Leadership and Provinces

Following the Teachings of Elizabeth Ann Seton

Provinces

Provinces are established to extend the charism of charity and service in response to the needs of the church and society in particular geographic areas. The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill are one congregation with a Korean Province established in 1992 and a United States Province established in 2001. Provinces elect their leadership teams, and a general leadership team oversees both provinces in the congregation.

The three leadership teams meet regularly to provide opportunities for communication and information exchange regarding the congregation. They participate in strategic planning for the congregation and plan accordingly to respond to the needs of the times.

Servant Leadership

Called together in charity for service in the church, we follow Jesus’ example of servant leadership in our congregation.

General Council

The general superior is the servant of all (United States and Korean Provinces) and their leader. Her role is pastoral and administrative, exercised in service to the church, the congregation, and each sister. Her council assists her.

Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill General Councilors standing left to right are Councilors Sisters Yongson Kim, SC, Kwangshim Oh, SC, Barbara Einloth, SC, and General Superior, Sister Carole Marie Blazina, SC.

The Generalate, Seton House International, is located in Bethel Park, PA.

Visit the Sisters of Charity Generalate Website

United States Provincial Council

The United States Province is governed by a provincial superior assisted by her council.
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Provincial Councilors standing left to right: Sister Donna Marie Leiden, Provincial Councilor/Vice President; Sister Rachel Blais, Provincial Councilor; Sister Eileen Johnston, Provincial Councilor/Secretary; Sister Mary Norbert Long, Provincial Superior/President.

Administrative offices are located at DePaul Center in Greensburg, PA.

Korean Provinical Council

Front row: Sisters Sun He Kang, Son He Lee (Provinical Superior)
Back row: Sisters Kyoung Sun Seo, Sun He Kim, In Ock Kim

Korean Province

In 1959, Archbishop Harold Henry visited Seton Hill with the aim of establishing a Catholic high school in South Korea. His request was met enthusiastically, and ninety sisters volunteered to go to Korea. Four sisters were selected for the mission: Sisters Mary Agnes Carey, Mary Noreen Lacey, Martin de Porres Knock, and Alice Ruane. They embarked on a month-long journey aboard The California Bear from San Francisco on October 6, 1960. These missionary sisters were “open to the Church’s appeal and ready to respond wherever the Church most needed them.” (Constitutions of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill)

For more than sixty years, the South Korean ministries have served people in various fields, including education, pastoral ministry, social service, spiritual formation, and developmentally disabled and blind children. In response to the invitations, the Korean Province extended its ministries to China in 1997 and to Ecuador in 2008. 

Visit the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Korean Province website, translations are available through your browser’s settings.

Interculturality

Sisters from the Korean and United States provinces join together in an Interprovincial Experience of Charism and Mission (IECM). The program starts with presentations, reflection, prayer, and sharing of our charism, heritage, and traditions as Sisters of Charity. After that, the participants travel to Ecuador to volunteer in Pedro Carbo.

Sisters in the United States Province can volunteer in Korea for months, a year, or even longer to teach English as a second language to the sisters and students there. They can also engage in basic English conversation with them. Conversely, sisters from the Korean Province come to the United States to further their education, minister in parishes, or serve the sick and infirm sisters at Caritas Christi. This intercultural exchange allows sisters from both provinces to learn more about each other’s cultures, enriching their lives as they encounter their similarities and differences. They are grateful to God for the blessing of one another as they continue to grow into an international congregation.

Sisters of Charity Federation of North America

The Sisters of Charity Federation is an organization of thirteen religious congregations of women who share a common heritage traced back to Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint Louise de Marillac, and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. These congregations work together in the charity mission, following the Vincentian-Setonian tradition responding to the cries of people living in poverty and on the margins.

Members of the Sisters of Charity Federation

  • Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
  • Les Religieuses de Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur
  • Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati (Ohio)
  • Sisters of Charity of Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada)
  • Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception (St. John, New Brunswick, Canada )
  • Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (Kansas)
  • Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (Kentucky)
  • Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth (Convent Station, New Jersey)
  • Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy (Charleston, South Carolina)
  • Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul (New York City )
  • Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill (Greensburg, PA)
  • Sisters of St. Martha (Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada)
  • Sisters of St. Martha of Prince Edward Island

Read more at the Sisters of Charity Federation website.