← All saints
Venerable Cornelia Connelly
Image: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Venerable Cornelia Connelly

American wife and mother who founded the Society of the Holy Child Jesus in England in 1846

Rank
Venerable
Kind
Founder, Religious
Life
1809 – 1879
Era
19th century
Countries
United States, United Kingdom
United StatesUnited Kingdom

Life story

Cornelia Peacock was born on 15 January 1809 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1831 she married Pierce Connelly, an Episcopal clergyman, and they lived at Natchez, Mississippi, where he was rector of Trinity Church. In 1835 she and Pierce became Catholics. They had several children, some of whom died young.

Pierce later felt called to become a Catholic priest. In 1844 Rome granted the couple a separation; she entered the Sacred Heart convent in Rome as a quasi-postulant, with her younger children staying with her, and she made a vow of chastity so that her husband could be ordained.

At the invitation of Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman she founded the Society of the Holy Child Jesus at Derby, England, in October 1846 (13 October, according to the Society), with a focus on education. Pierce later left the Church, sued for the restitution of his conjugal rights and waged a public campaign against her; the suit ultimately failed. The Society moved its school to St Leonards-on-Sea, opened further schools, and sent six sisters to the United States in 1862. She died at St Leonards on 18 April 1879. Pope John Paul II declared her Venerable in 1992.

Works and witness

  • Became a Catholic with her husband in 1835
  • Granted a separation by Rome in 1844 and entered a convent in Rome
  • Founded the Society of the Holy Child Jesus at Derby in October 1846
  • The Society opened schools in several cities and reached the US in 1862
  • Died on 18 April 1879; declared Venerable in 1992

Saints from the same country

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Saint Katharine Drexel, Blessed Solanus Casey

References

  • Britannica, “Cornelia Connelly” – 1835 conversion, 1844 separation, Trinità dei Monti, Derby 1846 (seen via search excerpt)
  • Society of the Holy Child Jesus, “Cornelia Connelly” (shcj.org) – founded 1846, six sisters to the US in 1862; Derby, 13 October 1846 (seen via search excerpt)
  • Encyclopedia.com, “Connelly, Cornelia, Mother” (New Catholic Encyclopedia); Wikipedia (English) for Natchez, Trinity Church and the lawsuit; the year of Pierce's ordination (1844 or 1845) is left out

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.