The Catholic Sun writes…Arizona Catholics have been served by the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill since 1933. Sr. Barbara Einloth traces the order’s ministry in the Grand Canyon State.
It’s been 80 years since the first Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill brought their educational, parish and outreach ministries from Greensburg, Pennsylvania to Arizona. They continue their active engagement in Tucson and Phoenix today.
The sisters’ commitment to the Church of the Southwest has been multifaceted. It expressed itself in education (kindergarten through high school), catechetics, work with Native American tribes and Hispanic communities, at the diocesan level, in pastoral ministry, outreach, music and liturgy, hospital chaplaincy, art, Hispanic deacon formation, care for the earth, counseling and social work. They have consistently shared the Gospel in myriad ways, impelled by the love of Christ.
Their work in Tucson took them to eight parishes and elementary schools plus Salpointe High School and the St. Nicholas of Myra Child and Family Centers. The Sisters of Charity provided pastoral counseling in Miami and Globe, catechetical services at the School for the Blind and hospital chaplaincy at Holy Cross, Nogales.
In the Phoenix Diocese, Sisters of Charity ministered at:
- Seton Catholic Preparatory High School — where one still serves as a tutor — and St. Mary-Basha Catholic School in Chandler
- St. Theresa, St. Catherine, St. Vincent de Paul, Most Holy Trinity, St. Stephen Byzantine, St. Martin de Porres and St. Matthew parishes in Phoenix
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the Old Adobe Mission, and St. Daniel the Prophet parishes in Scottsdale
- Queen of Peace in Mesa
- Resurrection and St. Margaret in Tempe
- Our Lady of Guadalupe in Guadalupe
- St. John Vianney in Sedona
- St. Henry in Buckeye
At the diocesan level, Sisters served at Kino Institute, the Malta Center and Mount Claret Retreat Center, as Chancellor of the Phoenix Diocese and Superintendent of Schools in Tucson. And beyond Church-based programs, they lent support to Fr. William Wasson’s orphanage in Mexico, provided GED training through Phoenix Job Corps, offered counseling in Casa Grande, and social work at the Ocotillo cotton workers camp. Through the years, a wide range of Sisters worked with the Pima, Apache, Tohono O’dham, Maricopa and Yaqui Nations, in various catechetical and educational endeavors.
Currently sisters of Charity direct the Ministry of Care and an Infant Baptism program at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Scottsdale and tutor at Seton Catholic High School. In Tucson, sisters lend their skills and commitment to Salpointe High School, the Office of Vicar for Religious, women in Bible study, English Skills students at Pima Community College and the University of Arizona Medical Center. Celebrating the long tradition of which they are a part, they continue to serve the Church of Arizona because, in the words of their motto, “The Charity of Christ Urges Us.”
Editor’s Note:
Other Catholic Sun headlines mentioning the Sisters of Charity:
- Sr. Lindena Grace, 39, shared her vocation story and advice as she prepared for perpetual vows in August 2012.
- Profile of the ‘irreplaceable’ principal who retired from St. Mary-Basha Catholic School in Chandler in June 2012.
Tags: Seton Hill, Sisters of Charity
