Expanding Horizons: Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 1919–1943 by Ann M. Harrington (review)

Expanding Horizons is a history of the Sisters of the Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVMs) during the first half of the twentieth century. As historians of women religious increasingly turn their attention to the role of the Second Vatican Council in the lives and work of sisters and nuns, Ann M. Harrington explains that it is important to understand “what life was like before the changes” (p. 2). During the years covered by this study—1919–43—the congregation was affected by World War I, the Great Depression, and the first years of World War II, events that played important roles in the lives of all Americans, including the members of this community and their leaders.

In 1885, the congregation was placed under the jurisdiction of the Holy See rather than a local ordinary; this signaled the beginning of a period of change that encompassed the administrations of Mother Mary Isabella Kane (1919–31) and Mother Mary Gervase Tuffy (1931–43). Harrington frames her study around the administrations of these two women to “provide more convenient access to history through timelines inherent within the congregation’s history” (p. 3). Within this framework, two themes are especially important: the role of the leadership in the life and work of the congregation, and the ways in which canon law and papal rulings affected the BVMs.

Chapters 2 through 8 are devoted to the history of the congregation between 1919 and 1943. In these pages, readers will find information about the expansion of the BVM educational ministry, including the establishment of Mundelein College in Chicago, the ways in which members of the community participated in and were impacted by larger societal events, and issues related to the internal affairs of the BVMs such as religious life and the congregation’s Constitutions.

Although Expanding Horizons is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, readers will find it to be an excellent source for material related to the work of one congregation of women religious in the very important period leading up to the beginnings of the Sister Formation Conference and the Second Vatican Council.