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
Catherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
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
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. 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
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
and
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
.
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)