The self-guided exhibit is dedicated to telling the stories of more than 20,000 religious sisters whose orders trace their lineage to Mother Seton. The exhibit explores how these sisters, following Mother Seton’s example, served the poor, responded to crises and helped shape education, health care and social services across the United States for more than two centuries and up to the present day.
Organized around key periods in American history, the exhibit begins in the early years of the American republic and follows the sisters’ work through the Civil War, when they served as battlefield nurses and into the 20th century, when they cared for the sick during pandemics, expanded nursing education and responded to the challenges of industrialization, immigration and global conflict.