The Albany Province is celebrating two major anniversaries this year – the 375th anniversary of the founding of our religious order in France and the 167th year of our service to Upstate New York.
At our Provincial House in Latham, New York, more than 100 sisters gathered on June 14 to celebrate our congregation’s pioneering past and our future, with a special Mass, reflections and a social gathering. Celebrations were also held on June 17 for our sisters living at Teresian House and on June 23 for all staff working at the Provincial House.
Our province, whose sisters serve the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Albany and Syracuse, was established on April 15, 1858, when four sisters arrived in Oswego, New York from St. Louis, Missouri.
Six years later, our sisters established the first provincial house in Troy, New York, to serve in the eastern and central regions of the state. As teachers and administrators, our sisters helped to establish the region’s Catholic school system. Our province founded The College of Saint Rose, St. Mary’s Hospital in Amsterdam, and St. Mary’s School of Nursing. We also sponsored The Carondelet Education Center and The Carondelet Music Center, and we currently sponsor Shaker Pointe at Carondelet.
In the 1970s, our sisters began to serve as religious education directors, pastoral associates and parish life directors in many Catholic parishes. Today, we teach at the high school and college level, minister to the poor, hungry, elderly, unemployed and incarcerated, assist immigrants and refugees, and advocate for social justice and environmental protection.
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