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Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America

Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America is a traveling exhibition depicting the innovative, action-oriented and altruistic women whose passion for justice helped shape our nation’s social and cultural landscape. Since first arriving in America nearly 300 years ago, sisters built schools, colleges, hospitals, orphanages, homeless shelters, and many other enduring social institutions. As nurses, teachers, and social workers, sisters entered professional ranks decades earlier than most other women and established landmark institutions that continue to serve millions of Americans from all walks of life. The untold story of these unsung heroes is now recounted, documenting a vital and significant perspective of American history.

Learn more about this exhibit at http://www.womenandspirit.org

The House of Representatives honors the social, cultural, and political contributions of Catholic sisters in the United States.

Resolution 441 currently in the House of Representatives honors the social, cultural, and political contributions of Catholic sisters who have played a vital role in shaping life in the United States. The resolution lists a number of interesting facts including:

• Whereas Catholic sisters established the Nation’s largest private school system and founded more than 110 United States colleges and universities, educating millions of young people in the United States;
   
• Whereas there were approximately 32,000 Catholic sisters in the United States who taught 400,000 children in 2,000 parochial schools by 1880, and there were 180,000 Catholic sisters who taught nearly 4,500,000 children by 1965;
   
• Whereas today, there are approximately 59,000 Catholic sisters in the United States;

Click here to read the other interesting facts in H. Res. 441: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc111/hr441_eh.xml