The Disappearance of Mother Agnes Spencer: The Centralization Controversy and the Antebellum Catholic Church

Although the early processes of the centralization of the American Catholic Church began in the antebellum period, this process was not as straightforward as historians have previously suggested. While many have traditionally focused on the conflicts between the trustees and the clergy, the path to centralization involved competing institutions within the church. This article examines one case study of centralization through the disputes between the Sisters of St. Joseph and Bishop John Timon of Buffalo. Through this study, historians can trace the development of two gendered centralized systems of governance within the American Catholic Church: one under the Sisters of St. Joseph and one under the local bishops. In doing so, it proposes a new framework by which historians can interpret these various conflicts: the centralization controversy.