Post-nominal letters: SP
This collection contains the records of the Sisters of Providence of Holyoke, Massachusetts. The collection is currently unprocessed and closed for research.
Founding Dates
1844
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Blessed Émilie Gamelin, originally as the Daughters of Charity, Servants of the Poor.
1873
The first Sisters of Charity of the House of Providence arrived in Holyoke, Massachusetts from their Motherhouse in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Charisms of the Sisters of Providence
The Sisters of Providence draw from the spiritual heritage offered by Saint Vincent de Paul in the Rule of Life which he originally wrote for the Daughters of Charity in the 17th Century. Their lives are rooted in the Gospel values of faith, hope and charity. Blessed Émilie Gamelin, beatified in 2001, is considered the foundress of the Sisters of Providence in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but they also followed St. Vincent’s Rule of Life and gained inspiration from Saint Louise de Marillac. Mother Mary of Providence (Catherine Horan) is recognized as the spiritual founder in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
The Sisters of Providence spiritual charism is animated by Luke 12: “Seek first the reign of God and God’s justice.” Their spiritual journey seeks the reign of God in the contemplative way as expressed in Matthew 6: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
Like the birds and the flowers spoken of in scripture, S.P. spirituality calls all to abandon themselves and their futures to God’s provident care and Divine Will. Taking the opportunity to live life in a contemplative, open, and receptive way is manifest by the way God can and does provide for us.
The Sisters of Providence 2019 Consensus Statement reaffirms their commitment “to make all of our decisions in light of their impact on women, Earth, and those who are poor.” The Mystery of God’s Providence is exemplified through equity and justice for women and girls; the urgency of a common local and global response to the reality of climate change; and the pressing needs of the marginalized, particularly refugees, and all those who suffer from the unprecedented upheaval in the world.
In the 1980s, the Sisters of Providence welcomed associates, lay men and women with whom the charism resonates and share in their spirituality and mission.
Historical Sketch
In 1873, Sisters of Charity of the House of Providence, Kingston Ontario, Canada responded to a request from the Reverend Patrick Harkins, pastor of St. Jerome Church, Holyoke, Massachusetts, to address the charitable needs of the city’s poor immigrant population, particularly the young Irish and Scottish girls working in the mills.
Their ministry expanded to teaching boys in St. Jerome’s Institute, and their care for the sick and dying, the orphaned and elderly, led them to admit the first patient at their “House of Providence” in 1873 which would come to be known as Providence Hospital—the first Catholic Hospital in Western Massachusetts. In 1892, the Sisters of Providence became an independent congregation of the Diocese of Springfield.
Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel at the Providence Mother House in Holyoke, known as Providence Place since 1999, symbolized the regional expansion of the Sisters of Providence during the twentieth century.
While some of the first Sisters of Providence were educators, their primary focus of ministry has been directed toward providing holistic health care services to the people they serve as represented in these two historic moments:
In 1984, the creation of Sisters of Providence Health and Human Service System, Inc. (SPHS) represented historic ministries Providence Hospital, Beaven Kelly Home, and Mount St. Vincent Nursing Home, all in Holyoke; Mercy Hospital and St. Luke’s Home, in Springfield; Our Lady of Providence Children’s Center in West Springfield; Farren Memorial Hospital in Montague City; and St. Joseph of the Pines in Southern Pines, (St. Joseph of the Pines Health System) North Carolina, originally founded as a rural mission in Murphy, North Carolina in the 1950s.
In the 1990s, Sisters of Providence Health and Human Service System, Inc. (DBA Providence Systems) changed its name to Sisters of Providence Health System, Inc. (SPHS). Six years later the Sisters were instrumental in joining with two other Catholic health systems—namely, Eastern Mercy Health System and Allegany Health System—to form Catholic Health East, one of the larger Catholic health systems in the U.S., a multi-institutional system with facilities spanning the eastern coast from Maine to Florida.
In response to Vatican II (1962-1965) Sisters encouraged more laity involvement in the mission of the Church, so as to partner more extensively in a multitude of lay leadership programs including ministries in spiritual direction, pastoral care, and direct service to poor and marginalized persons.
In 1975, they founded Genesis Spiritual Life Center in Westfield, Massachusetts, on property formerly used first as a novitiate and then as the Guild of the Holy Child for unwed mothers.
Notable Sisters of Providence
Sister Ruth McGoldrick, SP, who envisioned Providence Place, Holyoke, Massachusetts in the 1990s
Sister Elizabeth Oleksa, SP, founder of Genesis Spiritual Life and Conference Center in Westfield, Massachusetts
For more information go to
Please see the official website of the Sisters of Providence of Holyoke at Sisofprov.org