As we celebrate National Catholic Sisters Week, we honor the Sisters whose shoulders we stand on, who worked tirelessly with the Archdiocese and Catholic laity to serve the people of New York and beyond. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s final words to her sisters urged them to be united, to be faithful, and to be daughters of the church. Sisters of Charity treasure these words as her legacy to us and to the church of New York.

Sister Mary Fuller, SC, was elected to a six-year term as Mother General in 1954. With simplicity, sincerity, and the essential integrity of a woman of prayer, she lived out the ideals she held out to others. The archdiocesan building program begun by Cardinal Spellman gained momentum each year. New convents and schools, increased facilities for hospitals and other institutions were erected in rapid succession. Mother Mary’s administration was marked by nineteen dedications of new buildings under the charge of the Sisters of Charity. Mother Mary built the Convent of Mary the Queen as a home for sisters no longer on mission. “The Queen,” as it became known, opened in 1958.

Missions During Mother Mary Fuller’s Leadership

1954: St. Brigid’s School, Manhattan
1954: New Clinic, Nassau, Bahamas

Sisters join in prayer in the newly dedicated chapel in the Convent of Mary the Queen, 1958.

1955: Holy Rosary School, Staten Island

1956: York Catholic H.S., York, PA
1956: St. Cecilia’s School, Nassau, Bahamas

1958: Convent of Mary the Queen, Yonkers
1958: Our Lady Star of the Sea School, Staten Island

1959: Cardinal Spellman HS, Bronx
1959: St. Ann’s School, Yonkers
1959: Convent of Mary the Ocean Star, Ventnor, NJ
1959: Our Lady of the Angelus School, Rego Park, Queens