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The Dominican
Congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...
of
Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General Roma ...
, better known as the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, is an
institute An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...
of
religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pr ...
s of the
Third Order of Saint Dominic The Third Order of Saint Dominic ( la, Tertius Ordo Praedicatorum; abbreviated TOP), also referred to as the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic or Lay Dominicans since 1972, is a Roman Catholic third order affiliated with the Dominican Order. Lay ...
based in
Sparkill, New York Sparkill, formerly known as Tappan Sloat, is a suburban hamlet and census-designated place in the Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Palisades; east of Tappan; south of Piermont and west of the Hudso ...
, which was founded in 1876. The congregation developed to care for indigent women but now works primarily in education as well.


History

The congregation was established through the charitable work of two sisters, Alice Mary and Lucy Thorpe, who had emigrated from England and settled in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. They converted from the
Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
in which they had been raised to the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. Becoming aware of the needs of poor and homeless women in the city, they began to serve their needs. Eventually the Thorpe sisters resolved to commit themselves more formally to this service by embracing
religious life Consecrated life (also known as religious life) is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more exacting way. It includes those in institutes of consecrated life (religious and se ...
, and they established the congregation on May 6, 1876, under the leadership of Alice Mary, who took the
religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should ...
of Mother
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M. Antoninus, O.S.D. She led the congregation for the next twenty years. During this period, the focus of the Sisters' work shifted from caring from adults to childcare, with the opening of St. Joseph Home. After the death of Alice Mary on 2 March 1879, her sister became the prioress but resigned as she lacked the administrative skills. On 9 April 1880, the community had repeated failed ballots to elect a successor, leading to the archbishop's vicar general, Monsignor William Quinn, appointing Margaret Dowling, Sister Mary Dominic, prioress for three years. At the time she was a lay sister and the convent's cook. This appointment led to 14 of the 22 members leaving, with just 8 professed sisters remaining, all of whom had Irish surnames. Dowling was considered the re-founder of the order at this point and on 11 August 1880 applied for the incorporation of the Dominican Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary. Due to the impoverished state of the community in 1880, Quinn banned the admission of any new members until the community was financially secure. Under Dowling's leadership, that ban was lifted in 1882, and by 1895 the community had grown to 71 professed sisters, 15 novices and postulants. In 1884 the Sisters determined to move the children under their care and opened St. Agnes Home for Boys on the grounds of their
motherhouse A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute. It would normally be where the residence and offices of the religious superior In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at ...
in the rural town of Sparkill. They also opened St. Agatha Home in
Nanuet, New York Nanuet is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. The third largest hamlet in Clarkstown, it is located north of Pearl River, south of New City, east of Spring Valley, and west o ...
. Both facilities closed in the mid-1970s. The Sisters also began to work in education, teaching in various
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
es of the
Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...
in which they were based, especially in
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, with its marked development during the 1920s. One example of this work was St. Martin's Academy which they opened in 1900 to serve the children of St. Martin of Tours Parish. When the parish opened its own
parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...
in 1922, the Sisters converted the facility into a two-year business school to train young women, who were being offered a new range of careers in the years after
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. A decade later, the decision was made that providing a good secondary education would be of more help to young women. The existing building was demolished to comply with the demands of the New York
Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual col ...
and Aquinas High School was opened in September 1939. With the population growth of the suburban area surrounding New York City,
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
Francis Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliary ...
asked the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill to provide greater educational opportunity to the children of
Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...
. To answer this request, they opened Albertus Magnus High School in
Bardonia, New York Bardonia is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located northeast of Nanuet, northwest of West Nyack, south of New City, and west of Valley Cottage. The population was ...
in 1957. The Dominican Sisters of Sparkill also serve at Catholic schools in
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,
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,
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and
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. The Sisters opened schools in Pakistan in 1958, where they have worked together with the Dominican
friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
s since then.


Current status

The Dominican Sisters have expanded into a number of other forms of service, including providing senior housing on the grounds of the motherhouse in Sparkill. Today they number some 350 women. In 2011, the Sisters entered into an agreement with
Scenic Hudson Scenic Hudson is a non-profit environmental organization in New York that protects land, creates, and enhances parks, and advocates for environmentally responsible policies and development practices. History Scenic Hudson was founded as the Scen ...
, a not-for-profit environmental organization, to create "the Falling Waters Preserve" on land near Glasco in the town of Saugerties. The property, owned by the sisters since the 1930s, had been used as a vacation and retreat site. Three miles of trails, with benches and gazebos, were added to enhance public use. The Esopus Creek Conservancy assisted with trail design and maintenance. At the end of the five-year agreement, the sisters sold 149 acres to Scenic Hudson so that the Preserve would be shared and maintained in perpetuity.


Educational institutions

;Secondary * Albertus Magnus High School,
Bardonia, New York Bardonia is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located northeast of Nanuet, northwest of West Nyack, south of New City, and west of Valley Cottage. The population was ...
* Aquinas High School,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
* St. Edmund Preparatory School,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
(sponsored 1932-1986) ;Tertiary * St. Thomas Aquinas College,
Sparkill, New York Sparkill, formerly known as Tappan Sloat, is a suburban hamlet and census-designated place in the Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Palisades; east of Tappan; south of Piermont and west of the Hudso ...


References

{{Authority control Sparkill Catholic teaching orders Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century Religious organizations established in 1876 1876 establishments in New York (state)