Series 3: The Scrapbook, 1882-1907

Sometime during the last quarter of the nineteenth century when publicity was being generated surrounding the celebration of the tercentenary of the death of St. Teresa in both Catholic and secular newspapers, one of the Carmelite nuns at the Biddle Street monastery began this scrapbook. Meticulously organized, the project would be scrupulously continued into the first decade of the twentieth century, leading to the speculation that the compiler was the same person, possibly Sister Louise of St. John the Evangelist (Peckocheck), who was prioress several times during the 1870s and 1880s, and who remained in a position of importance. Because Sister Louise was one of the graduates of the academy conducted by the nuns, she was in a position to be particularly cognizant of the historical significance of Carmel endeavors and of the need to preserve materials commemorating the life of Carmel in Baltimore. Materials preserved include: articles on St. Teresa and the celebration of the tercentenary of her death; descriptions and histories of Carmelite life in America; necrologies; publicity for the Carmelite Sister's centenary celebration of foundation in America; articles on Carmelite Saints; news of other American foundations; obituaries of prominent persons and of some Carmelite Sisters; articles in defense of the Scapular Devotion; reviews of lectures given by prominent clerics; requests for financial support for Mt. Carmel, Syria; publicity for the tercentenary celebration of the death of John of the Cross; articles on important papal and church events. The scrapbook preserves those articles that appeared especially in The New York Freeman's Journal and Catholic Register, The Catholic Mirror, The Baltimore Sun, and The Catholic Review.