#OTD: The #OblateSistersofProvidence was founded in Baltimore on July 2, 1829 by #MotherMaryElizabethLange and #RevJamesHectorJoubert. The Oblate Sisters are still in operation today, 194 years later.
It was established to educate girls of African descent and was the first permanent community of Black Catholic sisters in the United States.
The organization did not consider the previous condition of servitude (slavery) as a liability for Oblate membership. Therefore, 8 of the 40 women who joined during the antebellum period (1828-1860) were formerly enslaved.
Recently, #PopeFrancis signed a decree declaring that Mother Lange lived a life of Christian virtue, which moves her one step closer to sainthood. Lange is one of 6 African Americans currently being considered for Catholic sainthood.
The items below are:
1) January 1868 Baltimore Tax Receipt for the Sisters of Providence for $81. Today, that's equivalent to $1,759.24 (Courtesy of Nanny Jack & Co Archives)
2) Oblate Sisters of Providence Historical Marker, erected in 2000 on #GeorgeStreet in #HistoricSetonHill #Baltimore
3) "Response to Love: The Story of Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, O.S.P." book by Maria M. Lannon, 1992 (Courtesy of Nanny Jack & Co Archives)
#BlackHistoryisEverywhere #NegroHistoryDetective #ArtifactualJourney #BmoreHistory #BmoreCivilRights
Courtesy of Nanny Jack & Co Archives