Weaving Hope
The Religious of Jesus and Mary in the United States, 1877–2017
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
Weaving Hope is a narrative history of one group of Catholic women religious in the United States. From Quebec, Canada, in 1877 the Religious of Jesus and Mary arrived as missionaries to teach children of French-Canadian immigrants in textile industries of New England. Their ministry spread to New York, Maryland, the South, and the West. Primarily educators, they directed academies and parish schools. In the South and Southwest, they added pastoral outreach to their educational ministry. With few resources, the sisters overcame diverse challenges to create a network of service from coast to coast. This book presents the challenges they faced from local hierarchy and clergy, as well as ethnic prejudices, language difficulties, classism, and financial insecurity. Their faith and bold courage are displayed in this vibrant tapestry of a small but significant piece of women's history in our nation.
Janice Farnham, RJM, is the historian of her USA-Haiti Province. For several years, she was a professor of modern Catholic history at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, and at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her publications include articles on the history of women religious and translations of early texts of her congregation. A presenter at assemblies of various congregations, she has also taught the early history of the Religious of Jesus and Mary to international members in Rome, Pakistan, and India.
“Sisters are my heroes, and this marvelous new book shows why. A vivid portrait of an absolutely remarkable group of women, told with an historian’s skill and a writer’s talent for storytelling. Janice Farnham, RJM, demonstrates tremendous flair as she delves through the history of one of the most incredible of all women’s religious orders and, in the process, brings to life centuries of pioneering spirits and generous hearts.”
—James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage and Learning to Pray
“In Weaving Hope, historian Janice Farnham recounts the saga of her congregation’s American mission, starting with the immigrant sisters who educated countless immigrant children with minimal resources, and continuing into the twenty-first century. The unique experience of the Religious of Jesus and Mary in the United States is also a significant chapter of a larger American story involving the tens of thousands of women religious who have made an enormous contribution to our social fabric.”
—Leslie Choquette, Professor of History and Director of the French Institute, Assumption University
“Sr. Janice Farnham, RJM, serves up a moving narrative of the ministries of the Religious of Jesus and Mary undertaken in the US over the past 140 years. Peppered with illustrative anecdotes, Weaving Hope brings to life an inspiring story that needs to be heard, the story of the courage, perseverance, and fidelity of the daughters of St. Claudine in serving the gospel in changing times and needs.”
—Thomas D. Stegman, SJ, Dean and Professor of New Testament, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry
“Weaving Hope offers a lively and eminently readable close-up look at two realities that largely defined the world of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Catholicism in the United States: women religious and the dense network of Catholic schools that significantly shaped the lives and worldview of millions of Catholic school children. Farnham’s book now constitutes required reading for students of the American Catholic experience.”
—Mark Massa, SJ, Director, Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, Boston College
“This is a magisterial study by a first-rate historian. Based on years of archival research, Janice Farnham has woven a compelling account of how the Religious of Jesus and Mary women’s order crucially shaped Catholic culture within the United States. With deft precision, she chronicles the order’s educational and ministerial outreach among multiple ethnic groups. Crucially, Farnham’s in-depth study also illuminates the larger landscape of Catholicism and religious women across the United States.”
—Catherine M. Mooney, Associate Professor of Church History, Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
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