In September 2023, the associates of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati will commemorate their 50th anniversary. It was on Sept. 5, 1973, that Blasa Rivera made her commitment in Pueblo, Colorado, as the first associate of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. Almost 50 years later, the associate program is comprised of 204 lay women and men who feel called to partner with the sisters in responding to the gospel in the spirit of St. Elizabeth Bayley Seton, the first American-born saint and foundress of the first American community of women religious.
This milestone has only been marked by a handful of other associate programs in the United States and demonstrates the swift response of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati to the documents of the Second Vatican Council urging religious communities to envision new ways to embody their mission and spirit.
