Among the pioneers that came to Tucson in the 1870's were seven Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. They opened a school next to San AgustÃn Church for the children of Tucson and three years later one for the native American children at the San Xavier Mission. Later the parochial school was put under the direction of the Sisters and an orphanage was begun. In 1880, they took in the first patients at St. Mary's Hospital caring for the sick and injured of the Southern Pacific Railroad, County patients, and all who came.
This World Wide Web exhibit offers a digital history and tribute to the Sisters' contributions in Tucson and the region. Much of its content was contributed by Sister Alberta Cammack, CSJ. Sister Alberta was the foremost historian on the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in the U.S. Southwest and wrote a number of short histories that appear in this site. She also identified and arranged for us to create digital copies of more comprehensive histories that will be of interest to visitors. Follow the links in the navigation bar above to read the histories and view the photographic collections that comprise A Heritage of Loving Service.
Images of photographs that are used in A Heritage of Loving Service exhibits are used with the permission of the institutions that own them: the University of Arizona, the Arizona Historical Society, and St. Mary's Hospital. Ownership is identified on the Photo Credits page. None of the images in A Heritage of Loving Service exhibits may be included in any commercial publications (printed or online) without the written permission of these institutions. Please contact these organizations for questions related to reprints or commercial rights. Students, teachers and other visitors to this website are welcome to retrieve and save these images for educational purposes. Please cite authorship as appropriate.
Sister Alberta passed away in July 2010. We dedicate A Heritage of Loving Service to her memory.