The same moral necessity that existed in order that man
might attain to a sure and efficient knowledge of his rela
tions toward God also existed in order that man should
attain to a true conception of his relations towards his
fellowmen. As you know there are two chief relations existing
between human individuals. We may contemplate our
neighbor as a father contemplates his son, or a brother his
brother, namely, as the continuance of his own personality,
his other self. We may on the other hand contemplate

298 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
him as a distinct being who has his own rights and towards
whom we have our duties : against whom we have rights
and who owes us service. The former relation is regu
lated by the virtue of charity : the latter relation is regu
lated by the virtue of justice.
Charity and justice are natural conditions of human
existence. On charity are founded all the domestic in
terests that concern the preservation of the species. From
justice spring the instincts that concern the preservation
of the individual. Both are of the very nature of man
and are of primeval strength for if it be true that "all
that a man hath he will give for his life," it is also true
"that love is strong as death and jealousy, hard as the
grave." Now as we have seen that the pagan world had reached
the height of human achievement in the arts and sciences
it is also true that their ideals of human love and friendly
devotion had reached a point we have seldom equalled
and never surpassed. To this day the pictures of conjugal
fidelity and filial piety and domestic and civic virtue and
the friendship that passeth the love of woman as painted
by the Greek and Roman poets remain without peers.
Yet again when we study the philosophical speculations
of these same peoples and examine their laws and investi
gate their customs we are not surprised at the scathing
invective poured out by St. Paul on Roman society at
the zenith of its prosperity culminating in the awful
epithets — "without natural affection, without fidelity,
without mercy."
Hence it is evident that just as there was a necessity of
a revelation concerning the relations of man toward God,
so there was a necessity of a revelation concerning the
relations of man towards man. As that revelation was
gradual in the one case so it was in the other. In the

RES GESTAE CHRISTI 299
Sermon on the Mount our Lord astonished the multitude
when he proclaimed the fulness of the law of love : Ye
have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you:
Love your enemies : do good to them that hate you : and
pray for them that persecute and caluminate you : that ye
may be the children of your Father who is in heaven who
maketh His sun to rise on the good and the bad and
sendeth His rain upon the just and the unjust. For if ye
love them that love you: what reward shall ye have?
Do not even the publicans this : and if ye salute your breth
ren only, what do you more; do not even the heathens so?
What motive could be strong enough to induce men to
accept this impossible teaching? The same motive that
enabled Abraham to believe against hope — even God
Himself. In the old Testament God manifested Himself
in the thunders of Sinai. I am the Lord, thy God, mighty
and jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children, unto the third and fourth generation of them
that hate Me and showing mercy unto thousands of them
that love Me and keep My commandments. In the new
Testament God is love. By this, writes St. John, hath the
love of God appeared towards us because God hath sent
His only begotten Son into the world, that we may live by
Him. At the solemn moment of the Last Supper our
Lord left charity to be the badge of His disciples. A new
commandment, I give unto you, that ye love one another:
as I have loved you that ye also love one another. By
this shall all men know that ye are My disciples if ye have
love one for another.
Hence we have the double object in Christian charity
but the single motive. We love God for His own sake —
we love man for the sake of God. Here there is no fine
phrasing about philanthropy: here is no hysterical senti-

300 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
mentalism, here there is no altruistic selfishness, here there
is no scientific charity picking the pockets of justice. We
are commanded to love our fellow man, not because he is
our friend or because we expect a return, or because he
is in any way worthy of love, but simply and solely for
God's sake, who so loved the world that He did not spare
His only Son.
It was this motive that undid the wrongs of the old
world and built up Christian civilization. It would be too
long to record the Res gestae Christi during the ages
of the faith. Suffice it to say that the single institution of
Christian marriage undid the moral and economic evils of
paganism and produced the Christian family out of which
came the Christian world — that world which is now fall
ing to pieces with the ruin of Christian marriage.
For, my dear brethren, we must confess that the reli
gious revolution of the 16th century has come to its full
development in the destruction of the Christian faith out
side of the Catholic Church. The founders of Protes
tantism declared they were saving the faith of Christ by
destroying the authority of the Church. They themselves
now recognize that they have only succeeded in destroying
the faith and the authority together. It was a process
that did not work out equally either in time or country,
but in our days with the standardization of the world it is
rushing rapidly everywhere to its consummation. Like
the streams that dash in their freedom down the eastern
slopes of our Sierras and have reached the level of the
desert, the non-Catholic denominations are swallowed up
in the sands of indifference or stagnate in the black and
bitter pools that can be stirred by no angel save the angel
of hate.
Since faith is the foundation and root of righteousness
the destruction of the Christian faith implies the destruc-

RES GESTAE CHRISTI 301
tion of Christian charity, first in the interior life of the
soul, and, secondly, though not so swiftly, in its external
manifestations, like those trees that even when the storm
has overthrown them continue to put out their leaves for
a while till their stored up substance is spent. The word
charity — once the most beautiful word in human speech —
has been so degraded that men hesitate to use it, or
use it only for the camouflage that hides their evasion of
their just debts. It is not charity that the State should
take care of helpless children or the indigent sick, or old
and feeble. Our so-called State charities are merely agen
cies for cheating citizens out of as much as possible of
their just dues. Man was not made for the State but the
State for man. When therefore the State stands ready
as it should stand ready, to remedy those ills caused by
inequality, want of opportunity, sickness, misfortune, or
even the sin that is visited on others, it is only doing what
men set it up to do and its motive is not philanthropy or
charity, but strict justice. The State is a means to an end
and nothing more, and when, as in Oregon, they teach
that the child belongs to the State before it belongs to
its parents, they are simply denying the basic principles
of Christianity as they are denying the first elements of
common sense.
This is the original sin that vitiates the work of our
great secular philanthropic enterprises. The modern sys
tem of beneficence institutes what is called a "Founda
tion," liberally endows it with money, staffs it with the
best talent and skill in the market, and thus insures that
its activities will be such as human talent and human
science and human devotion and material resources can
produce in the highest degree. When we say that such
institutions are not Christian, we test them simply by the
motives behind them. The motive of philanthropy and

302 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
the motive of charity are incommensurable. When we
say that such institutions are anti-Christian we do not
mean that their founders or administrators or staff are
consciously opposed to Christianity, for some of their
most valuable workers are splendid Christians. We mean
simply that they would take the place of Christianity.
Anti-Christ means not only the enemy of Christ, but also
the substitute for Christ. The-motive behind them is man
for man's sake, and only as long as that motive energises,
will they continue their work.
Do not misunderstand me. When we consider the
great works of American benevolence, whether of private
or public origin, we must not forget that to a large part
they owe their inspiration to Christian men and Christian
principles. This was once a Christian people and is not
yet entirely paganized. The precious ointment indeed has
been poured out and its sweetness wasted, but some of the
odor still clings to the alabaster vase. The men amongst
us who have become most secularized and even aggres
sively pagan, are the resultants of Christian culture and
Christian culture does not die in a day or even in a genera
tion. The most pronounced antagonists of Christ in our
generation, when they went out of what they called the
House of Bondage, borrowed from the Church and took
with them vessels of silver and vessels of gold and raiment
much like the children of Israel what time they spoiled
the Egyptians.
But the time will come, nay it is at the doors, when
those spoils shall be spent and the spirit of Christianity
shall have evaporated. Motives work out infallibly to
their end. Then we shall see what philanthropy will pro
duce. Already we behold the shadows that creep before
events. The great war showed what the State could do
in the name of the general welfare, and what the people

RES GESTAE CHRISTI 303
would stand for. Your popular literature is advocating
the pagan, and worse than pagan, control of marriage and
birth and death. There is no horror that lurked in gloomy
recesses of Egypt's temples that is not dragged before our
eyes as the last achievement of science — no abomination
of Chaldean shrines that is not staged to inflame the jaded
passions of a decadent civilization — no Golden Calf that
we are not bidden to offer incense to in the name of prog
ress. Remember, my brethren, the spring cannot rise
higher than its source. Even philanthropy needs a motive
higher than the individual, and the only higher motive it
can find is humanity organized in the civil State. If God
is cast out the State must take His place — and the little
finger of the State is heavier on the citizen than the very
Omnipotence of God.
It is against this system and all it stands for that this
Congregation of the Holy Family and every such congre
gation stand. Their very existence is a protest against
secularism and the all-powerful State. The individual is
the object of their ministration, but it is not the individual
lost in the multitude, but it is the individual, individualized
all the more because he has put on the person of Christ :
"I was ahungered and ye gave Me to eat: I was athirst,
and ye gave Me to drink : I was a stranger, and ye took
Me in : naked and ye covered Me : sick and ye visited Me.
I was in prison and ye came to Me. Then shall the just
answer Him, saying : Lord, when did we see Thee ahun
gered, and fed Thee, athirst, and gave Thee drink? And
when did we see Thee a stranger and took Thee in, or
naked, and covered Thee? And when did we see Thee
sick or in prison and come to Thee ? And the King shall
answer and say unto them: Amen, I say unto you, as
long as ye did it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye
did it unto Me."

304 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
They may not be able to come before the people and
plead their cause in the persuasive words of human wis
dom, or chronicle their deeds in silver speech. They know
too well the value of these accessories of which the world
thinks so much. "If I speak with tongues of men, and
of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding
brass or a tinkling cymbal."
They know the use of skill and of training and they
are not unacquainted with the resources of modern science
and they can admire the fine human faith of the searcher
after knowledge, but above and beyond all this there is
something greater and more necessary: "And if I should
have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge
and have faith so that I could move mountains and have
not charity, I am nothing."
Hard experience has taught them how much good can
be done with money, but money is the last thing that
troubles them. They do not underrate the self-sacrifice of
the scientific observer who takes his life in his hands to
contribute to the extirpation of disease, and the easing of
the load of physical suffering, but there is something holier
and more precious still: "And if I should distribute all
my goods to feed the poor and if I should deliver my
body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me
nothing." The heart of our celebration is that this City has been
found worthy to produce a new organization of women
animated by Charity in its true and Christian sense. San
Francisco was built on the wreck and overthrow of one
of the greatest enterprises of charity the world ever saw.
If it be true that the burnt bramble does not bud again,
and that the earth that drinketh in the frequent rains and
bringeth forth only thorns and briars is very near a curse,
it would seem as if no second spring could bloom again

RES GESTAE CHRISTI 305
in this land of ours. Yet the miracle came to pass. At the
very time the poets of the stranger were lamenting the
faltering and stilled voices of the Mission bells and
mourning the cunning and the greed, the skeptic sneer and
the pride, the hard high lust and the wilful deed that
marked the youth in this lion's whelp crouching by the
western gate, there was growing up in the heart of Eliza
beth Armer the thought that she might gather about her
a little family that like the holy women who followed
Christ and ministered to Him as He went up and down
doing good, would seek Him and find Him and serve Him
in the poor who hid lost and helpless in the gold-mad and
pleasure-sodden jungle of old San Francisco.
The hope in which the Holy Family Sisters went out is
contained in what I might call their charter, a letter
written by Father Prendergast to Sister Dolores [which
appears on page 32 of this volume]. We of this genera
tion are too close to Father Prendergast to appreciate
him. He was truly a great man, and it will be long be
fore we shall look upon his like again. This religious
community is his work, and it was the spirit he breathed
into it that has been the inspiration of all its well doing.
I know that to those who are accustomed to the
methods of Christian charity his letter will seem com
monplace, and that to our modern scientific experts it will
be hopeless and old fashioned. Yet the one word: "If
you find the accommodations are not good enough for the
friends of our Lord," lights it up and makes it worthy to
be written in letters of gold. Moreover, its outlook on
the future is true and sure. We of the feeble faith of
these days seek the money first and do the charity after
wards. Father Prendergast is incurably Christian —
he gives the first place to charity and feels confident that
God, in His goodness, will provide.

306 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
There is only one word that is left out, and I will be
bold enough to supply what I know Father Prendergast
would add on this fiftieth year. He would not ask for
money, but he would ask for vocations. With all our
progress we have not done our duty either to the Diocese
or to the Religious Orders in filling up their ranks. When
we look out on this community, we can see tens of thou
sands of Catholic women tied to the wheel of secular
avocations, wearing out their young lives, slaving for the
dollar that is spent before they earn it ; dreaming of homes
and comfort that are possible only when they are too
weary to enjoy them, and reaching a selfish old age hope
less and loveless and lonely.
May this festival be to you, O daughters of the Virgin,
a light to your minds and a spur to your will to see the
beauty of charity as the Apostle saw it, to be zealous
for the better gifts and to follow the yet more excellent
way. "Charity is patient, is kind. Charity envieth not,
dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious,
seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh
no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the
truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all
things, endureth all things. Charity never falleth away;
whether prophecies be made void or tongues cease or
knowledge be destroyed. For we know in part and we
prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect shall
come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a
child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I
put away the things of a child. Now we see as through
a glass in a dark manner, but then face to face. Now we
know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known.
Now there remain faith, hope, charity; these three, but
the greatest of these is charity."

CHAPTER III
Sowing in the Spirit
NPARALLELED WERE THE CROWDS THAT
attended the services in the Cathedral on
Saturday and Sunday; but, on account of
a heavy downpour of rain, it was thought
that there would be a falling off in num
bers at the Monday services. Such, how
ever, was the interest taken in the Sisters' Jubilee celebra
tion, that the falling off was not notable. Indeed, the
number of clergy was greater than on the other two days.
The following officiated at the Solemn Pontifical High
Mass: The Most Rev. Edward J. Hanna, pontificant;
Very Rev. A. L. McMahon, O. P., arch-priest; Rev. P. E.
Mulligan and Rev. E. P. Dempsey, deacons of honor;
Rev. Joseph Galli, deacon; Rev. Robert O'Connor, sub-
deacon; Rev. Rueben Bray and Rev. John Casey, cross-
bearers. The Masters of Ceremonies for the entire triduum were
the Very Rev. Msgr. James W. Cantwell and Rev. W. P.
Sullivan. The Rev. John T. Sullivan, S. T. L., was the
orator on Monday. His eloquent sermon follows:
It was in pursuance of the decree of Divine Providence
and in accord with local necessities, that a few zealous
women began the work of assisting Pastors with the chil
dren in Day Homes, in week day classes, and in Sunday
Schools, fifty years ago today. They were the organizers
of an army of workers that have since appeared in this
Archdiocese and in the neighboring Diocese to the south.

308 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
They occupy, if you will, an humble position in the,
great object of the Catholic life of today. Their work
has been God's work, quiet and hidden, not in ostentation,
but in the showing forth of the spirit and of power. Their
lives are an exemplification of the highest kind of resist
ance by which they abandon the world in order to be
nearer to Christ. They are the toilers who delve for
another's gain, for the Christianization of the social and
moral forces of the future. So constant, so noiseless
their endeavor, that it passes by unheeded, for, like the
coral workers, they labor on day by day in unremitting toil.
They need no praise, no flattery from me. Lift up
your eyes and you shall see their glory — beyond idle words
of commendation. They have 'labored much in the Lord'
and though they would have their works unheralded, the
Church thinking otherwise holds Jubilee as is meet and
just, over fifty years of tireless and useful achievement.
For one-half a century they have been moving through
our streets, with modest ways, garbed in the unassuming
black of the religious, seemingly without attracting heed
from the passing multitudes, and yet the public, too, will
rightly join this Jubilee and give civic acknowledgment
of deep appreciation for unsurpassed service. A Jubilee
is a time of rejoicing and thanksgiving, and these days
are joyous that so much has been achieved by our Sis
ters of the Holy Family, and grateful we are to God
that He has bestowed upon the Church in San Francisco
the singular blessing of producing a womanhood so noble,
so self-effacing, so willing to sacrifice all for the love of
God and of man. A Jubilee is also time of meditation
and introspection, a time for looking backward in order
to look forward all the more clearly.
The history of Our Sisters, their foundation and de
velopment has already found eloquent expression; the

SOWING IN THE SPIRIT 309
supernatural character of their works of love has been
masterfully presented, and it remains this morning to take
up another far-reaching phase of their activities.
Visiting the sick, housing the homeless, clothing the
naked, feeding the hungry — all these corporal works of
mercy make an exceedingly strong appeal to men at large.
They are concrete things, they show immediate and grat
ifying results. Catching, as they do, the natural element,
the spirit of humanitarianism, they meet with unhesitating
and open approval from every source. Teaching children
to live clean, orderly, industrious, upright lives is a won
derful work, and fifty years given to that alone by any
body of devoted women, merit public expressions of grati
tude from the entire community.
There is however an aspect of the service rendered by
Our Sisters — less manifest, less demonstrable, but, I take
it, a more valuable one; less tangible it is in its results,
scarcely visible in its slow growth, and steady develop
ment, but of infinite worth to our Church and our Com
monwealth. "Behold the husbandman waiteth for the
precious fruits of the earth, patiently bearing till he re
ceive the early and later rain."
The thought which I would especially draw your atten
tion to this morning is the value of the foundations —
religious and moral — which these Our Sisters are laying
in the hearts and minds of those little ones who come
under their benign influence and who must look to them
for that motherly training and interest which their own
mothers, daily called out to work by the stress of circum
stances, are unable fully to supply.
"We live in a land, broad and fair and free, its shores
washed by two mighty oceans; its giant mountains guard
ing priceless treasures; its trackless forests yielding the
hoarded wealth of centuries, its great rivers laden with

310 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
the rich argosies of commerce, its boundless resources
scarcely touched, inexhaustible fountains of prosperity
and abundance." That is our America, its very vastness
and its material richness are tremendously impressive,
but "the issue about which hangs a true sublimity and the
terror of overhanging fate is, what are we going to do
with all these things?" Shall they mar us or make us?
They are merely things and cannot of themselves make
and sustain us as a nation. Rome seized and controlled
all the resources of the known world of her day and to
what end? She went down into the tombs of dead
nations; and a few broken columns remain to mark the
seat of her world-wide empire.
Mere possession of material advantages is no guaran
tee of permanence. What then will give us safety, secur
ity in the management of all these things? Mental
power — intellectual clearness? Without knowledge a
nation is either a silent sepulchre, where all hopes are
buried, or a raging sea, where they are all quickly wrecked.
Knowledge it must have. But what knowledge ? Of the
arts, literature, the wisdom of the legislator, human phil
osophy? Why did it not save the Grecian states? They
went down into a night upon which no sun ever again
shone !
Will wealth save us as a nation? It has been hoarded;
men have cheated for it; for it the bread of carefulness
has been eaten; but it has corroded the character of many
a sterling man. Will political power give us any assur
ance? What guarantee does its possession give of vir
tuous use by its possessor? Has it never been placed on
the auction block for the highest bidder? Does social
position warrant the belief in its righteousness, or is it
not too often used, like charity, to cover a multitude of
sins ? The only thing that can rightly control the material

SOWING IN THE SPIRIT 311
resources of our land, and wisely direct the exercise and
use of all the instruments of power in our citizens is not
intellectual clearness with "moral worth" — but intellect
ual clarity united with Christian morality backed as that
morality is by a Divine sanction. Only an abiding sense
of Christian moral responsibility can safely guide us in
the use of the resources at hand and wisely direct us in
the control of the instruments of power at our disposal,
and the vaster those resources, the greater those instru
ments of power, the deeper and stronger must be the
moral sense in the possessors.
Shall we depend upon legislation? We are overbur
dened with laws now. There is no dearth of laws, both
repressive and directive, on our statute books ; but no one
has ever been legislated into virtue, for human laws do
not reach the internal spring of action, they never do
touch the conscience, and through every one of them a
coach and four might be driven.
These reflections must make us realize that it is essen
tial to the welfare of our country that, co-ordinately with
the knowledge we impart to our children, must go con
stantly the impression of their responsibility for its right
use in later life. Educate the body at the expense of the
mind and soul and you will have animated clay; educate
the intelligence at the expense of the moral and religious
feelings, and you but fearfully increase a man's power to
effect evil. It was Herbert Spencer that said so tersely
"right cognition does not insure right action."
Does not experience bear out this truth? The great
thought-leaders of the world promised us the blessed
millennium of the 20th century, the great tower of gold
that was being builded to the heavens like another Babel.
Within the past six years we have seen it fall, as the tem
ple that crashed around the head of Samson — for they,

312 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
as he, pushed out its staunch supporting columns of beauty
and strength. Illuminative knowledge there was, but the
operative moral virtues and their sanction were not.
Power we had in abundance, but an appalling deficiency
in its control. Mere possession of power of any kind is
not an assurance of its right application.
And what bearing has all this on the training of little
ones for future citizenship? We are living in a republic.
Ours is a democratic form of government, its officers are
elective, its policies are directed by these officers who are
chosen by the people. The choice depends upon the ma
jority, and the vote-counting is simply a matter in addition.
The moral character of the voter is not challenged at
the polls — he who is worst and he who is best stand on an
equal footing. Does this system assure us of capable and
honest officials? Does it warrant us in expecting wise and
just policies in the governing of the country? In itself no.
We are thrown back for our confidence on the integrity
of the individuals who make the majority and on the
moral responsibility of those that are elected. What can
keep us as a nation from certain failure if votes come to
be treated as merchandise, or if purely personal gain be
the guiding motive of electors and elected?
"Justice exalteth a nation, but sin maketh nations mis
erable." No nation can be governed safely, much less
govern itself at all, without a clear head and sound heart.
For "the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord."
In days of peace and tranquility when property is
secure, when the laws are upheld and obeyed, when the
vision of constancy and permanence presents itself to our
imagination, we readily and amiably trust to the moral
stability of human nature. We have been too prone to
credit human nature with more moral strength than it
really possesses and, neglecting to develop it, we have

SOWING IN THE SPIRIT 313
confined our education too exclusively to instructing the
mind. The philosophers of Greece enjoined upon their
countrymen the sanctity of all natural virtues, the Roman
Republic practised them as fully as unregenerated man is
capable of doing by the power of vigorous and cultivated
reason, but what did it avail? Put this natural virtue to
the acid test of disappointment. Recent years have made
it clear that such keen and delicate instruments as human
knowledge and human reason are no youthful Davids
going out to contend successfully against those Goliaths —
the passions and the pride of man.
We have great material resources in this country of
ours, we have in our hands great power, political, civil,
social, intellectual. What we need, above and beyond all
these, is moral power based on Christian principles. Re
ligion must be its source and foundation; Religion — not
a thing apart from education, but interwoven with its
entire system, a principle which controls and regulates the
whole mind and happiness of the people. To be truly
good and socially useful, popular education must be funda
mentally religious.
Robespierre proclaimed the truth, that a republic can
only be established on the eternal basis of morality. And
yet in America there are many who have little use for
religion and more who place no great value upon it as
the savoring and saving salt in the nation's life. Some
60,000,000 of the people in the United States owe no
religious allegiance whatever, and yet they are all obvi
ously the children of a state of sentiment and thought in
which religion has been a powerful factor. Think of
what would befall us if the solid fabric of belief on which
our morality has been hitherto rested were suddenly to
break up and vanish? For generations we have been
training a race of men in a morality weakened and grow-

314 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
ing weaker with each succeeding generation by the absence
of positive exclusion of religious training. Six days in a
week devoted to the teaching of human learning and no
hour, or a hurried one, to the imparting of religious
knowledge. Will this bring the future citizens to believe
themselves the highest beings in the universe or, at least,
to think themselves out of relation to any other higher
beings? Will it render our social policy unstable, and,
if so, will it bring on a reign of violence ? Our whole sys
tem of government rests on the will of the numerical
majority. What if that, majority should think that the
government's overthrow would be gain for them? Sup
pose these teeming millions ceased to believe there is
any power above them, what would become of this huge
and delicate fabric of laws and commerce and social
institutions? If hitherto civilized society has rested on
religion, and if free government has, as Ambassador
Bryce says, prospered best among religious people, will
the moral code stand unshaken, with its reverence for law,
its regard for life and property, its sense of duty towards
the present and the future generations when its founda
tions crumble or are blasted away?
Republics, we are told, live by virtue, then 'the more
democratic republics become, the more the masses grow
conscious of their power, the more do they need to live
not only by patriotism but by reverence and self-control,
and the more essential to their well-being are those sources
whence reverence and self-control flow."
The Lord sat the prophet down in the midst of a plain
that was full of bones ; now they were many upon the face
of the plain. And the Lord said : "Son of man, dost thou
think these bones shall live? And I answered: O Lord
God, thou knowest. And He said to me : Prophesy upon
these bones. So I prophesied as I was commanded; and

SOWING IN THE SPIRIT 315
as I prophesied there was a noise, and behold, a shaking;
and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And
when I beheld, lo, the sinews, and the flesh came upon
them, and the skin was stretched over them, but there was
no spirit in them. Then said He unto me : Prophesy to
the spirit, O son of man and say to the spirit: Thus saith
the Lord God: come, spirit, from the four winds and
breathe upon these slain and that they may live. So I
prophesied, and the spirit came into them, and they lived :
and they stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great
army." Our wealth of resources, our instruments of power,
our knowledge, riches, social, political position, are all
dry bones in the valley of the slain, united — bones,
sinews, flesh and skin — but with no spirit of life. What
avail to have oceans at our feet, mighty rivers and giant
mountains, fertile valleys and rich mines, the wondrous
fabric of a nation and no spirit summoned by the word
of God from the four winds to breathe upon the slain in
the valley of the dead? As well boast of a mighty church
that has nothing more than resplendent altars and sordid
ministers, golden vestments and leaden thoughts, marble
pulpits and wooden preachers, many devotions and little
religion. It would be but an army of bones waiting for
the Prophet to prophesy "Come, spirit, from the four
winds and blow upon these slain in the valley of the dead
that they may live."
We keep Jubilee today, we rejoice in the Lord, and
give thanks to God that Our Sisters are ever calling forth
the spirit of God to breathe with reviving and regenerat
ing force upon the little ones that they may live. Children
are simple, docile, pure, candid, their minds plastic, their
imaginations eager, their hearts ready for any mould, and
the first impressions made on them in their early days are

316 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
the last forgotten. Store their minds then not with
weapons to sap the altar and the throne alike, but with
motives that reach conscience and teach accountability to
God. Surrounded with an atmosphere of religion they
soon become conscious that there is a faith in God and a
law of God which should be the rule of life and not a
casual incident. Early and late, in season and out, the
seeds of discipline, self-control, reverence, and obedience
to authority are being sowed in the youthful minds by the
Sisters of the Holy Family, giving guarantee of a virtu
ous and virile people, for the morals are but outward
form of the inner life. These are the things that will
bring permanence and perpetuity to our national institu
tions, our prosperity, our civilization. These are the
foundations that the Sisters whose Jubilee we keep
today — yea, and all the glorious Sisterhoods of our
Church, are laying for God and Man, for Church and
Country. Prophets, they, standing in the valley of the
slain, prophesying as the Lord God hath commanded,
"Come spirit, come from the four winds, O breath, and
breathe upon these slain, that they may live — and behold
they live and stand up upon their feet an exceeding
great army."

CHAPTER IV
San Francisco Pays Tribute
an francisco's public tribute to the
Holy Family Sisters was paid in the Civic
Auditorium, on Saturday, November 18.
It was the closing event of the Golden
Jubilee celebration in honor of the Sisters.
All the available space of the big edifice
was occupied by a throng of 15,000 men, women and chil
dren, who came to add their tribute to the City's official
testimonial of gratitude for the Sisters' half-century of
public service. Several hundred friends of the Sisters were
unable to gain entrance, but they waited patiently, for
more than an hour, hoping against hope to gain standing
room. The stage settings and decorations for the Jubilee ex
ercises were perhaps the most beautiful and artistic ever
seen in the auditorium. Every one present was loud in
expressions of admiration. More than 300 prettily cos
tumed past and present pupils of the Sisters sang in the
Jubilee chorus with admirable unison. The San Fran
cisco Symphony Orchestra rendered a number of selec
tions. A male quartet, led by Charles Bulotti, the noted
tenor, sang "Jubilate Deo," and "All the World Loves
San Francisco." This last selection was written by a
girl pupil of the Sisters. The music for the song was
composed by the Rev. Father Florian, O. F. M.
"The Path to the Golden City," an allegorical play
written by the Sisters, was produced with admirable skill

318 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
by a cast of several hundred pupils of the Sisters. Scores
of little children, costumed as birds and flowers and
angels, furnished a charming touch of color to the spec
tacle. The allegory received tremendous applause from
the spectators. Cyril Breslin, who essayed the role of
the Prince Guardian, was singled out for considerable
commendation for the splendid manner in which he en
acted his important part. The story of the play dealt
with the journey of a little girl's soul through the tempta
tions of life to its goal in the Golden City.
The entire program reflected great credit on the pupils
and the Sisters, and proved an artistic triumph. It was
an appropriate climax to the Golden Jubilee, "perhaps the
greatest religious observance in the history of San Fran
cisco," as one of the newspaper writers observed.
The civic celebration was under the management of
the following Committee: Honorary Chairmen — Most
Reverend Archbishop E. J. Hanna, Hon. William D.
Stephens, Governor of California, Hon. James Rolph, Jr.,
Mayor of San Francisco, Mr. R. M. Tobin, Mrs. Charles
W. Clark, Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt, and Mrs. E. J.
Tobin. Executive Committee — Mrs. George T. Cam
eron, Chairman; Mrs. Walter Dean, Mrs. Geo. de
Latour, Miss Emilie Parrott and Mr. E. J. Tobin.
Mayor James Rolph, while voicing San Francisco's offi
cial congratulations and thanks to the Sisters, declared
that the auditorium had never held a greater assemblage
and that the City never had greater reason to rejoice.
He said in part:
"I have been here in this Auditorium on many occa
sions, in the years gone by. But I have never seen so
much care, I have never seen so much thought, I have
never seen so much interest manifested in any event as I
see here at this golden celebration of the Sisters.

SAN FRANCISCO PAYS TRIBUTE 319
"Oh, how we wish that we could tell all men from the
depths of our hearts, how — when we were engaged in our
ordinary pursuits, when we were going along in the hustle
and the bustle of life, thinking of other things, other
matters than the charitable needs of a great City — these
women, day by day, night by night, were caring for the
young, taking them into their homes, building them up.
Oh, Sisters of the Holy Family, I do wish I had power
to paint my thoughts in words. I come here as Mayor of
the City to extend the City's congratulations, to take off
to you the City's hat, to extend all the good wishes and
thanks that come from a grateful people for the work
that you have done.
"I doubt whether the City knows that so many hundreds
of children are gathered together here. I doubt whether
they give time to think of the work that you are doing.
But whether they do or not, I want you to know that I, as
Mayor, and those who are thoughtful and observing of
what you are doing, are appreciative of your work, and
while very many of our citizens are busy, they know you
are working for the upbuilding and the uplift of this City.
"May God bless you in your work. May another fifty
years roll around, during which this City is bound to be
the better for all that you are doing. And may those that
follow after us, celebrate the hundredth anniversary of
the founding of this noble order, just as we are today
celebrating the golden jubilee.
"San Francisco's sincerest and most earnest congratu
lations. The Most Reverend Archbishop preceded His Honor,
the Mayor, but we have reserved his eloquent words for
the closing paragraphs of our narrative. He spoke
from the depths of a heart that beats to transports of
enthusiastic admiration for all that is elevated and elevat-

320 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
ing, for all that is helpful towards temporal and eternal
salvation, for all that is good and true and beautiful in
our human efforts to make this world a less disagreeable
place to live in, and to point the way to a better world
where, through the mercy and goodness of God, per
manent peace and happiness will succeed the discord and
disaster that enter so largely into the disappointing span
of existence which we call life.
the archbishop's address
It seems to me that our first thought this afternoon
ought to be of those who, for the past fifty years, have
labored and sacrificed themselves for the poor and the
children around San Francisco Bay, and who now sleep
the sleep of peace; that we ought first of all to remember
Sister Dolores and Sister Teresa, and that noble band of
women who gave all they had in life that the children and
the poor might live. And this mighty throng, that rep
resents those who are in sympathy with the work, may
stop just for a moment and pray that those dear women,
who gave all for God and for the children, may sleep the
sleep of peace.
We come here this afternoon to celebrate in becom
ing fashion the jubilee of those women who administered
unto our poor and unto our little ones, through all these
jubilee years; we come to lay at their feet our tribute of
praise, our tribute of gratitude; we come to wish them
Godspeed for the years that lie ahead. It was no easy
task, fifty years ago, to go out into the highways and by
ways of this City of St. Francis, and gather 'neath their
protection, the poor, the needy, the outcast. It was no
easy task, fifty years ago, to gather under the aegis of
their protection — the protection of the Sisters of the Holy
Family — the little ones of the flock, wandering here and

SAN FRANCISCO PAYS TRIBUTE 321
there, without help and without guide, and that they have
done this work for all these golden years, we come today
to lay at their feet the tribute of our praise. But, oh,
more than our praise, we come today to speak to this
mighty throng of the thanks that well up in our hearts
for every good deed that marks this year of jubilee. And
we can only pray that, as in the past, so, too, in the future,
they may lift the children unto higher and nobler things,
and that the work which God has placed in their hands
may grow e'en unto the perfect day.
The most important thing in the world today is the
child, growing unto the fulness of manhood, unto the
fulness of womanhood. The most important thing for
the child today is to culture and fashion that child's mind
so that he or she may know what is true, what is just,
what is right, what is available unto the soul here, yea,
and hereafter. But not only must the child know what is
right, not only must the child see the path of light, but
also it must be so disciplined, so trained, so moulded, that
it will have the courage, in the face of the world, to fol
low the light, and to follow the right.
And when we come today to lay at the feet of our
simple Sisters the work and the praise of fifty years, let
us remember, and let us remember well, that, for all these
golden days, they have pointed out the way of truth unto
the little ones, and have so strengthened and fashioned
and moulded them that, in the battle of life, they stand
strong, they stand courageous. And if the Archbishop
might add one word more, it is that, looking back over
the history of this fair land, we may hope for the finest
results among the children of the poor. For the men that
have made impression upon this land of ours, the men
in whose hands have been, in a thousand ways, our des
tinies, have, for the most part, risen up from the poor and

322 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
from the people. And the women who consecrate life
and intelligence and power and strength, that these little
ones may have the best that life gives, deserve from us
the highest praise, yea, and the highest commendation.
And today, as we gather around them in humble,
simple gratitude, we can only say, 'Go on with this mighty
work. Go on with this work, so deserving of the City of
St. Francis. And we can only pray that their numbers
may grow and increase, that many more may come under
their kindly protection, and that, in this mighty day of
strife, in this crisis of the world, these simple women,
consecrated unto God, may be in the world a powerful
means of raising a generation that will help to bring this
world back some day to sanity, that will help to bring
this world back to a sense of justice unto all men, that
will help to bind this world again into a loving family-
brotherhood, and bring in justice and love, bring into the
world that mightiest of all boons, the boon of peace.
Loud and enthusiastic applause greeted the beloved
Archbishop when he rose to speak; his speech was inter
rupted from time to time, by hearty cheering for the Holy
Family Sisters, and, when he brought his eloquent re
marks to a close, the Auditorium rang to an echo. Every
body present seemed to enter into the spirit of the occa
sion, and all were anxious to show, by some outward
token, their appreciation of the work done, during fifty
years, by the self-sacrificing Sisters.

MEMORABILIA
Chronological Statement of Notable Events
1872 — November 6. Miss Elizabeth Armer begins work
in a rented house on Pine Street.
1873 — Miss Armer's first companion fails her.
1874 — June 29. Miss Ellen O'Connor joins Miss
Armer. They move to a house on Stockton
and Pine Streets later in year.
1875 — Mrs. Ellen Javet and Miss Catharine Kelly join
the Community. Miss Ellen O'Connor begins
her novitiate with Dominican Sisters, Benicia.
1876 — Miss Mary McKeon enters. Community moves
to flat on north side of Pine, between Stockton
and Powell Streets. In November they begin
work in St. Francis' Parish.
1877 — Miss Catharine Block enters.
1878 — August 18. Day Home opened at 525 Post St.
August 28. Miss Ellen O'Connor takes her vows.
September 10. Sister M. Teresa appointed Su
perioress and Mistress of Novices.
December 25. Miss Annie Tully admitted to
postulation.
1879 — January 12. Sisters make retreat at Presenta
tion Convent under direction of Rev. Charles
Messea, S. J.
June 1. Miss Catharine McGovern enters. Fair
held for the benefit of new convent.

324 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
1880 — January 11. Dedication of convent on Hayes
and Polk by the Most Rev. Archbishop, Joseph
S. Alemany.
March 19. Taking of vows by five Sisters.
June 1. Sister M. Dolores appointed Superioress.
1881 — February 27. St. Francis' Day Home opened.
May 20. Sisters begin catechetical work in Parish
of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
1882 — January 15. Sisters begin catechetical work in St.
Brigid's Parish.
January 27. Permission is received to reserve the
Blessed Sacrament in chapel.
February 9. Permission is received to have Holy
Mass in Convent chapel, also for Benediction,
at times.
1883 — Benefit for Day Homes given by Madame Helena
Modjeska.
November 6. Most Rev. Archbishop P. W. Rior
dan arrived in San Francisco.
November 16. His Grace celebrated Mass in
Convent chapel.
1884 — January 28. Most Rev. Archbishop Riordan lec
tures for benefit of Day Homes.
August 24. Sisters complete course in kinder
garten work, and receive certificates.
1885 — May 1. Most Rev. Archbishop Alemany gives
his final Benediction in Convent chapel before
departure to Spain.
1886 — January 28. Sister M. Magdalen goes to her
reward.
April 4. Sisters begin catechetical work at City
Front Chapel, Washington and Drumm Streets.
June 13. Sister M. Dolores elected Superioress.
August 13. Sacred Heart Day Home, removed
to Fulton Street, blessed by Rev. M. D. Con
nolly.

MEMORABILIA 325
1 887 — January 9. Sisters begin catechetical work in Pre
sidio Sunday School.
July 2. Final vows taken by first eight Sisters.
1888 — December 21. First public Christmas Tree Festi
val held in Art Gallery of the Mechanics' Pavi
lion.
1889 — April 19. Temporary Day Home removed from
Fulton to Franklin Street.
1890 — August 19. Sister M. Augustine is summoned by
death.
1891 — January 17. Sunday School opened at new Cathe
dral, on Van Ness Avenue.
1892 — Sister M. Dolores elected Superioress.
October 26. Foundation laid of new convent,
Hayes and Fillmore Streets.
1893 — November 6. Convent dedicated by Most Rev.
Archbishop Riordan.
December 9. Incorporation of Community.
1 894 — January 2. Sacred Heart Day Home opens in old
convent at Hayes and Polk.
August 5. Sisters begin catechetical work in St.
Teresa's Parish.
1895 — August 28. St. Joseph's kindergarten and sewing
school opens on Sixth Street.
1896 — May 25. Sister M. Dolores elected Superioress.
June 18. Medal and Diploma of Honor received
from Chicago for kindergarten exhibit at Co
lumbian Exposition.
1897 — July 28. Sisters begin catechetical work in St.
Agnes' Parish.
1898 — September. Sisters assist at Camp Merritt and
Presidio hospitals.

326 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
1899 — February 6. Temporary Home on Third Street
opened.
1900 — January 11. Sisters begin catechetical work in
Holy Cross Parish.
January 13. Home on Sixth Street reopened,
blessed by Very Rev. J. J. Prendergast.
June 11. Sister M. Dolores elected Superioress.
August 26. Sisters begin catechetical work in St.
Mary's (Paulist) Parish.
1901 — September 10. Most Rev. Archbishop Riordan
blesses the Sisters' country home, "Nazareth."
1902 — September 7. Sisters begin catechetical work in
Holy Redeemer Parish.
1903 — Most Rev. Archbishop Falconi, Papal Delegate,
offers Mass in Convent chapel.
November 1. Sisters decorate Cathedral for the
celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Arch
diocese.
1904 — February 28. Sisters begin catechetical work at
Ocean View.
May 23. Sister M. Dolores elected Superioress.
December 15. Day Home children give an en
tertainment to celebrate Golden Jubilee of the
Dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
1905 — August 2. Our venerated Mother and Foundress,
Sister M. Dolores, passed to her eternal reward.
September 5. Sister M. Teresa elected Su
perioress.
1906 — April 18. Earthquake and fire destroy St. Fran
cis', Sacred Heart, and Holy Family Day
Homes. Sisters assist wounded in Pavilion and
City Front. Take up work in refugee camps,
instructing children and visiting the people.
June 10. Sisters begin catechetical work in St.
Rose's Parish.

MEMORABILIA 327
1907 — February 17. Sisters begin catechetical work in
Star of the Sea Parish.
June 30. Our first branch house opened in San
Jose, blessed by Most Rev. Archbishop P. W.
Riordan.
October 14. Kindergarten and sewing school
opened in a hall, in Richmond district.
1908 — August 24. St. Mary's Day Home opened at
18th and Geary Streets.
September 15. St. Joseph's Home opened at
Greenwich and Devisadero Streets.
1909 — February 28. St. Francis' new Day Home blessed
by Most Rev. Archbishop P. W. Riordan.
September 12. Catechism resumed at St. Bruno's
Sunday School.
1910 — September 26. Lot purchased at Sixteenth and
Dolores Streets for new Day Home.
May 16. Sister M. Teresa elected Superioress.
1911 — May 17. Purchase of property at Eighth and
Chestnut Streets, Oakland, for Convent and
Day Home.
1912 — February 3. Most Reverend Archbishop P. W.
Riordan blesses Holy Family Home, Sixteenth
and Dolores Streets.
1913 — January 18. Rt. Rev. Bishop E. J. Hanna cele
brated Holy Mass in Convent chapel.
May 27. Gave lecture forbenefit of Day Homes.
December 22. Was present at Holy Family
Home Christmas Festival.
1914 — January 19. Death of our beloved and venerated
Founder, Msgr. J. J. Prendergast.
June 1. Sister M. Teresa elected Superioress.
August 7. Sisters assist in Epiphany Sunday
School.
October 25. Sunday School reopened in Colma.

328 THE HOLY FAMILY SISTERS
1915 — Bishop Verdi of the Fiji Islands applied for Sis
ters for his missions.
1916 — September 6. Ground broken for new Convent
in San Jose.
December 3. Sisters begin catechetical work in
St. Edward's Parish.
1917 — February 4. Sisters begin catechetical work in St.
Anselm's Sunday School.
May 10. Sisters begin work in Fairfax Sunday
School.
1918 — May 20. Sister M. Teresa elected Superioress.
August 25. Sisters begin catechetical work in All
Hallows' Sunday School.
September 15. Sisters begin catechetical work in
St. Cecilia's Sunday School.
October. Sisters assist and visit influenza patients
throughout the city.
1919 — March 10. Sisters begin catechetical work in
Larkspur.
August 24. Catechetical work begun in Mill
Valley.
1920 — January 25. Sisters begin catechetical work in
St. Emydius' Parish.
1921 — May 16. Sister M. Gertrude elected Superioress.
November 11. Convent in Los Angeles blessed
by Rt. Rev. J. J. Cantwell.
November 21. Death of our beloved Mother
M. Teresa (O'Connor).
1922 — September 4. New Convent at Piedmont blessed
by Most Rev. Archbishop E. J. Hanna.
November 4, 5, 6. Celebration of Golden Jubi
lee at St. Mary's Cathedral and reception at
Convent.
November 18. Pageant at Civic Auditoriurh.

6957