134:. Her mother died the next year and her father later deserted the children due to the stress of financial obligations. An uncle and aunt, Thomas and Elizabeth Spalding Elder, raised the five Spalding children with their own ten children. At age 16, Catherine Spalding moved in with her cousins, Richard and Clementina Elder Clark, living there for three years. According to Spalding, the Elders and Clarks provided her with a stable home life, a religious faith, the skills for pioneer homemaking and health care, and the basics of education. She also developed a passion to care for other children orphaned by death or desertion,
33:
261:
children, directed
Sisters and lay assistants, collaborated with professional men and their wives. Spalding was often seen on the streets in Louisville, visiting businesses to solicit donations or attending to the poor in their homes. It was said that "Every orphan in the city claims you as their mother."
196:
At St. Thomas, the
Sisters initially performed farm work, domestic work for the priests and seminarians, and visited the sick. While Carrico had very little education and no apparent aptitude for teaching, her farming, cooking, and housekeeping skills enabled the community to thrive. Over time, three
256:
and house them at the
Sisters' house behind the church. Spalding later raised funding to build a separate house for 25 orphans. Within three years, Spalding was forced to purchase a larger building for the increased number of orphans. In 1832, this facility became known as St. Vincent Orphanage. She
273:
by the members of SCN. Other
Sisters collaborated with her council, and numerous clergy and lay persons worked to establish the three main ministries that Kentuckians lacked. From 1838 on, Spalding served two more terms in leadership. When Bishop Flaget attempted to merge SCN in Kentucky with the
260:
When not running her institutions, Spalding would return to St. Vincent
Orphanage. With the rise in immigration from Ireland and Germany in the 1840s, the orphanage was seeing more children. As superior of the orphanage—"the only place on earth to which my heart clings"—she accepted hundreds of
285:. In 1843, Spalding opened the first free school in Louisville. Spalding eventually moved the St. Joseph Infirmary into its own building so that the St. Vincent orphanage could expand. Between 1854 and 1855, she directed construction of the church and new academy at Nazareth.
239:
in the basement of St. Louis Church in
Louisville. The school served children of all income levels. Presentation Academy later moved from the basement into several houses on Fifth Street. It is today the oldest school in Louisville. In 1829, when Louisville experienced a
218:
In 1814, Spalding helped establish a girls school on St. Thomas Farm. Its students included paying and non-paying boarders, along with resident orphans. The St. Thomas community grew and in 1822 moved to a larger property in
469:
328:
In 2015, a statue of
Spalding was unveiled in Louisville, the first statue of a historic woman in public space in the city. It is located at the parish office on South Fifth Street downtown.
1029:
391:
623:
278:, she successfully opposed it. The other Sisters did not want the merger and Spalding believed that a distant administrator in Maryland would hinder their work in Kentucky.
325:
in
Louisville is named after Spalding. The Spalding Family Scholarship was established in 1967 by Hughes Spalding and is awarded annually to a student with financial need.
1014:
38:
431:
1019:
351:
223:. The girls school became known as Nazareth Academy. It soon developed a reputation as one of the best-known schools for young women in the region outside of
311:
Spalding has been called the founder of social work in
Kentucky. She founded Nazareth Academy (1814), St. Vincent's Academy (1820), St. Catherine's Academy in
554:
1024:
522:
459:
177:
In 1812, David sought volunteers to begin a women's religious community in
Kentucky to serve the Catholic children of the region. It came to be called the
100:. She pioneered education, health services and social services for girls and orphans in Louisville and other Kentucky cities. On January 6, 2003, the
616:
592:
Schaunger, J. Herman. "Catherine Spaulding," in Notable American Women, Volume Three. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971.
609:
356:
403:
315:(1823), Presentation Academy (1831), St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum (1832), St. Joseph's Hospital (1836), and St. Francis' School at
1039:
1034:
678:
582:
Doyle, Mary Ellen, SCN. Pioneer Spirit: Catherine Spalding, Sister of Charity of Nazareth. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 2006.
178:
97:
423:
598:
Saia, Grace, SCN. Catherine Spalding, Woman of Kentucky. Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, 2013. For elementary school age.
185:, to join with Teresa Carrico and Elizabeth Wells in establishing the new religious community. David gave the women the
96:, (December 23, 1793 – March 20, 1858) was an American educator who was a co-founder and longtime mother superior of the
544:
227:. Nazareth offered instruction in the usual "ladies' accomplishments" along with a curriculum of arts and sciences.
595:
Spillane, James Maria, SCN. Kentucky Spring. Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, 1968. For middle and high school age.
361:
663:
526:
235:
By 1828, SCN had begun caring for homeless elderly clients. In 1831, Spalding and three other SCN members opened
181:(SCN). In January 1813, the 19-year-old Spalding, accompanied by her uncle, arrived at St. Thomas Seminary farm in
111:
102:
928:
838:
632:
938:
688:
683:
127:
67:
783:
948:
778:
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182:
159:
146:
in 1783, over 1,000 Catholic families moved to Kentucky from Maryland. Two of the local religious leaders,
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883:
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843:
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42:
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To care for abandoned immigrant children, Spalding would pick them up on arrival at the Louisville
143:
166:, the two clerics wanted to establish a school in Kentucky that was similar to one established by
978:
220:
162:
realized that these families needed schools and teachers for their children. Both members of the
16:
Elected leader of six women forming a new religious community, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth
888:
878:
833:
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728:
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123:
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more women joined them, which allowed for the formal establishment of the community as a
32:
973:
923:
305:
998:
953:
673:
648:
983:
968:
893:
823:
818:
768:
186:
848:
693:
668:
224:
918:
708:
163:
107:
492:
758:
601:
549:
493:"Pioneer Spirit: Catherine Spalding, Sister of Charity of Nazareth (review)"
289:
106:
named Spalding as the only woman among sixteen "most influential people in
508:
275:
392:"Catherine Spalding: co-foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth"
281:
In 1842, Spalding sent several Sisters to establish institutions in the
257:
later opened St. Joseph Infirmary in part of the orphanage building.
37:
Bronze statue of Catherine Spalding by Raymond Graf in front of the
579:
Coon, Margaret Maria, SCN. Her Spirit Lives. Nazareth, KY, 2007.
253:
304:
that cares for the sick, poor, and orphaned; and advocates for
605:
424:"Women's History – Catherine Spalding, Educational Pioneer"
292:
while working with the sick. She died on March 20, 1858.
396:
Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice
122:
Catherine Spalding was born on December 23, 1793, in
308:
in five nations in North America, Asia, and Africa.
244:, SCN started nursing poor victims of the disease.
73:
54:
49:
23:
269:Spalding was elected to several six-year terms as
545:"Louisville's first statue of a woman unveiled"
460:"Catherine Spalding: A legacy worth preserving"
617:
385:
383:
381:
379:
8:
1030:Religious leaders from Louisville, Kentucky
453:
451:
449:
390:Shaughnessy, Mary Angela SCN (March 2006).
624:
610:
602:
587:Catherine Spalding, SCN: A Life in Letters
20:
1015:19th-century American Roman Catholic nuns
417:
415:
413:
491:McGuinness, Margaret M (May 29, 2007).
345:
343:
341:
337:
538:
536:
589:. University Press of Kentucky, 2016.
434:from the original on December 9, 2022
352:"Catherine Spalding, SCN (1793–1858)"
7:
1020:People from Charles County, Maryland
201:. Spalding was elected as its first
1025:People from Nelson County, Kentucky
130:. At age four, her family moved to
557:from the original on June 29, 2016
14:
543:Duncan, Desirae (July 26, 2015).
472:from the original on May 29, 2024
31:
357:National Women's History Museum
193:as was followed in Emmitsburg.
679:Madeline McDowell Breckinridge
497:The Catholic Historical Review
422:Freund, John (March 6, 2014).
179:Sisters of Charity of Nazareth
138:Sisters of Charity of Nazareth
98:Sisters of Charity of Nazareth
1:
664:Nelda Lambert Barton-Collings
288:In 1858, Spalding contracted
402:(3): 334–345. Archived from
300:SCN is now an international
839:Beula Cornelius Aspley Nunn
39:Cathedral of the Assumption
1056:
939:Julia Ann Hieronymus Tevis
103:Louisville Courier-Journal
689:Sally Shallenberger Brown
639:
633:Kentucky Women Remembered
511:– via Project MUSE.
30:
784:Marie Caldwell Humphries
684:Mary Carson Breckinridge
128:Charles County, Maryland
68:Charles County, Maryland
1040:Catholics from Kentucky
1035:Catholics from Maryland
949:Harriet Drury Van Meter
779:Nelle Pitcock Horlander
350:Doyle, Mary Ellen SCN.
183:Nelson County, Kentucky
132:Nelson County, Kentucky
934:Caroline Burnam Taylor
854:Katherine Graham Peden
814:Lucille Caudill Little
789:Louise Gilman Hutchins
739:Alice Allison Dunnigan
406:on September 26, 2013.
274:Sisters of Charity in
199:religious congregation
168:Elizabeth Bayley Seton
50:Foundress and educator
944:Jeannette Bell Thomas
884:Sarah Felt Richardson
859:Mary T. Meagher Plant
699:Claire Louise Caudill
523:"Spalding University"
509:10.1353/cat.2007.0286
248:St. Vincent Orphanage
142:After the end of the
969:Mary Eugenia Wharton
869:Lillian Henken Press
864:Georgia Davis Powers
844:Clara Sanford Oldham
829:Michael Leo Mullaney
809:Katherine G. Langley
799:Grace Marilynn James
744:Mary Elliott Flanery
719:Martha Layne Collins
694:Willa Beatrice Brown
458:Delahanty, Dolores.
283:Diocese of Nashville
237:Presentation Academy
231:Presentation Academy
172:Emmitsburg, Maryland
83:Louisville, Kentucky
43:Louisville, Kentucky
874:Sarah Frances Price
774:Julia Britton Hooks
754:Mary Peterson Gregg
585:Doyle, Mary Ellen.
465:The Courier-Journal
364:on November 8, 2016
323:Spalding University
317:Owensboro, Kentucky
313:Lexington, Kentucky
144:American Revolution
979:Doris Y. Wilkinson
909:Catherine Spalding
724:Jane Todd Crawford
529:on March 29, 2013.
221:Nazareth, Kentucky
160:John Baptist David
90:Catherine Spalding
25:Catherine Spalding
992:
991:
964:Judy Moberly West
834:Jacqueline Noonan
734:Dolores Delahanty
729:Emma Guy Cromwell
659:Hannah Hume Baird
654:Mary Willie Arvin
164:Sulpician Society
87:
86:
65:December 23, 1793
1047:
914:Louise Southgate
904:Lucy Harth Smith
749:Lois Howard Gray
714:Rosemary Clooney
626:
619:
612:
603:
567:
566:
564:
562:
540:
531:
530:
525:. Archived from
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479:
477:
455:
444:
443:
441:
439:
419:
408:
407:
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360:. Archived from
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242:cholera epidemic
214:Nazareth Academy
112:Jefferson County
80:
64:
62:
35:
21:
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899:Verna Mae Slone
804:Mae Street Kidd
794:Margaret Ingels
764:Josephine Henry
704:Anna Mac Clarke
644:Lilialyce Akers
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574:Further reading
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302:religious order
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271:mother superior
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265:Mother superior
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216:
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203:Mother Superior
191:Vincent de Paul
148:Benedict Flaget
140:
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94:Mother Spalding
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974:Esther Whitley
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503:(3): 721–722.
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306:social justice
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81:(aged 64)
77:March 20, 1858
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674:Carolyn Bratt
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649:Sophia Alcorn
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428:FAMVIN NewsEN
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984:Enid Yandell
929:Carol Sutton
908:
894:Jean Ritchie
824:Loretta Lynn
819:Crit Luallen
769:Allie Hixson
586:
559:. Retrieved
548:
527:the original
517:
500:
496:
486:
474:. Retrieved
463:
436:. Retrieved
427:
404:the original
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366:. Retrieved
362:the original
355:
327:
321:
310:
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287:
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268:
259:
251:
234:
217:
195:
187:Rule of Life
176:
141:
121:
101:
93:
89:
88:
79:(1858-03-20)
18:
1010:1858 deaths
1005:1793 births
849:Judi Patton
669:Anne Braden
225:New Orleans
92:, known as
999:Categories
919:Ann Stokes
889:Joan Riehm
879:Lyda Ramey
709:Laura Clay
368:January 8,
332:References
118:Early life
114:history."
108:Louisville
61:1793-12-23
759:Eula Hall
290:pneumonia
156:Bardstown
555:Archived
470:Archived
432:Archived
319:(1850).
276:Maryland
209:Ministry
561:May 28,
476:May 29,
438:May 28,
124:Pomfret
296:Legacy
158:, and
152:Bishop
150:, the
254:wharf
563:2024
550:WAVE
478:2024
440:2024
370:2015
74:Died
55:Born
505:doi
189:of
170:in
154:of
41:in
1001::
553:.
547:.
535:^
501:93
499:.
495:.
468:.
462:.
448:^
430:.
426:.
412:^
398:.
394:.
378:^
354:.
340:^
205:.
174:.
126:,
625:e
618:t
611:v
565:.
507::
480:.
442:.
400:9
372:.
110:/
63:)
59:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
