Pa, Ma, and Fa: Private Lives of Nineteenth-Century American Vincentians

John Rybolt

Pa, Ma, and Fa: Private Lives of Nineteenth-Century American Vincentians

John Rybolt

Research output: Other contribution

Abstract

John Rybolt summarizes the correspondence written by nine Vincentians to members of the prominent Willcox family of Ivy Mills, Pennsylvania. As Rybolt explains, “These letters offer probably the only surviving glimpse of the private lives and thoughts of American Vincentians in the mid-nineteenth century.” The Vincentians and the Willcoxes were close: the Vincentians called their main correspondent, Mary Willcox, Ma and her husband Pa. One of the Vincentians referred to himself as Fa. The priests helped Ma with her spiritual development, and she and her family were surrogates for the families the Vincentians had left behind in Europe. All the Vincentian correspondents are profiled, including Mariano Maller and Thaddeus Amat. Rybolt discusses what their letters reveal about their lives and personalities, as well as the challenges they faced in their ministry. The Vincentian mission to Ivy Mills also illustrates how American Catholic parishes evolved. Quotations from the letters are included.

Original language	American English
State	Published - Oct 21 2020
Externally published	Yes

Publication series

Name	Vincentian Heritage Journal

Access to Document

Pa Ma and Fa Private Lives of Nineteenth-Century American Vincentians

http://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol35/iss2/2

Cite this

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title = "Pa, Ma, and Fa: Private Lives of Nineteenth-Century American Vincentians",

abstract = "John Rybolt summarizes the correspondence written by nine Vincentians to members of the prominent Willcox family of Ivy Mills, Pennsylvania. As Rybolt explains, “These letters offer probably the only surviving glimpse of the private lives and thoughts of American Vincentians in the mid-nineteenth century.” The Vincentians and the Willcoxes were close: the Vincentians called their main correspondent, Mary Willcox, Ma and her husband Pa. One of the Vincentians referred to himself as Fa. The priests helped Ma with her spiritual development, and she and her family were surrogates for the families the Vincentians had left behind in Europe. All the Vincentian correspondents are profiled, including Mariano Maller and Thaddeus Amat. Rybolt discusses what their letters reveal about their lives and personalities, as well as the challenges they faced in their ministry. The Vincentian mission to Ivy Mills also illustrates how American Catholic parishes evolved. Quotations from the letters are included.",

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N2 - John Rybolt summarizes the correspondence written by nine Vincentians to members of the prominent Willcox family of Ivy Mills, Pennsylvania. As Rybolt explains, “These letters offer probably the only surviving glimpse of the private lives and thoughts of American Vincentians in the mid-nineteenth century.” The Vincentians and the Willcoxes were close: the Vincentians called their main correspondent, Mary Willcox, Ma and her husband Pa. One of the Vincentians referred to himself as Fa. The priests helped Ma with her spiritual development, and she and her family were surrogates for the families the Vincentians had left behind in Europe. All the Vincentian correspondents are profiled, including Mariano Maller and Thaddeus Amat. Rybolt discusses what their letters reveal about their lives and personalities, as well as the challenges they faced in their ministry. The Vincentian mission to Ivy Mills also illustrates how American Catholic parishes evolved. Quotations from the letters are included.

AB - John Rybolt summarizes the correspondence written by nine Vincentians to members of the prominent Willcox family of Ivy Mills, Pennsylvania. As Rybolt explains, “These letters offer probably the only surviving glimpse of the private lives and thoughts of American Vincentians in the mid-nineteenth century.” The Vincentians and the Willcoxes were close: the Vincentians called their main correspondent, Mary Willcox, Ma and her husband Pa. One of the Vincentians referred to himself as Fa. The priests helped Ma with her spiritual development, and she and her family were surrogates for the families the Vincentians had left behind in Europe. All the Vincentian correspondents are profiled, including Mariano Maller and Thaddeus Amat. Rybolt discusses what their letters reveal about their lives and personalities, as well as the challenges they faced in their ministry. The Vincentian mission to Ivy Mills also illustrates how American Catholic parishes evolved. Quotations from the letters are included.

M3 - Other contribution

T3 - Vincentian Heritage Journal

ER -