The Sisters of
Charity of Saint Elizabeth of New Jersey are a Roman Catholic
apostolic congregation of pontifical right whose purpose is
to show forth the love of Jesus Christ in serving those in
need, especially the poor. Established in 1859 in Newark,
New Jersey, the congregation is one of the independent groups
of Sisters of Charity that developed from Saint Elizabeth
Ann Seton's community in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Bishop James
Roosevelt Bayley, nephew of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and
first bishop of the Newark diocese, requested that an independent
congregation of women religious be founded in the newly established
diocese. Sister Mary Xavier Mehegan, a member of the New York
Sisters of Charity and a native of County Cork, Ireland, was
appointed to take charge of the new Motherhouse and Sister
Mary Catharine Nevin, also a member of the New York congregation
was designated to assist her. Both Sister Mary Xavier Mehegan
and Sister Mary Catharine Nevin had the option to return to
the New York community once the new congregation was established.
They chose to stay in New Jersey.
In 1860 a permanent
Motherhouse was established at Convent Station (then Madison),
New Jersey. In that same year the Academy of Saint Elizabeth
was opened on the Motherhouse grounds with the College of
Saint Elizabeth following thirty-nine years later.
Before the death
of Mother Mary Xavier in 1915, elementary and secondary schools
were opened, as well as hospitals and other social institutions
for the care of those in need. Apostolic works continued throughout
New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Eventually the congregation extended its works to China, Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, Bolivia, El Salvador, Alaska, Arizona,
Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska,
Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
