Mother Seton: The Paca Street Year
(1808-1809) Sister Betty Ann McNeil, D.C.
Rev. Louis W. Dubourg, a Sulpician priest and president of St. Mary’s College located at 600 North Paca Street, invited the Widow Seton to establish a school for girls on Paca Street in collaboration with the Society of Saint Sulpice at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. Mrs. Seton, a convert to Roman Catholicism, provided religious education to her pupils along with the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic. God soon called her to a life of consecration and service to the people of God as Mother Seton, foundress of the Sisters of Charity. Mother Seton: The Paca Street Year (1808-1809) will focus on the defining moments of call, discovery, and vocation of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Baltimore.
Sister Betty Ann McNeil, D.C., is Provincial Archivist for the Daughters of Charity Province of Emmitsburg (USA)
To listen to the lecture by Sr. Betty Ann McNeil, DC, click the play button below.
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Sister Betty Ann McNeil
Father Michael McGivney—
His Paca Street Years
By Father Rob Carbonneau, CP, Ph.D.
Father Michael McGivney (1852-1890)
St. Mary’s Class of 1877
Founder of the Knights of Columbus (1882)
Father McGivney established the Knights of Columbus
as a fraternal insurance society for his parish in 1882.
Promoting a unique blend of faith and fraternalism, the
Knights are distinguished by their deep loyalties to Catholicism
and the American experience. Today, the Knights have a
membership of over 1.7 million and support numerous
charitable activities.
Father Rob Carbonneau received his Ph.D. in American and East Asian history from Georgetown University. He is a member of the Executive Council of the American Catholic Historical Association, and is the current historian and director of the Passionist Historical Archives in Union City, New Jersey. Much of his research and publication is focused on Passionist history. His special area of study is 20th-century American Catholic missionaries in Hunan, China, and their relationship with the Chinese government, the U.S. State Department, and the Vatican.
To listen to the lecture by Father Carbonneau, click the play button below.
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Fr. Rob Carbonneau, CP
Fr. Michael McGivney
Mary in the French School of Spirituality By Father David D. Thayer, SS, Ph.D.
The French School of Spirituality The 17th century was the period of
transition between the Renaissance and the
Enlightenment. It witnessed the rise of the
great European power, the beginning of modern
science and the myriad inventions that changed age-old ways of life.
Seventeenth-century France saw the application
of the new spirit of exploration and analysis to matters
of the soul. Pierre de Berulle, John Eudes, Jean-Jacques
Olier (Founder of the Society of St. Sulpice) and Mother
Madeleine de Saint-Joseph left an indelible mark on the
history of Christian Spirituality in the West. Much of our
current understanding of “spirituality” has its beginnings
with these authors. —Dr. William Thompson
Fr. David Thayer, SS
Fr. Peter Wm. Gray, SS
Father David Thayer, S.S., Ph.D., is currently on the formation staff at Theological College of The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He holds a doctorate in Philosophy from Pennsylvania State University. Father.Thayer is also a member of General Administration of the Society of St. Sulpice and is editor of the Bulletin de Saint-Sulpice. He has spoken and published on the French School of Spirituality. Following the lecture is an art exhibit
Father Peter Gray, S.S., Ph.D., Sulpician artist will present
his new and original work, "The Presentation of Mary
in the Temple," which will be housed in the newly renovated Chapel at Paca Street. The chapel was dedicated to this Marian feast and it is fitting that a new and classcial image of this ancient theological belief be given
to this prestigious historical American Catholic site.
The French School of Spirituality
