Capture Persons Of Color And Religious At The Same Time: The Oblate Sisters Of Providence, 1828-1860 Composed By Diane Batts Morrow Disseminated As Paper Copy

profoundly insightful study of a truly unique American antebellum Roman Catholic sisterhood is eyeopening, The courage and accomplishments of these women are amazing given the trifold hostility and

prejudice they encountered as women, Black, and Catholic professed religious in a society dominated overwhelmingly by white Protestant men.


I had not heard of the Oblate Sisters and their mission prior to reading sitelinkSecret Habits: Catholic Literacy Education for Women in the Early Nineteenth Century.
After reading this book, it appears that one reason the Oblates' accomplishments are not widely known is because they have been routinely understated, There are a number of reasons for this, including the reluctance of white Catholic sponsors at the time to publicize a mission that would be so roundly opposed by most Marylanders, who were suspicious of educating Black people.
Early Oblates' own humble and positive attitudes in their records and writings ascribed more to the efforts of individuals like Louis Deluol and Archbishop Eccleston than can actually be supported by those men's writings there were long stretches where the Sisters were pretty much on their own.
Finally, some historians have neglected evidence for the contributions of the Black Baltimore community on behalf of the Sisters, while focusing on their white patrons.


Such a thorough and wellevidenced examination of how racism and sexism has obscured the events of history is instructive for thinking about all the things we learn about the past.
It is inspiring to see how, by examining primary sources about a lesserknown organization, we can learn about new heroes and new positive, courageous, saintly struggles.


My few desiderata about the book are largely from an editorial perspective, Some statements and quotations are repeated, It is difficult to follow the identities of a group of women who habitually adopted new names upon making religious vows unless a clear approach to naming conventions is adopted or a list of personages is made available as a sort of key especially when half the women adopt the name "Mary" or "Therese" in some form, and many of the early members belonged to three families.
Finally, I would love it if the conclusion had given a brief outline of the later history of the order after, or guidance on where to seek that kind of information.
Founded in Baltimore inby a French Sulpician priest and a mulatto Caribbean immigrant, the Oblate Sisters of Providence formed the first permanent African American Roman Catholic sisterhood in the United States.
It still exists today. Exploring the antebellum history of this pioneering sisterhood, Diane Batts Morrow demonstrates the centrality of race in the Oblate experience,

By their very existence, the Oblate Sisters challenged prevailing social, political, and cultural attitudes on many levels, White society viewed women of color as lacking in moral standing and sexual virtue at the same time, the sisters' vows of celibacy flew in the face of conventional female roles as wives and mothers.
But the Oblate Sisters' religious commitment proved both liberating and empowering, says Morrow, They inculcated into their communal consciousness positive senses of themselves as black women and as women religious, Strengthened by their spiritual fervor, the sisters defied the inferior social status white society ascribed to them and the ambivalence the Catholic Church demonstrated toward them.
They successfully persevered in dedicating themselves to spiritual practice in the Roman Catholic tradition and their mission to educate black children during the era of slavery.
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