Sister Mary Irene FitzGibbon
| Sister Mary Irene FitzGibbon | |
|---|---|
Sister Irene in an undated photo
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| Born |
Catherine Rosamund FitzGibbon May 12, 1823 London, England |
| Died | August 14, 1896 (aged 73) New York City, New York, United States |
| Cause of death | heart disease |
| Resting place | Sisters' Cemetery, College of Mount Saint Vincent, Bronx, New York 40°54′48″N 73°54′25″W / 40.913465°N 73.906971°W |
| Occupation | Roman Catholic religious sister, orphanage director, teacher |
| Known for | Founder of New York Foundling Hospital |
Sister Irene (May 12, 1823 – August 14, 1896) was born Catherine FitzGibbon in London, and died in New York City. She founded the New York Foundling Hospital in 1869.
Catherine Rosamund Fitzgibbon was born May 12, 1823 in Kensington, London to Irish parents. At the age of nine her parents emigrated to Brooklyn, where she attended St. James School, operated by the Sisters of Charity of New York. Having nearly died in the cholera epidemic of 1849, in 1850 she joined the community of the Sisters of Charity at Mount St. Vincent, New York, taking the name of Sister Mary Irene. For almost twenty years she taught in St. Peter's parish school on Barclay Street, the first Catholic school in New York State.
Sister Irene died of heart disease at the age of 73. Thousands turned out for her funeral. The New York Herald commented: “Never before in the history of New York has such a tribute been paid.” The New York Times hailed her as “that great benefactor of humanity.” Sister Irene is buried in the sisters' cemetery at Mt. St. Vincent.
In the years following the Civil War, it was estimated, some thirty thousand homeless children wandered the streets of New York. Some were unwanted pregnancies, most the children of parents unable to provide for them. Stories of infanticide were common in the newspapers.
Sister Irene, noting a constant increase in the number of homeless and abandoned children and infants, advocated the establishment of a foundling asylum, New York Foundling. At that time no public provision was made to take care of abandoned infants. When picked up in the streets, they were sent to the municipal charity institutions to be looked after by the residents there. Almshouses provided no education and were generally an unfavorable environment for a growing child. Often, the conditions were dirty, and orphans were joined in the shelter by those deemed criminal, diseased, or insane. At the Almshouses on Blackwell's Island in the East River, many children often died from lack of care. Many were left at the doors of the sisters' schools and houses, in the hope that they might receive from them some special consideration. Archbishop McCloskey sanctioned the project and in 1869 Sister Irene was assigned to put it into effect. After visiting the public homes for infants in several cities she organized a woman's society to collect the necessary funds for the proposed asylum. With those funds a brownstone (17 East Twelfth Street in New York City) was hired, and on October 11, 1869, Sister Irene and Sister Teresa Vincent McCrystal opened the foundling asylum with a cradle at its door. The Sisters started with five dollars to their name. They ate their first meal on the floor using old newspapers for a table cloth.
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Wikipedia