SCC Chapters: A Brief History (continued)

As noted in our previous post, at the completion of the first General Chapter of the Congregation of the Sisters of Christian Charity in 1879, the Sisters expected that another Chapter would be convened in six years (as required by the Constitutions).  However, the death of Mother Pauline von Mallinckrodt in April 1881 made it necessary to convene another Chapter in November 1881 to elect the next Superior General.  Mother Mathilde, one of the four founding Sisters and, at the time of the 1881 General Chapter,  the Provincial Superior of North America, was elected as the second Superior General.

Since 1881, General Chapters have been held every six years, with a few exceptions.  As we journey toward the 24th General Chapter in July 2019 in Paderborn, Germany, we also reflect on the Chapters that have taken place in our Congregational history.  In the book, Als Antwort Auf Gottes Ruf ("In Response to God's Call," copyright 2016, Bonifatius), Sister Anna Schwanz, SCC, provided an overview of some of these:

"At first the 'spirit of Foundation' was kept alive by personal memories of Mother Pauline, which long continued to have effect through contemporaries who were still alive.  The first three Superior Generals had known Mother Pauline personally and had cherished her. The seven General Chapters, 1881-1920, which they initiated, continued to be influenced by this.  Besides the election or re-election of the General Superiors, each Chapter placed special emphases.

"The emphasis in the dialogue during the Chapters of 1881 and 1887 was the consideration of a theme which had been very dear to Mother Pauline's heart:  unity and love. . . ."
. . .
"From the beginning the unity and cohesion within the international community was consciously nurtured. . . . The 4th General Chapter in 1893 dealt explicitly with this topic.  Internationality was seen as a possibility for greater unity, a point of view which has been taken up with new interest in the present time.  A Circular Letter to all the Sisters states: 'For that reason we want to nurture and cultivate this love and harmony of heart . . . this sisterly, loving concern for each other in joy and sorrow, the devoted participation in all experiences within the Congregation, be it in Europe, in North or in South America or wherever the Divine Will leads us.' The members of the Chapter also found a concrete starting point to reach this goal. 'We felt that an especially good means to the consolidation of the unity and love, was to assign Sisters according to need and possibility, so that the three Provinces maintain an interchange among themselves, so that, e.g., not only Sisters from Europe are sent to provinces overseas, but also, the opposite, from the American to the European.'"
. . .
"The participants in the 7th General Chapter in August 1911 dealt especially with the spirit of the times and the spirit of Mother Pauline, with the legacy which is passed on from generation to generation. . . ."
. . .
"Because of the conditions during and after the war, the Chapter scheduled for 1917 could not be held until 1920. . . .  The main work of the Chapter was the inclusion in the Constitutions of the stipulations of the new Code of Canon Law, which had become effective in May 1918"  (pages 38-40, English translation by Sister Mary Perpetua Rehle, SCC).

(Note:  Excerpts of  Als Antwort Auf Gottes Ruf  were shared on this blog throughout 2017, in honor of Mother Pauline's 200th birthday, beginning with this post in February 2017.)
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The Sisters of Christian Charity of the North American Eastern Province will hold our Provincial Chapter from February 14-18, 2019.  Please join us in praying the prayer for our Provincial Chapter.