Women Religious in South Carolina

One of the greatest challenges the Church has faced in our diocese has always been the size of its territory and too few priests to serve it.

Most Rev. John England, the first bishop of Charleston, addressed this problem by creating a diocesan order of women religious — the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy (click here to read their history) — and inviting other congregations to help as well, including the Ursulines. These women of faith helped forge the diocese into what it is today, building ministries and serving those in need. And they continue to do so, with 26 different communities of women currently providing spiritual guidance, education and social outreach.

Here is a snapshot of those women, who have given themselves to God and the service of his people. Pictured above are the Sisters of St. John the Baptist who work in Columbia.

Poor Clares

The Sisters of St. Clare live in community in the cloistered monastery of St. Clare in Travelers Rest.

Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel

The SSMA sisters work at St. Clare's Home, a maternity home for pregnant women in crisis, in the Greenville area.

Hospitalers

The Hospitaler Sisters work in the only Catholic senior care facility in the state, Carter-May Home in Charleston.

Nashville Dominicans

Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia serve as teachers at St. Mary School in Greenville in the Upstate.

Hermanas del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús

Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus work in Aiken at St. Mary Help of Christians Church.

Sisters of Sts. Cyril & Methodius

Sts. Cyril and Methodius Sisters currently operate / staff the St. Francis Center on St. Helena Island to serve elderly and impoverished.

Sisters of Charity

The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul serve at All Saints Church in Lake Wylie in the Rock Hill Deanery.

Franciscan & SSMN

Sisters of St. Francis and St. Mary of Namur serve as diocesan personnel in Charleston.

Our Lady of Mercy

Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy were founded in Charleston in 1829 by Bishop John England.

Local impact

Read more about women religious and those discerning in South Carolina from our diocesan magazine, The Catholic Miscellany:

Other orders

Additionally, these orders also work throughout South Carolina:

  • Daughters of Charity – migrant farmworker ministry
  • Sisters of Notre Dame
  • Congregation of St. Augustine
  • Daughters of Wisdom
  • Humility of Mary
  • Order of St. Francis
  • Congregation of St. Felix
  • Congregation of Bon Secours
  • Adrian Dominican
  • Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Kentucky
  • Disciples of Jesus the Good Shepherd
  • Missionary Daughters of St. Jerome Emiliani
  • Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters, Hispanic Faith Formation
  • Daughters of St. Paul, or Paulines – moving from the diocese in 2023