Why relationships matter: sisters, bishops, and the history of Catholicism in the United States

Histories of women religious in the United States no longer follow a pattern that extols Superior Generals and presidents while ignoring the collective work of the congregation. In her presidential address to the American Catholic Historical Association, the author offers a reminder that despite this shift in historical research, we still have much to learn about the most well-known American sisters. Focusing on Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, Theodore Guérin, and Katharine Drexel-all of whom have been canonized-she examines their relationships with bishops, both collegial and adversarial, as a way to further understanding about the place of women religious in U.S. Catholic history.