March 30, 2020
Catholic San Francisco
With the coronavirus pandemic causing growing suffering throughout the world and calling caregivers to the front lines, many are reminded of the courage of women religious of St. Vincent de Paul during the influenza epidemic of 1918. Archivists for the Daughters of Charity and Sisters of Mercy, two of the orders involved in the effort, shared some of their records from the time with Catholic San Francisco, at the request of Presentation Sister Rosina Conrotto, director of Consecrated Life for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Also thanks to Rachel Foote, archivist for the Presentation Sisters in San Francisco; Sister Margaret Ann Gainey, Daughters of Charity, Los Altos Hills; Emily Reed-Jordan, Digital and Audiovisual Records Archivist Mercy Heritage Center, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas; and to Msgr. John Talesfore for the story idea.
Daughters of Charity
‘Influenza Pandemic and the Sisters’
Sisters of Mercy who lost their lives serving others during the outbreak