Sisters' college
A sisters' college is a college that primarily serves as a place for the education of future and current sisters and nuns. They are not to be confused with Catholic women's colleges, which are designed for general education programs and do not consider the education of nuns to be their focus.
Also known as "sister formation colleges," sisters' colleges are operated by congregations of religious women, such as the Sisters of Christian Charity or the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Catholic Sisters' College was founded and operated by The Catholic University of America located in Washington, D.C..[1][2] Historically, they have made at least some of their courses open to lay women, and also men in some cases. Most feature a convent on their premises.
Although previously prevalent across the United States, there is only one currently in operation there, that being the Assumption College for Sisters in Mendham, New Jersey. Catholic women's colleges now serve as the primary providers of education to nuns in the United States, while many of the former sisters' colleges provide campuses for convents and other religious institutions, or have been transitioned into K-12 schools.
List of sisters' colleges
The following is a list of current and historical sisters' colleges. Ones listed in bold are still in operation:
California
- Mount Alverno College, Redwood City (closed, date unknown)
- College of Our Lady of Mercy, Auburn and Burlingame (closed, date unknown)
- Pilarica College, Thousand Oaks (closed c. 1969)
- Presentation College, Los Gatos (closed in 1971)
- Queen of Holy Rosary College, Fremont, California (closed, date unknown)
Connecticut
- Diocesan Sisters College, Bloomfield (closed in 1969)
- College of Notre Dame, Wilton (closed in 1972)
- Mount Sacred Heart College, Hamden (closed in 1997)
- Our Lady of Angels College, Enfield
- Seat of Wisdom College, Litchfield (became interfaith retreat center in 1967)
District of Columbia
- Catholic Sisters' College, Washington, D.C. (closed in 1964)
Florida
- Saint Joseph College of Florida, Jensen Beach (began admitting lay students in 1967; closed in 1972)
Idaho
- College of Saint Gertrude, Cottonwood (closed c. 1997)
Illinois
- Immaculate Conception College (Illinois), Oconomowoc (closed, date unknown)
Indiana
- Saint Joseph Junior College, Tipton (closed, 1972)[3]
- Victory Noll College, Huntington (closed, date unknown)
Louisiana
- Mount Carmel Junior College, New Orleans (closed, date unknown)
- Saint Joseph Junior College, St. Benedict (closed, date unknown)
Massachusetts
- College of Saint Joseph, Boston (closed, date unknown)
- Regina Coeli College (Massachusetts), Fitchburg (closed in 1971)
Minnesota
- Saint Joseph Junior College, St. Paul (closed, date unknown)
Missouri
- Marillac College, St. Louis (closed in 1974)
Nebraska
- Servite College, Omaha (closed c. 1990s)
New Jersey
- Assumption College for Sisters, Mendham (still sisters' college)
- Englewood Cliffs College, Englewood Cliffs (closed in 1974)
- Felician College, Lodi - Opened in 1923; accepted lay students in 1964.[4]
- Our Lady of Princeton College, Princeton (closed c. 1980s)
New York
- Brentwood College, Brentwood (closed in 1971)
- Catherine McAuley College, Rochester (closed in 1971)
- College of Holy Names, Albany (closed in 1969)
- Mother Celine House of Studies, Castleton (closed in 1973)
- Saint Albert College, Middletown (closed, date unknown)
- Trocaire College, Buffalo (began admitting lay women in 1965)
North Dakota
- Sacred Heart Junior College, Fargo (closed, date unknown)
Pennsylvania
- Blessed Sacrament Junior College, Bensalem (closed, date unknown)
- La Roche College, Pittsburgh - Opened in 1963 as a sisters' college; accepted lay students in 1965.[5]
Rhode Island
- Mount Saint Joseph College, Wakefield (closed, date unknown)
South Dakota
- College of Saint Martin, Huron (closed, date unknown)
Texas
- Mary Immaculate College, Corpus Christi (closed in 1965)
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help Junior College, Houston (closed, date unknown)
Utah
- College of Saint Mary-of-the-Wasatch, Salt Lake City (closed in 1969)
Wisconsin
- Divine Savior College, Milwaukee (closed, date unknown)
- Holy Family College, Manitowoc (began admitting lay women in 1957)
- Mater Dolorosa College, Milwaukee (closed, date unknown)
- Viterbo University, La Crosse (began admitting lay women in 1934)
See also
References
- “Meetings of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Sisters College, 1914-1947, Vol. 1,” 13, American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives, The Catholic University of America, Catholic Sisters College Records, Box 1 Certificate of Incorporation (Carbon Copy), January 31, 1914
- “Minutes of the Meetings of the [CUA] Board of Trustees,” 23, “Abstract from Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic University of America,” April 15, 1914, American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives, The Catholic University of America
- Catholic Moment
- Archdiocese of Newark
- La Roche College Archived 2008-10-26 at the Wayback Machine