The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known by its initials BVM, is a Catholic religious institute founded in the United States by Mother Mary Frances Clarke. The BVM currently works in twenty-five U.S. states and three other countries.
Early history
In 1831, four Franciscan Tertiaries women in Dublin rented a small cottage and began an experiment in community living. Soon, the original four - Mary Frances Clarke, Margaret Mann, Rose O’Toole, and Eliza Kelly - were joined by another, Catherine Byrne.
Together, in March 1832, these five opened a school, Miss Clarke’s Seminary, for young girls on North Anne Street in Dublin. In 1833, they met Patrick Costello, a Catholic priest from Philadelphia. From him the five learned about the plight of the Irish Catholic immigrants in America. After prayerful consideration and Fr. Costello's agreement to make arrangements for their arrival in the US, the fellowship of women, except for O'Toole (who remained in Dublin long enough to settle a family estate) decided to leave their homeland to teach in Philadelphia. They arrived in New York in September 1833.
During the voyage, the women had entrusted their money to Kelly. As she was climbing down a rope ladder to depart the ship, the purse containing the money accidentally fell into the harbor.
Ms McDonough directed the group to Fr. Terence James Donaghoe, who had just been named pastor of the yet-to-be-built parish of St. Michael’s. After meeting the women, Fr. Donaghoe invited them to teach in his parish school, as soon as it was completed. In the interim, the women decided to open a school of their own, which they named Sacred Heart.
The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was officially founded on November 1, 1833. The group made an act of consecration as the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin. In this act, the band of women took one more step in becoming a formal community of women religious sisters within the Roman Catholic tradition. Fr. Donaghoe drafted a rule for the small community and subsequently became father director, while Clarke was named mother superior. For the next ten years, the sisters continued to teach as well as gain new members.
Iowa Territory
thumb|250px|Mount Carmel, the Motherhouse complex, in Dubuque
In 1843, Bishop Mathias Loras of the Diocese of Dubuque, Iowa, who had been visiting Philadelphia, invited the sisters to come teach in the Iowa Territory. The pioneer BVMs, by then nineteen in number, moved to Dubuque, Iowa, The BVMs opened a number of schools throughout the city, including St. Mary’s and Immaculata High Schools.
In 1885, the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, formerly a diocesan community, became a pontifical congregation.
Continued growth
thumb|left|300px|Historic view of Clarke College in Dubuque
Since the beginning, education had been the dominant charism of the BVM community. This continued as the sisterhood grew. Over the next several decades, community leaders directed significant resources on improving the education of the sisters, who were responsible for teaching a large number of students. The following year, construction began for another college, Mundelein College in Chicago. This school remained open until 1991, when it became part of Loyola University. During this time, the community continued to focus on the education of both the students, and the teaching sisters.
1937 saw the opening of a school in Memphis at which the sisters began working directly with the African American community. A few years later, in 1945 a small group of sisters opened a school in Hawaii, and by 1961 there were sisters serving in Latin America. With sisters serving in so many locations, the community developed into a well-networked educational system that spanned the country, from New York to California, and beyond.
In 1849 there was a fire at St. Joseph Prairie; there was a 1955 fire at the infirmary at the Dubuque motherhouse, a 1958 fire at Our Lady of the Angels (a BVM grammar school in Chicago), and a 1984 fire at Clarke College.
Previously the habit had a distinct cover in the shape of a horseshoe. The habit changed in 1959.
New era
1961 marked the beginning of a new era in the community and the construction of one of the last remaining BVM high schools. Carmel High School in Mundelein, Illinois was a joint project with the Carmelite Fathers.
In 1967, the Tenth General Chapter sought to respond to the invitations of the Second Vatican Council. The BVMs responded to the Council’s call to renewal. Their mission and ministry expanded around the globe and beyond the traditional field of education to include health care, pastoral services, and social justice.
Social action
The community has been actively involved in working for peace with justice. During the Civil Rights Movement, sisters participated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. A number of sisters participated in the annual demonstration at the School of the Americas/Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation each year. Sisters of Charity are on the staff of NETWORK and the 8th Day Center for Justice, a coalition of Catholic religious congregations striving for social change. BVM sisters and their associates collaborate with other women religious and advocacy organizations on issues such as immigration reform, human trafficking, opposition to the death penalty, and nonviolence, especially for women and children.