1900-1930

At request of the Dominican friars of the Eastern Province, the congregation accepts the social work ministry of St. Rose’s Settlement House in Manhattan, primarily catechetical work and youth activities. The Sisters served at the Settlement House from 1926 – 1963.

The Sisters open Aquinas Hall, a two-year commercial high school in the Bronx; in 1936 the school becomes the four-year Aquinas High School. With leadership of Principal, Sr. Concepta Blake, the building was greatly expanded to allow for soaring enrollment.

While the motherhouse provided classrooms for the boys under our care, Mother Thomas wanted the boys to “go out” to school and have a home to come to after school. St. Agnes School opens in 1922 on the Sparkill grounds, providing an excellent setting for educating the children.

Commitment to education for the Sisters so that they may be well-qualified for their ministry as educators. After persistent requests, Mother Thomas succeeded in her efforts to have Fordham University open its doors to the Sisters in 1920—the first and only women on their campus, becoming a model for other Jesuit universities to admit Sisters

Sacred Heart Chapel (the final building to replace those destroyed in the 1899 fire) is dedicated. It becomes the spiritual home where the Sisters and children find solace and strength for life’s challenges, as well as the center for all major congregational liturgical rituals for most of the 20th century.

The Sisters’ ministry of educating students in New York State begins a time of steady growth, including the iconic St. John Chrysostom School—still a beacon of learning in the Bronx, with Dominican Sisters leading the school since its opening in 1914. By 1966, the Sisters will have opened: 3 elementary schools and 1 high school

The Sisters open St. Mark the Evangelist Elementary School in St. Louis in 1909 and St. Mark’s High School in 1910. Educational ministry expands dramatically in Missouri. By 1912, the Sisters have provided staffing for 11 schools in Missouri.

On May 17, 1906, Fr. Hyacinth Cormier, OP, the Master General of the Dominican Order, notifies Mother Thomas of the formal affiliation and full incorporation of the young community into the Dominican Family.

The rebuilding of St. Agnes Convent and Home after the 1899 fire is completed under the guidance of Mother Thomas Gargan, allowing the Sisters and children to return from Troy, NY, to Sparkill. The facilities are expanded to include a school, vocational training shops, and athletic fields.

Answering the request of Reverend Michael Collins (a native New Yorker), four Sisters leave New York to travel to Missouri to staff St. Patrick School in Jonesburg, 60 miles west of St. Louis. In 1901, the Sisters open Holy Rosary School in Monroe City, which has continued to provide Catholic education in this rural community.