Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Founded 1869

In 1869, Bishop Michael Domenec of Pittsburgh appealed to the Cincinnati community of Sisters of Charity for sisters. Aloysia Lowe (seen above), three other Sisters of Charity, and two novices, left Cincinnati and arrived in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on August 20, 1870. Sister Aloysia Lowe was named Mother Superior and Sister Anne Regina Ennis Assistant and Mistress of Novices. In quick succession, schools were opened in Blairsville, Johnstown, and the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of East Liberty, Sharpsburg, Lawrenceville, and South Side. An astute businesswoman, Mother Aloysia recognized the need for a larger motherhouse for her growing Congregation and purchased the Jennings Farm in Greensburg in 1882. Within the next year, Saint Joseph Academy was opened. A charter of incorporation was granted to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in 1885, and the sisters broke ground for a motherhouse the following year. It was completed in 1889. By spring of 1889, the sisters were staffing 20 parochial schools in addition to establishing Saint Mary School for Boys and Saint Joseph Academy for Girls. Roselia Foundling and Maternity Asylum was established in 1891. The Charity Hospital of Pittsburgh (later renamed Pittsburgh Hospital) was founded in 1897. The Pittsburgh Hospital School of Nursing opened in 1905 and the first class of five Sisters of Charity and five young women graduated in 1908. DePaul Institute for the Deaf (now DePaul School for Hearing and Speech) opened in 1908 at the invitation of Bishop Canevin. Providence Hospital opened in 1909, its School of Nursing in 1912. Seton Junior College began in 1914. In 1918, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted a charter establishing Seton Hill College (now Seton Hill University), a four-year liberal arts college for women.
(From the community website)