Celebrating the Historical Milestone America 250 From America’s Legacy to Africa’s Future – Featured Article 

In 2026, the United States of America is celebrating 250 years. Catholic women religious have been part of the American story from the beginning, and it is important to shine a light on their contributions in the context of the semiquincentennial.

The first communities of women religious in what is now the United States arrived as early as the 1720s. In the 19th century, courageous men and women founded some of the first religious institutes in the country. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint, led the way, founding the Sisters of Charity in Maryland in 1809.

ASEC’s founding institutes—the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia (SSJ) and Chestnut Hill College, the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) and Marywood University, the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia (OSF) and Neumann University, and the Society of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ) and Rosemont College—are integral to the history of Catholic women religious in the United States. Their journeys reflect the diverse history of the country itself.

Catholic women religious significantly shaped American culture and society. They established schools, hospitals, and social service centers, and served vulnerable and marginalized people. ASEC was established by these women, inspired by the legacy of their founders, with the purpose of facilitating educational opportunities for women religious in Africa and building their capacity to serve God’s people on another continent.

More than 25 years later, this vision is bearing fruit. More than 12,000 individuals, including sisters and lay people, have been directly served through ASEC programming, while the efforts of ASEC alumni have benefited more than 11.2 million people. This is the ripple effect of ASEC—an investment in one sister extends far beyond her, strengthening communities and improving lives for generations to come.

“We wanted to educate women religious in Africa, so that they could do for the children of Africa what women religious did in the United States in the 20th century … We knew it would change society the same way it did here.” Sr. Carol Jean Vale, one of ASEC’s Founding Mothers

History of ASEC’s Founding Institutions

The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia (SSJ) arrived in the United States from France in 1836, first settling in St. Louis, Missouri. They established a community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1847, led by Mother Saint John Fournier, who was among the original group of six sisters to settle in America. The SSJ founded Chestnut Hill College in 1924.

The Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) was founded in Michigan in 1845 by Louis Florent Gillet, CSsR, and Mother Theresa Maxis Duchemin, the first American-born African American Catholic sister. The IHM sisters arrived in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1858. They established an independent institute in 1871, which founded Marywood University in 1915.

The Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia (OSF) were founded in 1855 by three women including Mother Francis Bachmann, a widowed German immigrant who became their first Superior General. The OSF founded Neumann University in 1965.

The Society of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ) arrived in the United States from England in 1862, when Philadelphia-born founder Cornelia Connelly missioned six sisters to establish the Society’s first American foundation in Towanda, Pennsylvania. The SHCJ founded Rosemont College in 1921. Rosemont is undergoing a merger with Villanova University, founded in 1842, and the alma mater of Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope.

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