Recent global health emergencies have reminded us how quickly daily life can change and how important it is to care for people who are sick, isolated or overlooked. For the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, this work reaches back nearly two centuries.
When cholera struck Louisville in 1832, four SCNs joined Mother Catherine Spalding in visiting homes and caring for those who were sick and dying. The epidemic left many children without parents, prompting the Sisters to establish St. Vincent Orphan Asylum.
SCNs continued to respond as other diseases spread. Sisters cared for smallpox patients in Nashville in 1846. During the 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Holly Springs, Mississippi, six of the 13 SCNs serving there died. In 1918, 34 SCNs helped nurse soldiers at Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville during the influenza pandemic.
The same spirit guided the Sisters during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Sisters Marilyn Spink and Gwen McMahan worked to change Kentucky regulations so Nazareth Home could welcome people with AIDS. In 1986, it became the state’s first nursing home permitted to provide this care.
That history took on new meaning when COVID-19 arrived in 2020. SCNs and their ministry partners assisted families, supported frontline workers, distributed food and supplies, sewed masks and found new ways to sustain prayer and community.
Such examples remain relevant today. Communities still face outbreaks, unequal access to healthcare, hunger and isolation. The details change, but the need for people willing to step forward does not.
The SCN motto, Caritas Christi Urget Nos, means “The Love of Christ Impels Us.” It has guided generations of Sisters toward people in need, often during moments of fear and uncertainty. Their experiences offer lessons about faith, courage and our shared responsibility to care for one another.
Historic Look:
Explore the Sisters’ history of service during cholera and smallpox and the yellow fever and influenza outbreaks.