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{{Infobox saint
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = [[Venerable]]
|name = [[Venerable]]<br/>Cornelia Connelly, [[Society of the Holy Child Jesus|S.H.C.J.]]
|name = Cornelia Connelly
|honorific_suffix = [[Society of the Holy Child Jesus|SHCJ]]
|birth_date = Cornelia Peacock<br/>{{birth date|1809|1|15|df=y}}
|birth_date = Cornelia Peacock<br/>{{birth date|1809|1|15|df=y}}
|death_date = {{death date and age|1879|4|18|1809|1|15|df=y}}
|death_date = {{death date and age|1879|4|18|1809|1|15|df=y}}
|feast_day =
|feast_day =
|venerated_in = [[Roman Catholic Church]]
|venerated_in =
|image = Cornelia Connelly.jpg
|image = Cornelia Connelly.jpg
|imagesize =
|imagesize =
|caption = Mother Cornelia Connelly, ca. 1877.
|caption = Mother Cornelia Connelly, ca. 1877.
|birth_place = [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], [[United States]]
|birth_place = [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], United States
|death_place = [[St Leonards-on-Sea]], [[Sussex]], [[England]], [[United Kingdom]]
|death_place = [[St Leonards-on-Sea]], Sussex, England
|titles = Founder
|titles =
|beatified_date =
|beatified_date =
|beatified_place =
|beatified_place =
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}}
}}


'''Cornelia Connelly''' (née Peacock; January 15, 1809 – April 18, 1879) was the American-born foundress of the [[Society of the Holy Child Jesus]], a [[Roman Catholic]] [[religious institute]]. In 1846, she founded the first of many [[Connelly School of the Holy Child|Holy Child school]]s, in England.
'''Cornelia Connelly''', SHCJ (née '''Cornelia Peacock'''; January 15, 1809 – April 18, 1879) was an American-born educator who was the foundress of the [[Society of the Holy Child Jesus]], a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[religious institute]]. In 1846, she founded the first of many Holy Child schools, in England.

Connelly has been proposed for [[saint]]hood in the Catholic Church. In 1992, she was proclaimed as [[venerable]] by [[Pope John Paul II]].


==Early life==
==Early life==
Cornelia Peacock was born in [[Philadelphia]] and raised a [[Presbyterian]] by her father, Ralph William Peacock Sr. and mother, Mary Swope.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly and Her Interpreters|last=Lancaster|first=Judith|publisher=Way Books|year=2004|isbn=978-0904717242|location=Oxford (U.K.)|pages=4}}</ref> With her father passing in 1818 and her mother passing in 1823, Peacock was left orphaned at the age of 14. She went to live with her half sister Isabella and her husband, Austin Montgomery.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Woman Styled Bold: The Life of Cornelia Connelly, 1809-1879|last=Flaxman|first=Radegunde|publisher=Darton, Longman, and Todd|year=1991|isbn=978-0-232-51935-8|location=London|pages=12}}</ref> In 1831 she was baptized into the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Protestant Episcopal Church]] and, despite her family's protests, married the Reverend Pierce Connelly, an Episcopal priest.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A woman styled bold : the life of Cornelia Connelly 1809-1879|last=Flaxman.|first=Radegunde|date=1991|publisher=Darton, Longman and Todd|isbn=978-0232519358|location=London|oclc=23831328}}</ref> Cornelia had been well educated by [[tutor]]s at home. Pierce was five years her senior, a graduate of the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. The two moved to [[Natchez, Mississippi]], where Pierce had accepted the rectorship of the Holy Trinity Episcopal church. By all accounts they were an immensely happy couple and welcomed by their parishioners. Pierce profited from land investments, and in 1835 was appointed chairman of the Episcopal Convention of the Southwest, which augured well for a future [[bishopric]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly and her interpreters|last=Judith.|first=Lancaster|date=2004|publisher=Way Books|isbn=978-0904717242|location=Oxford [U.K.]|oclc=56815829}}</ref> At the time the couple had a son, Mercer, and a daughter, Adeline.<ref>Kenneth Woodward: ''Making saints'' (p. 253-4), Simon & Schuster, NY, {{ISBN|0-684-81530-3}}</ref>
Cornelia Peacock was born in [[Philadelphia]] and raised a [[Presbyterian]] by her father, Ralph William Peacock Sr. and mother, Mary Swope.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly and Her Interpreters|last=Lancaster|first=Judith|publisher=Way Books|year=2004|isbn=978-0904717242|location=Oxford |page=4}}</ref> With her father dying in 1818 and her mother dying in 1823, Peacock was left orphaned at the age of 14. She went to live with her half-sister Isabella and her husband, Austin Montgomery.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Woman Styled Bold: The Life of Cornelia Connelly, 1809-1879|last=Flaxman|first=Radegunde|publisher=Darton, Longman, and Todd|year=1991|isbn=978-0-232-51935-8|location=London|page=12}}</ref> In 1831 she was baptized into the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Protestant Episcopal Church]] and, despite her family's protests, married the Reverend Pierce Connelly, an Episcopal priest.<ref name=Bold>Flaxman, ''A Woman Styled Bold''.</ref> Cornelia had been well educated by [[tutor]]s at home. Pierce was five years her senior, a graduate of the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. The two moved to [[Natchez, Mississippi]], where Pierce had accepted the Holy Trinity Episcopal church's rectorship. By all accounts, they were an immensely happy couple and welcomed by their parishioners. Pierce profited from land investments, and in 1835 was appointed chairman of the Episcopal Convention of the Southwest, which augured well for a future [[bishopric]].<ref name=Lancaster>Lancaster. ''Cornelia Connelly and Her Interpreters''.</ref> The couple had a son, Mercer, and a daughter, Adeline.<ref>{{cite book |first=Kenneth L.|last=Woodward |title=Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and Why |date=23 July 1996 |pages=253–54 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-684-81530-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/makingsaintshowc00wood}}</ref> Later research has also revealed that the Connellys owned and sold slaves, the first having been gifted to them by a friend after the birth of their first child.<ref>{{Cite web |title=College Commission Examines Cornelia Connelly's Ties to Slavery |url=https://amp.issuu.com/rocomagazine/docs/spring_2020_magazine_/s/10662472 |access-date=2022-09-23 |website=Rosemont Magazine |language=en}}</ref>


==Family life==
==Family life==
Before marrying Cornelia's father, Cornelia's mother married John Bowen Sr., a Jamaican plantation owner. Together they had four children, however, only two, a daughter named Isabella and a son named John Jr., made it to adulthood. When John Sr. died in 1794, the children assumed control of the plantation and Swope received an annual annuity of $1,655.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wahab|first1=Amar|title=Free at Last? Reflections on Freedom and the Abolition of the British Transatlantic Slave Trade|date=1 May 2011|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing}}</ref> She now has new discovered family living in Chevy Chase, Md as well as St Paul, MN. The Connelly family. Mike, Sarah, Carol, Austin, Bridget, Nicholas, Tobin, and Lois.
Before marrying Cornelia's father, Cornelia's mother married John Bowen Sr., a Jamaican plantation owner. Together they had four children. However, only two, a daughter named Isabella and a son named John Jr., made it to adulthood. When John Sr. died in 1794, the children assumed control of the plantation, and Swope received an annual annuity of $1,655 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US|value=1655|start_year=1794}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Wahab|editor-first1=Amar|editor-first2=Cecily |editor-last2=Jones |title=Free at Last? Reflections on Freedom and the Abolition of the British Transatlantic Slave Trade |year=2011 |location=Newcastle upon Tyne |publisher=Cambridge Scholars |isbn=9781443828703 }}</ref>


In 1835 a wave of anti-Catholic resentment struck the US due to massive Catholic [[immigration]] from Europe.<ref>{{Cite book|title=How the Irish became white|last=Ignatiev.|first=Noel|date=2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780415963091|location=New York|oclc=246198199}}</ref> Consequently, the Connellys delved into a study of Catholic beliefs and practices. Soon Pierce had become so uncertain in his own beliefs that he resigned his parish and went to [[St. Louis]] to consult with Bishop [[Joseph Rosati]] about [[Religious conversion|conversion]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179468709/?terms=Cornelia+Connelly+religion|title=17 May 1957, Page 12- The Catholic Advance at Newspapers.Com|last=Ebel|first=Rev. John B.|date=17 May 1957|work=The Catholic Advance|accessdate=April 23, 2018}}</ref> In doing so, Pierce sacrificed a promising career as well as the financial security of his family.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A woman styled bold : the life of Cornelia Connelly 1809-1879|last=Flaxman.|first=Radegunde|date=1991|publisher=Darton, Longman and Todd|isbn=978-0232519358|location=London|oclc=23831328}}</ref> His wife however supported him fully: "''I am ready to submit to whatever he believes to be the path of duty.''" Pierce now took his family to [[Rome]] before committing himself. Cornelia however was already received into the Catholic Church while waiting in [[New Orleans]] for passage to [[Italy]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179468709/?terms=Cornelia+Connelly+religion|title=17 May 1957, Page 12 - The Catholic Advance at Newspapers.com|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=2018-04-23|language=en}}</ref> In Rome, Pierce petitioned for admittance to the church so compellingly that, after meeting Pierce in a personal [[audience]], [[Pope Gregory XVI]] was moved to tears. Two months later he was received into the church. [[Ordination]] was a different matter. [[Celibacy]] being required of priests in the church's [[Latin rite]], [[Holy See|Vatican]] officials suggested that he consider the [[Eastern Catholic churches|Eastern rite]] instead, which ordains married men – particularly as Cornelia was pregnant again. Being an ambitious man, Pierce ignored the advice. There were no Eastern-rite parishes in the US for him to serve, and only celibates can become Eastern-rite bishops.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The priesthoods and apostasies of Pierce Connelly : a study of Victorian conversion and anticatholicism|last=G.)|first=Paz, D. G. (Denis|date=1986|publisher=E. Mellen Press|isbn=978-0889466623|location=Lewiston, N.Y.|oclc=13592209}}</ref> The family were otherwise happy in Rome, where they stayed in the ''[[palazzo]]'' of the English Catholic John Talbot, [[earl of Shrewsbury]]. The Connellys moved on to [[Vienna]], where their 3rd child John Henry was born. But in July, a [[bank crisis]] in the US forced Pierce to return to Natchez to find employment. Offered a position at a [[Jesuit]] college in [[Grand Coteau, Louisiana]], Pierce taught English, while 29-year-old Cornelia taught music at an academy for girls.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A woman styled bold : the life of Cornelia Connelly 1809-1879|last=Flaxman.|first=Radegunde|date=1991|publisher=Darton, Longman and Todd|isbn=978-0232519358|location=London|oclc=23831328}}</ref> For the first time the couple were poor, but by all accounts quite content.<ref>Kenneth Woodward: ''Making saints'' (p. 254-5)</ref>
In 1835 a wave of anti-Catholic resentment struck the US due to massive Catholic [[immigration]] from Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |title=How the Irish Became White |last=Ignatiev |first=Noel |year=2009 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415963091 |location=New York |oclc=246198199 }}</ref> Consequently, the Connellys delved into a study of Catholic beliefs and practices. Soon Pierce had become so uncertain in his own beliefs that he resigned from his parish and went to [[St. Louis]] to consult with Bishop [[Joseph Rosati]] about [[Religious conversion|conversion]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179468709/?terms=Cornelia+Connelly+religion|title=Convert, wife, Mother, Foundress: Great Sacrifice of Cornelia Connelly |date=May 17, 1957 |page=12 |newspaper=The Catholic Advance |via=Newspapers.com|last=Ebel|first=Rev. John B. |access-date=April 23, 2018}}</ref> In doing so, Pierce sacrificed a promising career as well as the financial security of his family.<ref name=Bold/> His wife however supported him fully: "I am ready to submit to whatever he believes to be the path of duty." Pierce now took his family to [[Rome]] before committing himself. Cornelia, however, was already received into the Catholic Church while waiting in [[New Orleans]] for passage to [[Italy]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179468709/?terms=Cornelia+Connelly+religion|title=17 May 1957, Page 12 - The Catholic Advance at Newspapers.com|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=2018-04-23|language=en}}</ref> In Rome, Pierce petitioned for admittance to the church so compellingly that, after meeting Pierce in a personal [[audience]], [[Pope Gregory XVI]] was moved to tears. Two months later, he was received into the church. [[Ordination]] was a different matter. [[Celibacy]] being required of priests in the church's [[Latin Church|Latin rite]], [[Holy See|Vatican]] officials suggested that he consider the [[Eastern Catholic churches|Eastern rite]] instead, which ordains married men – particularly as Cornelia was pregnant again. Being an ambitious man, Pierce ignored the advice. There were no Eastern-rite parishes in the US for him to serve, and only celibates can become Eastern-rite bishops.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Priesthoods and Apostasies of Pierce Connelly: A Study of Victorian Conversion and Anticatholicism |first=D(enis) G. |last=Paz |year=1986 |publisher=Edwin Mellen |isbn=978-0889466623 |location=Lewiston, New York |oclc=13592209}}</ref> The family were otherwise happy in Rome, where they stayed in the ''[[palazzo]]'' of the English Catholic [[John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury]]. The Connellys moved on to [[Vienna]], where their third child John Henry was born. But in July, a [[bank crisis]] in the US forced Pierce to return to Natchez to find employment. Offered a position at a [[Jesuit]] college in [[Grand Coteau, Louisiana]], he taught English, while 29-year-old Cornelia taught music at an academy for girls.<ref name=Bold/> For the first time the couple were poor, but by all accounts quite content.<ref>Woodward. ''Making Saints''. pp.&nbsp;254–55.</ref>


But soon [[tragedy]] came to the Connellys. In the summer of 1839, their 4th child, Mary Magdalen, died six weeks after birth. In early 1840, still grieving the baby's death, Cornelia made her first [[retreat (spiritual)|retreat]] of three days. In February, her two-year-old son John Henry was playing with his [[Newfoundland dog]], when the dog accidentally pushed him into a vat of boiling sugar. There was no doctor available, and so he died of severe burns in Cornelia's arms after 43 hours.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A woman styled bold : the life of Cornelia Connelly 1809-1879|last=Flaxman.|first=Radegunde|date=1991|publisher=Darton, Longman and Todd|isbn=978-0232519358|location=London|oclc=23831328}}</ref> Eight months later, while making a retreat himself, Pierce informed her that he was now certain of his [[vocation]] as a priest in the Catholic Church. Cornelia was aware that this would mean their separation for life and a breakup of the family. She urged him to consider his wish deeply and twice over. The couple agreed to a period of celibacy.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity|last=Thérèse|first=Mother Marie|publisher=The Newman Press|year=1963|isbn=|location=Westminster, Md.|pages=}}</ref> Cornelia was in any case already pregnant with their fifth child, Frank, born in the spring of 1841. In 1842, Pierce broke up the family.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity|last=Thérèse|first=Mother Marie|publisher=The Newman Press|year=1963|isbn=|location=Westminster, Md.|pages=}}</ref> Against the advice of the family's friend, Bishop [[Antoine Blanc]] of New Orleans, he sold their home and went to England, where he placed 9-year-old Mercer in a [[boarding school]] and applied unsuccessfully to enter the Jesuits. Cornelia stayed with the two younger children in a small cottage on the convent grounds at Grand Coteau, leading a nun-like life of work and prayer. In 1843, Pierce arrived in Rome, where Pope Gregory instructed him to bring his family so that officials could discuss the matter with Cornelia as well. Pierce returned to the US, taking his family with him back to Rome, where they settled into a large apartment near the [[Palazzo Borghese]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=A woman styled bold : the life of Cornelia Connelly 1809-1879|last=Flaxman.|first=Radegunde|date=1991|publisher=Darton, Longman and Todd|isbn=978-0232519358|location=London|oclc=23831328}}</ref> After receiving Cornelia's personal consent to her husband's ordination, the pope arranged a swift permission, and within three months the couple were formally separated. Cornelia moved with the baby and his nurse into a retreat house at the convent at the top of the [[Spanish Steps]], living as a laywoman for as long as her youngest child needed her. Adeline went to the convent school, where her mother taught English and music. Pierce received the [[tonsure]] and took up theological studies, hoping to become a Jesuit. However the Vatican had arranged that once a week he could visit his wife and children; and the Jesuits disapproved of such frequent contact. In May 1844, Pope Gregory showed his appreciation of this "big catch" for the church by sending a very large fish, freshly pulled from the [[Tiber]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity|last=Thérèse|first=Mother Marie|publisher=The Newman Press|year=1963|isbn=|location=Westminster, Md.|pages=}}</ref>
But soon tragedy came to the Connellys. In the summer of 1839, their fourth child, Mary Magdalen, died six weeks after birth. In early 1840, still grieving the baby's death, Cornelia made her first [[retreat (spiritual)|retreat]] of three days. In February, her two-year-old son John Henry was playing with his [[Newfoundland dog]], when the dog accidentally pushed him into a vat of boiling sugar. There was no doctor available, so he died of severe burns in Cornelia's arms after 43 hours.<ref name=Bold/> Eight months later, while making a retreat himself, Pierce informed her that he was now certain of his [[vocation]] as a priest in the Catholic Church. Cornelia was aware that this would mean their separation for life and a breakup of the family. She urged him to consider his wish deeply and twice over. The couple agreed to a period of celibacy.<ref name=Fidelity>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity|author=Mother Marie Thérèse|publisher=The Newman Press|year=1963|location=Westminster, Maryland}}</ref> Cornelia was in any case already pregnant with their fifth child, Frank, born in the spring of 1841. In 1842, Pierce broke up the family.<ref name=Fidelity/> Against the advice of the family's friend, Bishop [[Antoine Blanc]] of New Orleans, he sold their home and went to England, where he placed 9-year-old Mercer in a [[boarding school]] and applied unsuccessfully to enter the Jesuits. Cornelia stayed with the two younger children in a small cottage on the convent grounds at Grand Coteau, leading a nun-like life of work and prayer. In 1843, Pierce arrived in Rome, where Pope Gregory instructed him to bring his family so that officials could discuss the matter with Cornelia. Pierce returned to the US, taking his family with him back to Rome, where they settled into a large apartment near the [[Palazzo Borghese]].<ref name=Bold/> After receiving Cornelia's personal consent to her husband's ordination, the pope arranged a swift permission, and within three months the couple were formally separated. Cornelia moved with the baby and his nurse into a retreat house at the convent at the top of the [[Spanish Steps]], living as a laywoman for as long as her youngest child needed her. Adeline went to the convent school, where her mother taught English and music. Pierce received the [[tonsure]] and took up theological studies, hoping to become a Jesuit. However, the Vatican had arranged that he could visit his wife and children once a week, and the Jesuits disapproved of such frequent contact. In May 1844, Pope Gregory showed his appreciation of this "big catch" for the church by sending a huge fish, freshly pulled from the [[Tiber]].<ref name=Fidelity/>


==Society of the Holy Child Jesus==
==Society of the Holy Child Jesus==
Cornelia had one final talk with Pierce before he took [[major orders]], pleading him to consider the breakup of the family, and to return to a normal family life. But he insisted on taking Holy Orders. In keeping with the requirements of [[canon law]], Cornelia pronounced a [[vow]] of perpetual [[chastity]], releasing her husband for ordination.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity|last=Thérèse|first=Mother Marie|publisher=The Newman Press|year=1963|isbn=|location=Westminster, Md.|pages=84}}</ref> In June, Pierce was ordained and said his first Mass, giving his daughter her first [[holy communion]], while Cornelia sang in the choir.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity|last=Thérèse|first=Mother Marie|publisher=The Newman Press|year=1963|isbn=|location=Westminster, Md.|pages=61}}</ref> She was 36 and now had to work out her own future. The [[Cardinal Vicar]] of Rome assured her that her first duty was to care for 10-year-old Adeline and 5-year-old Frank, and that she was under no obligation to become a nun. She was however invited to England to educate Catholic girls and the poor. With the help of Pierce, who was headed for England himself as [[chaplain]] to Lord Shrewsbury, she drew up a set of rules for a new religious congregation, which she wanted to call [[Society of the Holy Child Jesus]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity|last=Thérèse|first=Mother Marie|publisher=The Newman Press|year=1963|isbn=|location=Westminster, Md.|pages=91}}</ref> To avoid scandalizing English Protestants, Bishop [[Nicholas Wiseman]] put an end to the visitation permission that the couple had had in Rome. Correspondence would be their only contact in the future. To Cornelia's anguish, Wiseman also insisted that she send Adeline and Frank away to boarding school.<ref>Kenneth Woodward: ''Making saints'' (p. 258-9)</ref>
Cornelia had one final talk with Pierce before he took [[major orders]], pleading him to consider the breakup of the family and to return to normal family life. But he insisted on taking Holy Orders. In keeping with the requirements of [[canon law]], Cornelia pronounced a [[vow]] of perpetual [[chastity]], releasing her husband for ordination.<ref>Mother Marie Thérèse. ''Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity''. p.&nbsp;84.</ref> In June, Pierce was ordained and said his first Mass, giving his daughter her first [[holy communion]], while Cornelia sang in the choir.<ref>Mother Marie Thérèse. ''Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity''. p.&nbsp;61.</ref> She was 36 and now had to work out her own future. The [[Cardinal Vicar]] of Rome assured her that her first duty was to care for 10-year-old Adeline and 5-year-old Frank and that she was under no obligation to become a nun. She was, however, invited to England to educate Catholic girls and the poor. With the help of Pierce, who was headed for England himself as [[chaplain]] to Lord Shrewsbury, she drew up a set of rules for a new religious congregation, which she wanted to call [[Society of the Holy Child Jesus]].<ref>Mother Marie Thérèse. ''Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity''. p.&nbsp;91.</ref> To avoid scandalizing English Protestants, Bishop [[Nicholas Wiseman]] put an end to the visitation permission that the couple had had in Rome. Correspondence would be their only contact in the future. To Cornelia's anguish, Wiseman also insisted that she send Adeline and Frank away to boarding school.<ref>Woodward. ''Making Saints''. pp. 258–59.</ref>


Cornelia was sent to a large convent at St. Mary's Church in [[Derby]]. Soon she was running a day school for 200 pupils, an evening school for factory women and a crowded [[Sunday school]] program, as well as training [[novice]]s to her "Society of the Holy Child Jesus". The institute, whose constitution is based on that of the Jesuits, remains devoted to teaching young women, and operates schools primarily in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly's innovations in female education, 1846-1864 : revolutionizing the school curriculum for girls|last=McDougall.|first=Roseanne|date=2008|publisher=Edwin Mellen Press|isbn=9780773451872|location=Lewiston|oclc=222543661}}</ref>
Cornelia was sent to a large convent at St. Mary's Church in [[Derby]]. Soon she was running a day school for 200 pupils, an evening school for factory women, and a crowded [[Sunday school]] program, as well as training [[novice]]s to her "Society of the Holy Child Jesus." The institute, whose constitution is based on that of the Jesuits, remains devoted to teaching young women and operates schools primarily in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Cornelia Connelly's Innovations in Female Education, 1846–1864: Revolutionizing the School Curriculum for Girls |last=McDougall |first=Roseanne |year=2008 |publisher=Edwin Mellen |isbn=9780773451872 |location=Lewiston, New York |oclc=222543661}}</ref>


After a year of total separation, Pierce arrived unannounced at the convent to see his wife. Cornelia was upset and told him not to repeat his visit. He wrote her a letter of reproach, and she replied with bitterness, acknowledging his continued physical attraction for her and her own difficulties in overcoming it.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Life of Cornelia Connelly, 1809-1879: Foundress of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus|last= Gompertz|first=Mary Catherine|publisher=Longmas, Green and Co.|year=1922|isbn=|location=London|pages=}}</ref> In December 1847 she took her perpetual vows as a nun and was formally installed as superior general of the society. Pierce did not attend the ceremony, being jealous of Bishop Wiseman's [[jurisdiction]] over his wife.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Life of Cornelia Connelly, 1809-1879: Foundress of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus|last=Gompertz|first=Mary Catherine|publisher=Longmans, Green and Co.|year=1922|isbn=|location=London|pages=}}</ref> In January 1848 he removed the children from their schools without informing their mother. He put 6-year-old Frank in a secret home, while taking Mercer and Adeline with him to Europe, hoping that Cornelia would follow. Instead she vowed to remain faithful to her obligations as Superior of the new community.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Life of Cornelia Connelly, 1809-1879: Foundress of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus|last=Gompertz|first=Mary Catherine|publisher=Longmans, Green and Co.|year=1922|isbn=|location=London|pages=155}}</ref> Pierce went to Rome, posing as founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, presenting to the [[Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith]] his own version of the society, in the hope that this would help him gain control over his wife. His efforts were thwarted when Cornelia heard of them; but he remained registered as the society's cofounder, which was to cause considerable confusion in the future.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Making saints : how the Catholic Church determines who becomes a saint, who doesn't, and why|last=L.|first=Woodward, Kenneth|date=1990|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0671642464|location=New York|oclc=22113209|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/makingsaintshowc00wood}}</ref> Upon his return, Pierce called on Cornelia, bringing her a gift from [[Pope Pius IX]]; but she refused to see him unless he agreed to return Adeline to her care. His was livid when Bishop Wiseman, unable to meet expenses in connection with the schools, had Cornelia move her nuns to his district at [[St. Leonard's-on-Sea]] in [[Sussex]]. Pierce was convinced that this was a ploy by the bishop to gain greater control over her.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cornelia Connelly and her interpreters|last=Lancaster.|first=Judith|date=2004|publisher=Way Books|isbn=978-0904717242|location=Oxford [U.K.]|oclc=56815829}}</ref>
After a year of total separation, Pierce arrived unannounced at the convent to see his wife. Cornelia was upset and told him not to repeat his visit. He wrote her a letter of reproach, and she replied with bitterness, acknowledging his continued physical attraction for her and her difficulties in overcoming it.<ref name=Gompertz>{{Cite book|title=The Life of Cornelia Connelly, 1809–1879: Foundress of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus |last=(Gompertz |first=Mary) Catherine|publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |year=1922 |location=London |url=https://archive.org/stream/lifeofcorneliaco00lond#page/n7/mode/2up }}</ref> In December 1847 she took her perpetual vows as a nun and was formally installed as superior general of the society. Pierce did not attend the ceremony, being jealous of Bishop Wiseman's [[jurisdiction]] over his wife.<ref name=Gompertz/> In January 1848 he removed the children from their schools without informing their mother. He put 6-year-old Frank in a secret home while taking Mercer and Adeline with him to Europe, hoping that Cornelia would follow. Instead, she vowed to remain faithful to her obligations as Superior of the new community.<ref>Gompertz. ''The Life of Cornelia Connelly''. p.&nbsp;155.</ref> Pierce went to Rome, posing as the founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, presenting to the [[Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith]] his version of the society, in the hope that this would help him gain control over his wife. His efforts were thwarted when Cornelia heard of them, but he remained registered as the society's co-founder, which was to cause considerable confusion in the future.<ref>Woodward. ''Making Saints''.</ref> Upon his return, Pierce called on Cornelia, bringing her a gift from [[Pope Pius IX]]; but she refused to see him unless he agreed to return Adeline to her care. He was livid when Bishop Wiseman, unable to meet expenses connected with the schools, had Cornelia move her nuns to his district at [[St. Leonard's-on-Sea]] in [[Sussex]]. Pierce was convinced that this was a ploy by the bishop to gain greater control over her.<ref name=Lancaster/>


He even pressed a lawsuit against her that gained notoriety in England. "Connelly v. Connelly" was a major scandal which, Pierce claimed, Cornelia could avoid only by returning to live with him. Lord Shrewsbury asked her to leave England to avoid embarrassing the entire Catholic Church in England. She refused, believing this would betray both her vows and her institute. Bishop Wiseman supported her decision and provided lawyers for her defense. The court was Protestant though, and the statement signed by Pierce entirely omitted his conversion to the Catholic Church as well as the separation and his ordination as a Catholic priest. It petitioned that Cornelia be "''compelled by law to return and render him [[Restitution of conjugal rights|conjugal rights]]''". Cornelia's lawyers gave the omitted facts, but after a year the judge pronounced against accepting her [[allegation]], since Roman law is not binding in England. Cornelia had two options: Forcible return to Pierce, or [[prison]]. To spare her this, her lawyers immediately appealed the case to the [[Privy Council]]. Popular opinion favoured Pierce, and on [[Guy Fawkes Day]], marchers carried effigies of Wiseman and Cornelia through [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]]. She and the bishop were denounced from Protestant [[pulpit]]s. Finally, the Privy Council suspended the judgment favouring Pierce, ordering him to pay the costs to date of both parties as a precondition for a second hearing. Cornelia had to pay these costs, which she could not afford; she was in effect the winner and could not be forced to return to him. But she could not regain [[Child custody|custody]] of her children, since under British law, a man's wife and children were his property. Mercer was shipped off to an uncle in the US, and Frank was placed in a school. Pierce himself earned a living from writing [[tract (literature)|tract]]s against Jesuits, the pope, Catholic morals and Cardinal Wiseman, which all served to keep Cornelia in the public eye to an extent where she had to take precautions against abduction by her husband. When the case finally was dismissed in 1857, Pierce took Adeline and Frank abroad. He kept Adeline with him, dressing her in little girl's outfits, while Frank settled in Rome, becoming an acclaimed painter. Devoted to his mother, he hated the Catholic Church for having destroyed his childhood home and his parents' lives. Cornelia never saw Mercer again; he died of [[yellow fever]] in New Orleans, aged 20.<ref>Kenneth Woodward: ''Making saints'' (p. 261-2)</ref>
He even pressed a lawsuit against her that gained notoriety in England. "Connelly v. Connelly" was a major scandal which, Pierce claimed, Cornelia could avoid only by returning to live with him. Lord Shrewsbury asked her to leave England to avoid embarrassing the entire Catholic Church in England. She refused, believing this would betray both her vows and her institute. Bishop Wiseman supported her decision and provided lawyers for her defense. The court was Protestant, though, and the statement signed by Pierce entirely omitted his conversion to the Catholic Church and the separation and ordination as a Catholic priest. It petitioned that Cornelia be "compelled by law to return and render him [[Restitution of conjugal rights|conjugal rights]]". Cornelia's lawyers gave the omitted facts, but after a year, the judge pronounced against accepting her [[allegation]] since Roman law is not binding in England. Cornelia had two options: Forcible return to Pierce or [[prison]]. Her lawyers immediately appealed the case to the [[Privy Council]] to spare her this. Popular opinion favored Pierce, and on [[Guy Fawkes Day]], marchers carried effigies of Wiseman and Cornelia through [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]]. She and the bishop were denounced from Protestant [[pulpit]]s. Finally, the Privy Council suspended the judgment favoring Pierce, ordering him to pay both parties' costs to date as a precondition for a second hearing. Cornelia had to pay these costs, which she could not afford; she was in effect the winner and could not be forced to return to him. But she could not regain [[Child custody|custody]] of her children since, under British law, a man's wife and children were his property. Mercer was shipped off to an uncle in the US, and Frank was placed in a school. Pierce himself earned a living from writing [[tract (literature)|tract]]s against Jesuits, the pope, Catholic morals, and Cardinal Wiseman, which all served to keep Cornelia in the public eye to an extent where she had to take precautions against abduction by her husband. When the case finally was dismissed in 1857, Pierce took Adeline and Frank abroad. He kept Adeline with him, dressing her in little girl's outfits, while Frank settled in Rome, becoming an acclaimed painter. Devoted to his mother, he hated the Catholic Church for having destroyed his childhood home and his parents' lives. Cornelia never saw Mercer again; he died of [[yellow fever]] in New Orleans, aged 20.<ref>Woodward. ''Making Saints''. pp.&nbsp;261–62.</ref>


The alienation of her children was the greatest suffering she endured. Cornelia Connelly herself stated that the Society of the Holy Child was "''founded on a breaking heart''".<ref>Radegunde Flaxman: A woman styled bold: the life of Cornelia Connelly 1809-1879 (p. 78)</ref>
The alienation of her children was the most significant suffering she endured. Cornelia Connelly herself stated that the Society of the Holy Child was "founded on a breaking heart".<ref>Flaxman. ''A Woman Styled Bold''. p.&nbsp;78.</ref>


==Death and legacy==
==Death and legacy==
Cornelia Connelly died on 18 April 1879, at [[St Leonards-on-Sea]], [[Sussex]], where she had established a school. Today, the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus are active in fourteen countries, striving to live the apostolic life as Cornelia did, seeking to meet the wants of the age through works of spiritual mercy. They are engaged in education and related spiritual and pastoral ministries.
Cornelia Connelly died on 18 April 1879, at [[St Leonards-on-Sea]], [[Sussex]], where she had established [[Mayfield School, Mayfield|Mayfield School]]; at her request, she was buried there.<ref name=burial>{{cite news |first=Harry |last=Farley |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-56198429 |title=Cornelia Connelly: Plan to move nun's remains to US abandoned |publisher=BBC News |date=26 February 2021 }}</ref> Today, the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus are active in fourteen countries, striving to live the apostolic life as Cornelia did, seeking to meet the wants of the age through works of spiritual mercy. They are engaged in education and related spiritual and pastoral ministries.


Despite the strained economy of her Sussex school, Cornelia Connelly insisted on maintaining day schools for those who could afford tuition, as well as free schools for those who could not. For her brightest female pupils she introduced Greek and Latin writers in translation – courses that were otherwise reserved for male pupils. Amidst the [[Charles Darwin|Darwinian]] revolution, she had her pupils learn [[geology]]. She encouraged them to dabble in art, music and drama; even to dance [[waltz]] and [[polka]], as well as playing [[whist]]. Her attitude towards [[discipline]] was unusual in that a school to her was meant to be a home, with the nuns as mothers who should love, trust and respect their pupils. Disliking the customary convent rules of constant surveillance, she encouraged mutual trust and respect for different talents.<ref>Kenneth Woodward: ''Making saints'' (p. 265)</ref>
Despite the strained economy of her Sussex school, Cornelia Connelly insisted on maintaining day schools for those who could afford tuition, as well as free schools for those who could not. She introduced Greek and Latin writers in translation for her brightest female pupils – courses that were otherwise reserved for male pupils. Amidst the [[Charles Darwin|Darwinian]] revolution, she had her pupils learn [[geology]]. She encouraged them to dabble in art, music, and drama, even to dance [[waltz]] and [[polka]], as well as playing [[whist]]. Her attitude towards [[discipline]] was unusual in that a school to her was meant to be home, with the nuns as mothers who should love, trust and respect their pupils. Disliking the customary convent rules of constant surveillance, she encouraged mutual trust and respect for different talents.<ref>Woodward. ''Making Saints''. p.&nbsp;265.</ref>


In 1992, the Catholic Church proclaimed Cornelia as [[Venerable]].
In 1992, the Catholic Church proclaimed Cornelia as [[Venerable]].<ref name=burial/>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 62: Line 66:
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080624060712/http://shcj.org/history_foundress.html Society of the Holy Child Jesus: Foundress]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080624060712/http://shcj.org/history_foundress.html Society of the Holy Child Jesus: Foundress]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809369,00.html Scandal Revisited, ''Time'' Monday, April 8, 1957]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070716081201/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809369,00.html "Scandal Revisited"]. ''Time'' April 8, 1957.
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=eXXzYu3Jk6QC&dq=Cornelia+Connelly+Shrewsbury&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''"Great American Foundresses"''], 1923, by Joseph B. Code Accessed 21 August 2008.
* Code, Joseph B. (1923) [https://books.google.com/books?id=eXXzYu3Jk6QC&dq=Cornelia+Connelly+Shrewsbury&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Great American Foundresses''].
Mother Marie Thérèse. ''Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity'' (London : Burns & Oates, 1963)


== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
* [https://archive.org/stream/lifeofcorneliaco00lond#page/n7/mode/2up ''Life of Cornelia Connelly,''] (London : Longmans, Green & Co., 1922)
* Wadham, Juliana. ''The Case of Cornelia Connelly'' (London: Collins, 1956)
* Wadham, Juliana. ''The Case of Cornelia Connelly'' (London : Collins, 1956)
* McCarthy, Caritas. ''The spirituality of Cornelia Connelly: in God, for God, with God'' (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen, 1986)
* McCarthy, Caritas. ''The spirituality of Cornelia Connelly: in God, for God, with God'' (Lewiston NY : Edwin Mellen, 1986)
* McDougall, Roseanne. ''Cornelia Connelly's Innovations in Female Education, 1846–1864: Revolutionizing the School Curriculum for Girls'' (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen, 2008) (Hors série).
* Flaxman, Radegunde. ''A woman styled bold: the life of Cornelia Connelly, 1809–1879'' (London : Darton Longman & Todd, 1991)
* McElwee, Catie, ''A Generous Love: The Life of Cornelia Connelly'', Rosemont, PA: SHCJ Communications Office, 2009. (Illustrations by Sister France White, SHCJ)
* Lancaster, Judith. ''Cornelia Connelly and her Interpreters'' (Oxford : Way Books, 2004)
* McDougall, Roseanne. ''Cornelia Connelly's Innovations in Female Education, 1846–1864: Revolutionizing the School Curriculum for Girls'' (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2008) (Hors série).
* McElwee, Catie, ''A Generous Love: The Life of Cornelia Connelly'', Rosemont, PA : SHCJ Communications Office, 2009. (Illustrations by Sister France White, SHCJ)


==External links==
==External links==
* {{Find a Grave|74611586}}
* [https://corneliaconnellylibrary.org/ Cornelia Connelly Library]
* [https://corneliaconnellylibrary.org/ Cornelia Connelly Library]


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Latest revision as of 18:27, 27 November 2024

Venerable

Cornelia Connelly

SHCJ
Mother Cornelia Connelly, ca. 1877.
BornCornelia Peacock
(1809-01-15)15 January 1809
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died18 April 1879(1879-04-18) (aged 70)
St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, England

Cornelia Connelly, SHCJ (née Cornelia Peacock; January 15, 1809 – April 18, 1879) was an American-born educator who was the foundress of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, a Catholic religious institute. In 1846, she founded the first of many Holy Child schools, in England.

Connelly has been proposed for sainthood in the Catholic Church. In 1992, she was proclaimed as venerable by Pope John Paul II.

Early life

[edit]

Cornelia Peacock was born in Philadelphia and raised a Presbyterian by her father, Ralph William Peacock Sr. and mother, Mary Swope.[1] With her father dying in 1818 and her mother dying in 1823, Peacock was left orphaned at the age of 14. She went to live with her half-sister Isabella and her husband, Austin Montgomery.[2] In 1831 she was baptized into the Protestant Episcopal Church and, despite her family's protests, married the Reverend Pierce Connelly, an Episcopal priest.[3] Cornelia had been well educated by tutors at home. Pierce was five years her senior, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. The two moved to Natchez, Mississippi, where Pierce had accepted the Holy Trinity Episcopal church's rectorship. By all accounts, they were an immensely happy couple and welcomed by their parishioners. Pierce profited from land investments, and in 1835 was appointed chairman of the Episcopal Convention of the Southwest, which augured well for a future bishopric.[4] The couple had a son, Mercer, and a daughter, Adeline.[5] Later research has also revealed that the Connellys owned and sold slaves, the first having been gifted to them by a friend after the birth of their first child.[6]

Family life

[edit]

Before marrying Cornelia's father, Cornelia's mother married John Bowen Sr., a Jamaican plantation owner. Together they had four children. However, only two, a daughter named Isabella and a son named John Jr., made it to adulthood. When John Sr. died in 1794, the children assumed control of the plantation, and Swope received an annual annuity of $1,655 (~$33,989 in 2023).[7]

In 1835 a wave of anti-Catholic resentment struck the US due to massive Catholic immigration from Europe.[8] Consequently, the Connellys delved into a study of Catholic beliefs and practices. Soon Pierce had become so uncertain in his own beliefs that he resigned from his parish and went to St. Louis to consult with Bishop Joseph Rosati about conversion.[9] In doing so, Pierce sacrificed a promising career as well as the financial security of his family.[3] His wife however supported him fully: "I am ready to submit to whatever he believes to be the path of duty." Pierce now took his family to Rome before committing himself. Cornelia, however, was already received into the Catholic Church while waiting in New Orleans for passage to Italy.[10] In Rome, Pierce petitioned for admittance to the church so compellingly that, after meeting Pierce in a personal audience, Pope Gregory XVI was moved to tears. Two months later, he was received into the church. Ordination was a different matter. Celibacy being required of priests in the church's Latin rite, Vatican officials suggested that he consider the Eastern rite instead, which ordains married men – particularly as Cornelia was pregnant again. Being an ambitious man, Pierce ignored the advice. There were no Eastern-rite parishes in the US for him to serve, and only celibates can become Eastern-rite bishops.[11] The family were otherwise happy in Rome, where they stayed in the palazzo of the English Catholic John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury. The Connellys moved on to Vienna, where their third child John Henry was born. But in July, a bank crisis in the US forced Pierce to return to Natchez to find employment. Offered a position at a Jesuit college in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, he taught English, while 29-year-old Cornelia taught music at an academy for girls.[3] For the first time the couple were poor, but by all accounts quite content.[12]

But soon tragedy came to the Connellys. In the summer of 1839, their fourth child, Mary Magdalen, died six weeks after birth. In early 1840, still grieving the baby's death, Cornelia made her first retreat of three days. In February, her two-year-old son John Henry was playing with his Newfoundland dog, when the dog accidentally pushed him into a vat of boiling sugar. There was no doctor available, so he died of severe burns in Cornelia's arms after 43 hours.[3] Eight months later, while making a retreat himself, Pierce informed her that he was now certain of his vocation as a priest in the Catholic Church. Cornelia was aware that this would mean their separation for life and a breakup of the family. She urged him to consider his wish deeply and twice over. The couple agreed to a period of celibacy.[13] Cornelia was in any case already pregnant with their fifth child, Frank, born in the spring of 1841. In 1842, Pierce broke up the family.[13] Against the advice of the family's friend, Bishop Antoine Blanc of New Orleans, he sold their home and went to England, where he placed 9-year-old Mercer in a boarding school and applied unsuccessfully to enter the Jesuits. Cornelia stayed with the two younger children in a small cottage on the convent grounds at Grand Coteau, leading a nun-like life of work and prayer. In 1843, Pierce arrived in Rome, where Pope Gregory instructed him to bring his family so that officials could discuss the matter with Cornelia. Pierce returned to the US, taking his family with him back to Rome, where they settled into a large apartment near the Palazzo Borghese.[3] After receiving Cornelia's personal consent to her husband's ordination, the pope arranged a swift permission, and within three months the couple were formally separated. Cornelia moved with the baby and his nurse into a retreat house at the convent at the top of the Spanish Steps, living as a laywoman for as long as her youngest child needed her. Adeline went to the convent school, where her mother taught English and music. Pierce received the tonsure and took up theological studies, hoping to become a Jesuit. However, the Vatican had arranged that he could visit his wife and children once a week, and the Jesuits disapproved of such frequent contact. In May 1844, Pope Gregory showed his appreciation of this "big catch" for the church by sending a huge fish, freshly pulled from the Tiber.[13]

Society of the Holy Child Jesus

[edit]

Cornelia had one final talk with Pierce before he took major orders, pleading him to consider the breakup of the family and to return to normal family life. But he insisted on taking Holy Orders. In keeping with the requirements of canon law, Cornelia pronounced a vow of perpetual chastity, releasing her husband for ordination.[14] In June, Pierce was ordained and said his first Mass, giving his daughter her first holy communion, while Cornelia sang in the choir.[15] She was 36 and now had to work out her own future. The Cardinal Vicar of Rome assured her that her first duty was to care for 10-year-old Adeline and 5-year-old Frank and that she was under no obligation to become a nun. She was, however, invited to England to educate Catholic girls and the poor. With the help of Pierce, who was headed for England himself as chaplain to Lord Shrewsbury, she drew up a set of rules for a new religious congregation, which she wanted to call Society of the Holy Child Jesus.[16] To avoid scandalizing English Protestants, Bishop Nicholas Wiseman put an end to the visitation permission that the couple had had in Rome. Correspondence would be their only contact in the future. To Cornelia's anguish, Wiseman also insisted that she send Adeline and Frank away to boarding school.[17]

Cornelia was sent to a large convent at St. Mary's Church in Derby. Soon she was running a day school for 200 pupils, an evening school for factory women, and a crowded Sunday school program, as well as training novices to her "Society of the Holy Child Jesus." The institute, whose constitution is based on that of the Jesuits, remains devoted to teaching young women and operates schools primarily in the United States.[18]

After a year of total separation, Pierce arrived unannounced at the convent to see his wife. Cornelia was upset and told him not to repeat his visit. He wrote her a letter of reproach, and she replied with bitterness, acknowledging his continued physical attraction for her and her difficulties in overcoming it.[19] In December 1847 she took her perpetual vows as a nun and was formally installed as superior general of the society. Pierce did not attend the ceremony, being jealous of Bishop Wiseman's jurisdiction over his wife.[19] In January 1848 he removed the children from their schools without informing their mother. He put 6-year-old Frank in a secret home while taking Mercer and Adeline with him to Europe, hoping that Cornelia would follow. Instead, she vowed to remain faithful to her obligations as Superior of the new community.[20] Pierce went to Rome, posing as the founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, presenting to the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith his version of the society, in the hope that this would help him gain control over his wife. His efforts were thwarted when Cornelia heard of them, but he remained registered as the society's co-founder, which was to cause considerable confusion in the future.[21] Upon his return, Pierce called on Cornelia, bringing her a gift from Pope Pius IX; but she refused to see him unless he agreed to return Adeline to her care. He was livid when Bishop Wiseman, unable to meet expenses connected with the schools, had Cornelia move her nuns to his district at St. Leonard's-on-Sea in Sussex. Pierce was convinced that this was a ploy by the bishop to gain greater control over her.[4]

He even pressed a lawsuit against her that gained notoriety in England. "Connelly v. Connelly" was a major scandal which, Pierce claimed, Cornelia could avoid only by returning to live with him. Lord Shrewsbury asked her to leave England to avoid embarrassing the entire Catholic Church in England. She refused, believing this would betray both her vows and her institute. Bishop Wiseman supported her decision and provided lawyers for her defense. The court was Protestant, though, and the statement signed by Pierce entirely omitted his conversion to the Catholic Church and the separation and ordination as a Catholic priest. It petitioned that Cornelia be "compelled by law to return and render him conjugal rights". Cornelia's lawyers gave the omitted facts, but after a year, the judge pronounced against accepting her allegation since Roman law is not binding in England. Cornelia had two options: Forcible return to Pierce or prison. Her lawyers immediately appealed the case to the Privy Council to spare her this. Popular opinion favored Pierce, and on Guy Fawkes Day, marchers carried effigies of Wiseman and Cornelia through Chelsea. She and the bishop were denounced from Protestant pulpits. Finally, the Privy Council suspended the judgment favoring Pierce, ordering him to pay both parties' costs to date as a precondition for a second hearing. Cornelia had to pay these costs, which she could not afford; she was in effect the winner and could not be forced to return to him. But she could not regain custody of her children since, under British law, a man's wife and children were his property. Mercer was shipped off to an uncle in the US, and Frank was placed in a school. Pierce himself earned a living from writing tracts against Jesuits, the pope, Catholic morals, and Cardinal Wiseman, which all served to keep Cornelia in the public eye to an extent where she had to take precautions against abduction by her husband. When the case finally was dismissed in 1857, Pierce took Adeline and Frank abroad. He kept Adeline with him, dressing her in little girl's outfits, while Frank settled in Rome, becoming an acclaimed painter. Devoted to his mother, he hated the Catholic Church for having destroyed his childhood home and his parents' lives. Cornelia never saw Mercer again; he died of yellow fever in New Orleans, aged 20.[22]

The alienation of her children was the most significant suffering she endured. Cornelia Connelly herself stated that the Society of the Holy Child was "founded on a breaking heart".[23]

Death and legacy

[edit]

Cornelia Connelly died on 18 April 1879, at St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, where she had established Mayfield School; at her request, she was buried there.[24] Today, the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus are active in fourteen countries, striving to live the apostolic life as Cornelia did, seeking to meet the wants of the age through works of spiritual mercy. They are engaged in education and related spiritual and pastoral ministries.

Despite the strained economy of her Sussex school, Cornelia Connelly insisted on maintaining day schools for those who could afford tuition, as well as free schools for those who could not. She introduced Greek and Latin writers in translation for her brightest female pupils – courses that were otherwise reserved for male pupils. Amidst the Darwinian revolution, she had her pupils learn geology. She encouraged them to dabble in art, music, and drama, even to dance waltz and polka, as well as playing whist. Her attitude towards discipline was unusual in that a school to her was meant to be home, with the nuns as mothers who should love, trust and respect their pupils. Disliking the customary convent rules of constant surveillance, she encouraged mutual trust and respect for different talents.[25]

In 1992, the Catholic Church proclaimed Cornelia as Venerable.[24]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lancaster, Judith (2004). Cornelia Connelly and Her Interpreters. Oxford: Way Books. p. 4. ISBN 978-0904717242.
  2. ^ Flaxman, Radegunde (1991). A Woman Styled Bold: The Life of Cornelia Connelly, 1809-1879. London: Darton, Longman, and Todd. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-232-51935-8.
  3. ^ a b c d e Flaxman, A Woman Styled Bold.
  4. ^ a b Lancaster. Cornelia Connelly and Her Interpreters.
  5. ^ Woodward, Kenneth L. (23 July 1996). Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and Why. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 253–54. ISBN 0-684-81530-3.
  6. ^ "College Commission Examines Cornelia Connelly's Ties to Slavery". Rosemont Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
  7. ^ Wahab, Amar; Jones, Cecily, eds. (2011). Free at Last? Reflections on Freedom and the Abolition of the British Transatlantic Slave Trade. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars. ISBN 9781443828703.
  8. ^ Ignatiev, Noel (2009). How the Irish Became White. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415963091. OCLC 246198199.
  9. ^ Ebel, Rev. John B. (May 17, 1957). "Convert, wife, Mother, Foundress: Great Sacrifice of Cornelia Connelly". The Catholic Advance. p. 12. Retrieved April 23, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "17 May 1957, Page 12 - The Catholic Advance at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  11. ^ Paz, D(enis) G. (1986). The Priesthoods and Apostasies of Pierce Connelly: A Study of Victorian Conversion and Anticatholicism. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen. ISBN 978-0889466623. OCLC 13592209.
  12. ^ Woodward. Making Saints. pp. 254–55.
  13. ^ a b c Mother Marie Thérèse (1963). Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity. Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press.
  14. ^ Mother Marie Thérèse. Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity. p. 84.
  15. ^ Mother Marie Thérèse. Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity. p. 61.
  16. ^ Mother Marie Thérèse. Cornelia Connelly: A Study in Fidelity. p. 91.
  17. ^ Woodward. Making Saints. pp. 258–59.
  18. ^ McDougall, Roseanne (2008). Cornelia Connelly's Innovations in Female Education, 1846–1864: Revolutionizing the School Curriculum for Girls. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen. ISBN 9780773451872. OCLC 222543661.
  19. ^ a b (Gompertz, Mary) Catherine (1922). The Life of Cornelia Connelly, 1809–1879: Foundress of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus. London: Longmans, Green & Co.
  20. ^ Gompertz. The Life of Cornelia Connelly. p. 155.
  21. ^ Woodward. Making Saints.
  22. ^ Woodward. Making Saints. pp. 261–62.
  23. ^ Flaxman. A Woman Styled Bold. p. 78.
  24. ^ a b Farley, Harry (26 February 2021). "Cornelia Connelly: Plan to move nun's remains to US abandoned". BBC News.
  25. ^ Woodward. Making Saints. p. 265.

Further reading

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  • Wadham, Juliana. The Case of Cornelia Connelly (London: Collins, 1956)
  • McCarthy, Caritas. The spirituality of Cornelia Connelly: in God, for God, with God (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen, 1986)
  • McDougall, Roseanne. Cornelia Connelly's Innovations in Female Education, 1846–1864: Revolutionizing the School Curriculum for Girls (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen, 2008) (Hors série).
  • McElwee, Catie, A Generous Love: The Life of Cornelia Connelly, Rosemont, PA: SHCJ Communications Office, 2009. (Illustrations by Sister France White, SHCJ)
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