Mary Elizabeth Clovis Lange (c. 1784-1882)
MSA SC 3520-13580
Biography:
Baltimore was an up and coming city in the early decades of the
nineteenth century, home to many diverse groups of people.
Although it was a place offering great opportunities to some
segments of society, many individuals that made their home in the area
were
excluded by government and society. Mother Mary Elizabeth Clovis
Lange, upon her arrival in
Baltimore in 1813, refused to be denied the prospects only open to the
"priveleged" segments of society. Though her life and work
remains, for the most part, esoteric
in our society today, she has been described as "something of a Mother
Teresa of 19th-century Baltimore, helping the poor, the elderly and the
young."1 Facing tough odds and
even harm
to realize her goals, Mary Elizabeth Lange became a pioneer in the
fields of education and religion in Baltimore. She faced
discrimination on four
levels: she was a free black in a slave state, she was a woman in a
male dominated society, she spoke French in an English speaking area,
and she
was Catholic in a predominantly Protestant culture. Meeting these
challenges head-on, Mother Lange triumphed over her adversaries and
founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence, an order that still exists
today and continues its devotion to the education and welfare of
children, women, African Americans, the destitute, and society as a
whole.
Information about Mary Elizabeth Clovis Lange's early life is sparse
and has been pieced together from the few documents that do
exist. She was born in 1784, in Santo Domingo, Haiti. It
is believed that her mother, Annette Lange, was a daughter of a Jewish
plantation owner, and her father, Clovis, was a mulatto slave on the
same plantation. Lange and her family probably fled Haiti
sometime in the early 1790s due to the Haitian Revolution and
subsequent violence and dictatorships that ravaged the nation and its
people. Lange and her parents first went to
Cuba, living there for three years, and then to the United States,
arriving in Baltimore in 1813.2
In her first years in Baltimore, Elizabeth Lange was interested in
pursuing a life devoted to teaching, which is indicative of the fact
that she had received a relatively good education for a person of her
stature. Baltimore was home to a growing population of free
blacks and creole refugees, much like herself. However, the white
population was hostile to these groups and prevented forms of social
mobility,
such as education, in order to maintain the separation between white
and
black. Religion was undoubtedly very significant to the black
population as many came from a Catholic background like Lange.
St. Mary's Seminary Chapel in Baltimore was the central place of
worship for many blacks in the city. It was established by the
Sulpicians, who had emigrated to the United States to escape the
turmoil in revolutionary France. Significantly, its members were
also of bi-racial origins, which helped them connect with the growing
black
population in Baltimore.3
However, the church still instituted separations between the white and
black populations. Blacks were forced to worship in basement
chapels, and they had to receive communion after white
parishioners. In addition, many Sulpicians owned slaves, which
indicates the prevalence of the strict social mores guiding whites and
blacks during this time. Realizing that Baltimore suffered from
the same
community divisions that her homeland, Haiti, faced, Elizabeth Lange
decided to remain in the city in hopes of enticing change.
Relying on her family's wealth, Elizabeth Lange resolved to educate
black children in Baltimore. Because of the racism of the times,
schools were not open to black students, even those children of free
African Americans. Although laws prohibiting the education of
Africans were not on the books in Maryland, as compared to other
southern states, the schooling of blacks was not
encouraged. Some
small schools existed for Protestant blacks, but none for Catholics or
blacks of French-speaking origins. Lange decided to focus on
finding good educators to open a school for black Catholics interested
in a parochial education. Working with a fellow Haitian refugee,
Marie Magdalene Balas, Lange began operating a small school for black
girls out of her
home in Fells Point. However, by 1827, Lange and
Balas were forced to close the school due to lack of adequate funds.4 Frustrated, but not discouraged
from continuing on her quest, Lange sought out the help of the
Sulpicians to extend greater education to black Catholics. It was
then that she met Father James Hector Joubert, a French-born priest and
himself a Haitian refugee,
who was receptive to the cause Lange advocated. Joubert had long
been aware of the problems of black education. While ministering to
French-speaking Haitian émigrés, he came across the utter
lack of literacy among the students, which prompted him to speak out in
favor of schooling for blacks. Joubert
had tried to persuade white nuns to take black children into
their classes to provide them with an education, but to no avail.
Upon meeting Lange, Joubert approached Archbishop James
Whitfield to create an order of African American nuns, who would be
instituted to provide an education for blacks. Lange was
interested in this proposal because she had wanted to enter
into the religious life, but found no order would accept her based on
her skin color.5 There were
many advantages to establishing such an order. It would enable
black women to enter the religious life when such opportunities had
previously been barred to them, and it would provide a chance for many
women,
both white and black, to enter into the teaching profession, which was
often-times restricted to them. Finally, it would provide for the
desperately needed education blacks deserved and longed for in
Baltimore City. Archbishop Whitfield was enthusiastic about the
possibilities such a religious order held and approved its
founding. Excited with this unexpected, positive reception,
Joubert and Lange quickly found other women who were interested in
joining the order. On July 2, 1829, Lange, along with three other
black women, took the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience forming
the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the world's first religious order for
women of African descent and the nation's first black Catholic order,
with Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange as superior.6
The Oblate Sisters of Providence, headed by Mother Lange, were able
to
quickly enact many of the goals they had set out to accomplish.
The black community of Baltimore, specifically Haitian refugees, were
more than willing to provide financial
support for the Oblates. Establishment of a school was the
primary concern for the sisters. Just prior to taking vows,
the Oblates had operated a very small school for colored children in a
rented house on Paca Street in Baltimore. The first students were
French-speaking, but came from various social backgrounds. In
addition, realizing that three of the students were orphans, the
sisters created an orphanage at the home. By the end of 1828, the
school had grown and needed to find a new location to accommodate the
increasing numbers of interested children seeking education with the
Oblates. From its outset, the curriculum was comparable to ones
at private schools for white children, indicative of both the level of
education of the teachers and the desire of the sisters to bring an
end to disparities between the white and black communities. The
school moved to a new neighborhood, which was far away from the
presence of the Sulpicians. Due to this distance, the sisters
found, to their dismay, a growing sentiment of racism and opposition
from the surrounding community. In a Baltimore Magazine article, Dean Storm
explains the profound animosity the sisters faced in this hostile
environment: "In their diaries, the sisters worried about the
possibility of being lynched for teaching colored children, or just for
being a black woman with the audacity to wear a nun's habit."7 Although they faced dire
conditions everyday, the sisters remained devoted to the education of
blacks and the continuance of their order. To make matters more
difficult, the landlord of the house the Oblates rented, upon realizing
the communitiy's resentment towards the black order and students,
suddenly informed the sisters he had new plans for the property,
forcing them to vacate. Other houses in the vicinity
also acquired very high rents, making it impossible for the
Oblates to find a new residence nearby. These difficulties help
to paint the picture of the extreme racism the sisters faced for much
of their early development. However, the sisters ran into some
luck when a benefactor of their order offered them property to use for
the continuation of the school. It was here that the sisters
formally opened the Saint Frances Academy in 1828, due in large part to
the fact that this new location was a more secure and permanent home
for their order.8 Initially the
school was open only to girls, but enrollment was extended to boys
in 1852. A growing student body and expanding avenues of care
provided by the order necessitated the purchase of adjoining lots to
provide more space for the Oblates. Although the Oblate Sisters
were experiencing a time of growth,
financial troubles continued to plague the order. The money Lange
had inherited
from her family was quickly dwindling, and outside support proved to be
inadequate to maintain the development of the order. In addition,
they ran into hard times yet again when, with the death of Father
Joubert in 1843, they lost their primary supporter. The
Sulpicians refused to continue their backing of the Oblates, and the
Archdiocese of Baltimore demanded the sisters "return to the world,"
relinquishing their religious ties. The rector of St. Mary's
Seminary even requested the Oblates to come serve as domestics for the
priests, to which Mother Lange responded, "As persons of color and
religious at the same time, we wish to conciliate these two qualities
as not to appear too arrogant nor miss the respect which is due to the
state we have embraced and the holy habit we have the honor to wear."9 Not one to be
deterred, Lange encouraged her fellow Oblates to take in washing,
ironing, and sewing to support themselves and the various branches of
the order's work. In spite of the difficulties the Oblates faced,
they continued to minister and provide for the surrounding community,
black and white alike, and foster the expansion of St. Frances Academy,
which was hailed as "a pioneer in the field of education in Baltimore
for neglected 'colored' children and the earliest teacher-training
institute in Baltimore for black women."10
Although they faced years of adversity, the Oblate Sisters of
Providence were able to find another priest to reinvigorate their
demoralized group after the death of Father Joubert and the animosity
directed towards them from the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The
sisters became well-known in the black community as pioneers in
education,
beacons of hope, and providers of healing. Although they gained
many supporters during the early decades of their existence, many
Baltimoreans had ways of showing their disapproval of the order as
well.
In 1832, the city was ravaged by a cholera epidemic. The Oblate
Sisters were among many religious orders that were sought out by the
Bureau of the Poor to minister to the sick in almshouses. Few in
number, the Oblates consented and worked tirelessly to care for the
sick and dying, losing one of their own to the disease in the
process. However, no official thanks from the city was ever
received, even though the Sisters of Charity, a white nursing order,
did receive public recognition for their relatively few efforts to help
out during the outbreak.11 In
addition, during the 1850s, anti-Catholic
riots led by the Know-Nothings broke into a school run by the Oblates,
forcing the sisters to suspend classes. The mayor at the time did
nothing to stop the attacks, making visible the sentiments of
city officials towards the order. The immediate dangers and lack
of reverence paid to the Oblate Sisters continued throughout most of
its early existence, and the fact that the sisters carried on in this
environment is both astounding and awe-inspiring. St. Frances
Academy maintained its rigorous curriculum under the guidance of Mother
Lange, who was convinced of the value of a strong, demanding education
to nurture the children of the community. The school grew, and
the sisters instituted similar schools in other areas of the city and
the nation including: St. Joseph's in South Baltimore, St.
Michael's on Lombard Street in Baltimore, St. Elizabeth's in St. Louis,
Missouri, and St. Augustine's in Washington D.C. In addition, in
1836, St. Frances Academy added a new chapel, which inaugurated
the first time American black Catholics had their own separate chapel
for worship.12 In later
years, Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange served as novice-mistress from 1851
to 1855 and as local supervisor of St. Benedict's School in Fells Point
from 1863 to 1866. The sisters followed the leadership and
enthusiasm of Mother Lange and instituted new areas of care for the
community. They opened a widow's home, ran a bible school,
provided vocational training, did home visiting, and conducted a night
school so that adult blacks could learn to read and write. Also,
Lange and the Oblates began a new era of working with destitute
children when the end of the Civil War brought about an abundance of
black war orphans into Baltimore City.13
By 1871, Mother Lange's health began to deteriorate. Although
she
continued to enjoy having children and fellow sisters visit her in her
room and remained a financial advisor for the Oblates, she became
less and less a visible part of the everyday functions of the
order. Lange joined in the celebration of the fiftieth
anniversary of the Oblates in 1879, but it was one of the last major
events she was able to attend. At the age of ninety-eight,
Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange died on February 3, 1882, and was buried in
Bonnie Brae Cemetery in Baltimore.14
Today, her legacy
continues in the work of the Oblate Sisters of Providence. St.
Frances Academy is the oldest continuously
operating school for black Catholic children in the United States and
has become a safe haven and place of encouragement for children who
grow
up on the tough streets of inner-city Baltimore. In addition, the
Oblates run chapters in seven states, Costa Rica, and the Dominican
Republic. Although the order is currently facing a sharp decline
in number as only ninety-five sisters remain, and, as a result, have
been forced to drastically reduce the variety of services they are able
to provide, the Oblates persevere and
have taken up a new cause to bring awareness and support to their
group. Beginning in 1991, the Oblate Sisters initiated a campaign
to have Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange canonized. Though the process
can take generations, the sisters have already made much headway and
are confident that Lange's sainthood is imminent. Canonization
would make Mother Lange the first woman of
color in the United States to be proclaimed a saint, an honor
undoubtedly deserving for such a religious pioneer. As it stands
now, documents pertaining to the life and work of Lange have been sent
to the Vatican and are pending review by the Congregation of Causes for
Saints. If the documents are accepted, then a positio, a single
document, will be given to the Congregation for examination, and if
also
accepted, the title of venerable will be bestowed upon Lange.
Beatification is the next step in the long process, in which posthumous
miracles performed by Mother Lange, must be documented and recognized
by the Church. After two such miracles, the Vatican will confer
upon Lange the status of sainthood. The first miracle will
probably be submitted to the
Congregation later this year, according to Sister Virginie Fish of the
Oblate order.15
Mother Lange's ideas have been passed down through successive
generations of Oblate Sisters, students, and individuals in the
communities affected across the United States and internationally by
the
order she founded. Mother Lange was a "woman of exceptional
confidence and trust in God. She had great generosity, courage
and determination. She loved the poor and was willing to see
Christ in those around her and the prejudice and racial hatred never
blurred that vision. Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange is a real
heroine of the church and a model of Christian life, the stuff of which
saints are made."16
Endnotes:
1. McCraven, Marilyn. "A Saint from East
Baltimore?" The Baltimore Sun,
8 October 1995. return to text
2. Breslaw, Elaine G. and Joan A. Andersen.
"Elizabeth Clovis Lange, c.1784-1882: Black Religious Leader," Notable Maryland Women, ed.
Winifred G. Helmes (Cambridge, MD: Tidewater Press, 1977) 208. return to text
3. Ibid. return to
text
4. Storm, Dean. "Waiting for a Miracle," Baltimore, June 1997. return to text
5. Chalkey, Tom. "Charmed Life: Soul Sister," The Baltimore City Paper, 1
December 1999. return to text
6. "Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange," Archdiocese
of Baltimore, 2004. http://www.archbalt.org/our-history/notable-people-detail.cfm?customel_datapageid_999=2243.
return to text
7. Storm. return to
text
8. Breslaw, 210. return
to text
9. Rivera, John. "A Saintly Undertaking on
Founder's Behalf," The Baltimore Sun,
5 February 2003. return to text
10. Stegman, Carolyn B. Women of Achievement in Maryland History
(Maryland: Anaconda Press, 2002) 70. return
to text
11. Sister Elizabeth Ann, S.J.W. "Elizabeth
Clovis Lange, Mother Mary
Elizabeth: Foundress of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, c.
1784-1882." Catholic Heritage Curricula, 2001. http://www.catholichomeschooling.com/curr/am6.htm.
return to text
12. "Our History," The Oblate Sisters of
Providence, n.d. http://oblatesisters.com/. return to text
13.
Diggs, Louis. "Biography of Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, O.S.P." Louis
Diggs, 10 October 2002. http://www.louisdiggs.com/oblates/Biography.html.
return to text
14. Cosgrove, Joseph. "Heroine of the Church:
Mother Lange's Contribution to Maryland and the Archdiocese," The Catholic Review, 13 March
1991. return to text
15. Burris, Joe. "The Faithful," The Baltimore Sun, 2 February
2005. return to text
16. Cosgrove. return
to text
Biography written by 2005 summer
intern Lauren Morton
Return to Mary Elizabeth Clovis Lange's Introductory Page
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