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Archbishop of Philadelphia, who expedited
matters by sending a special messenger to Pope
Benedict XV with the necessary petition to
borrow and spend the needed sums. The answer
sent through Cardinal Gasparri in a letter reads:
“His Holiness who, with all his heart, desires the
happy success of the undertaking, grants,
bestows to you and your community the
Apostolic Benediction, guarantee of the most
abundant graces of Heaven”... June 28, 1921.
Some months later a blessing for the faculty and
students of Rosemont College was obtained from
Pope Pius XI.
There appears to have been need for
haste in requesting permission to make an
offering of $250,000 for the Sinnott estate, since
other Religious were looking at the place. The
terms of purchase stated that $50,000 must be
paid in cash, while the rest may be carried as a
mortgage at 6%. The Provincial Council pro-
posed taxing each of the SHCJ houses appropri-
ately for a period of five years with the following
proviso: “on condition that the amount specified
to each house was first put to the vote of the
Local Council by each Local Superior.”
Furthermore, “in order to secure greater interest
in the work proposed, each Local Superior was
to call a special meeting of the whole Community
including Lay Sisters, and tell them about the
College and the need for each one to do her part
to help in the raising of funds.”
That Cardinal Dougherty himself took a
marked interest in the founding of Rosemont
College has long been known and is borne
out by several incidents, including the following
described in an excerpt from the Provincial
Council minutes July 30, 1921:
“Reverend Mother Provincial gave us an account of
her visit to the Cardinal in early July, to report to
him that permission had been received from the
General Council to purchase the property at
Rosemont. His Eminence showed himself most
gracious and told Reverend Mother to “begin in
God’s Name”.
He asked if we had sufficient funds and
when Reverend Mother explained that we
would mortgage Suffern to obtain the funds,
he objected because it would hamper us,
lent Reverend Mother $30,000 @ 6%, which
together with the amount already collected,
would enable her to pay the $50,000 purchase
money and carry out necessary furnishings. On
[
hearing that no answer had come from Rome, he
shouldered that responsibility.
Knowing that it might take a year to
secure a Charter for the College, the Council
agreed to use the facilities as a College
Preparatory for one year. Our taking possession
of the Sinnott estate occurred on August I, 1921:
Rosemont Hall, Rosemont
Montgomery Co., Pennsylvania
(August 7, 1921)
+
J. M. J.
Reverend Mother Provincial has asked
me to give you a little account of our taking
possession of the former Sinnott Estate at
Rosemont - truly a red-letter day in the annals of
our dear Society in America. For years we
have longed to see the time when we could
open a College for Catholic girls. The Holy
Child certainly has directed us to the selection of
this property, so well adapted to the needs of
College life. In countless ways, God’s approval
has marked the decisions. None can be more
surprised than we that the Society is really
established in this ideal spot.
It was decided that the deeds would be
signed on August first, so Rev. Mother Provincial
(M. M. Joseph Dalton) and M.del Carmen left
Sharon on the 9:45 a.m. train, to meet the
trustees at Mr. Hirst’s office. There was the usual
procession to the gate opposite Academy Station,
as Rey. Mother Provincial was leaving Sharon to
take up her residence immediately at Rosemont
Hall.
Before ten o’clock, M.M. Edward and
Sr.Philomena started by auto for the new