HARVEST OF FAITH

SUMMER 2019

AT FIRST GLANCE, IT MIGHT SEEM ODD that the Sisters of Charity operate a farm in Dutchess County. Not so, says Sr. Jane Iannucelli, who has just finished a term as president of the sisters’ New York congregation. “Ecology and the integrity of the land are justice issues,” she says. “And we have been involved with justice and peace from the beginning.”

Founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1809, the Sisters of Charity came to New York in 1817, and they have been a vital part of the archdiocese ever since. The sisters’ core mission is “to reveal God’s love to all in need, especially those living on the margin,” says Sr. Iannucelli, and their ministries were created “always in response to a need. We came to New York because the bishop said there was a need to help the many orphans. Then the orphans needed a school. Then many people were getting sick so we opened St. Vincent’s Hospital.” The needs kept presenting themselves, and Sisters of Charity kept responding.

Among the many programs and institutions founded and supported by the sisters:

New York Foundling, opened in 1869 to take in infants being abandoned on the streets of New York, now offering a wide array of services and support for children, families and individuals with developmental disabilities.

Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center, providing specialized state-of-the-art clinical and rehabilitative care (and a great deal of love) to children with multiple physical and neurological conditions.

Sisters of Charity Housing Development Corporation, fighting homelessness with affordable, supportive housing options for New York’s most vulnerable residents.

Fox House, an East Harlem shelter offering a safe, secure environment for hundreds of homeless families each year.

Part of the Solution (POTS), a Bronx center that meets multiple needs of the impoverished, with hundreds of hot meals each day, a food pantry, clothing, haircuts and other services (see “Table of Plenty”).

The mission of Sisters Hill Farm dovetails perfectly with the many other ministries of the Sisters of Charity. “At the farm we grow organic food, and we give a great deal of it to people who are poor and hungry,” Sr. Iannucelli says. “We work in shelters, with immigrants. We have a soup kitchen.”

Addressing the aging of the sisters and the shortage of vocations among younger women, she expresses confidence in the order’s ongoing mission: “We are small in number. We are not young. But we are involved in outreach in a multitude of ways to be present to those in need. We are not ready to close any doors.”