"Sisters united by the same call"

Srs. He-ja Kim and Youn-Kyong Lee (L to R) visiting the elderly, 1995

Amid the growth and expansion of the Korean Province, corresponding changes were also happening in the governance of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. On December 27, 1992, at the General Chapter meeting, the proposal was approved to make the Korean community a Province of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. One history of the congregation, quoting the Regional House Annals, describes the joy with which the proposal was met among the sisters in Korea, who were on a retreat at that time: "At ten o'clock at night we, first year novices and seven postulants, and the vowed sisters gathered at the fireplace of the community room and had a party. Noisy, laughing, foot-stomping. Father Thompson probably cried, "What shall I do? The sisters are breaking silence during the retreat!" But, what would Jesus say in this case...Anyway, thanks be to God for this wonderful day!"*

Sisters at To-chok Little Anna's Residence, July 1996

In late December, 1993, the Korean Province's first Chapter took place. An election was held during the Chapter meeting: Sr. Marlene Mondalek became the first Provincial Superior, and Srs. Sung Hae Kim, Shin-ja Lee, Nam-sun Kim, and Yong-suk Oh became council members.

Formation/Regional House, Bon-Chon Dong, Gwangju, 1990. Srs. (L to R) Hyun-suk Kim, Min-kyong Lee, and Sun-hyun Youn

More changes occurred over the following years. In 2001, the Greensburg community was given provincial status. Sr. Vivien Linkhauer became the U.S. Province's first Provincial Superior. During the 2002 General Chapter, which took place in South Korea, the two province's first generalate government was elected. Sr. Marlene Mondalek (an American who was part of the Korean Province) was installed as the first General Superior, and Srs. Rosemary Donley, Shin-ja Lee, and Jeanne Bartholomeaux were the council members.

Buddhist Temple, Gwangju, May 30, 1989. A Buddhist monk pours tea for the Sisters in his temple. (L to R) Srs. Mary Michael Burns, Virginia Marie Waudby (visiting from Catholic University of America), and Shin-ja Lee

This new governmental structure meant that the two provinces were truly co-equal members of one congregation. Their structure is now much like a triangle, with the generalate council (which has elected leaders from both provinces) at the top of the triangle, with the two provinces (each with their own provincial superiors) beneath, acting as the two lower corners. The Korean and U.S. Provinces thus met the new century as united and equal family members, ready to meet the challenges of the years ahead of them.

The road leading to Caritas Christi from Seton Hill University (Caritas Christi, the new motherhouse in Greensburg, was opened in 1999)

Another landmark year for the Korean Province occured in 2014. At the General Chapter meeting in Non San, Chungnam, South Korea, the first Korean sister was elected as the General Superior, who would serve from 2014-2019. Fittingly, the Korean sister elected was none other than Sr. Sung Hae Kim, one of the two Korean women who were the first to enter the community so many years ago.

The last decade of the twentieth century and the two decades of the twenty-first would prove to be a time of continued growth for the community, which would expand far beyond the borders of both the United States and South Korea.