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Venerable Cornelia Connelly was born in 1809 to a wealthy family from Philadelphia. Cornelia’s parents raised her in the Presbyterian faith.
Cornelia recalled being an independent and rebellious child. She once recounted how she antagonized a neighbor’s bull until it chased her, escaping only because her sister intervened.
Cornelia’s father died when she was nine. He had made some poor business decisions, leaving the family in debt and forcing them to significantly reduce their standard of living. Then, five years later, Cornelia’s mother died.
Cornelia and her siblings spread across the US after their mother’s death, and Cornelia was sent to live with her sister, Isabella, and her husband. Through her brother-in-law, she was introduced to the Episcopal Church and baptized at the age of 22.
A Happy Marriage
Through her Episcopal church, Cornelia met her husband, Pierce Connelly. They were married when she was 22.
Soon after their marriage, Pierce was named the rector of a church in Mississippi. The new couple moved to Mississippi and settled into their duties. They also welcomed a child around one year after their marriage.
Unfortunately, Pierce quickly burned out. His church territory was vast, and he had no reliable means of traveling to meet his congregation; he was also the only Episcopal priest for hundreds of miles. Pierce also had ambitions to rise higher in the church hierarchy, ambitions his frontier assignment would not allow. Pierce quickly became frustrated and depressed, which affected his health.
During this time, anti-Catholic sentiment in America was growing. Pierce was very troubled by the violence against Catholics and began learning more about the Catholic faith to see what commonalities there were. He gradually became drawn to the Catholic faith, which further deepened his discontent with his career.
Cornelia supported Pierce in his learning and also became attracted to the Catholic faith. Around this time, the couple had their second child. In a last-ditch effort to salvage his ambitions, Pierce decided to travel to New Orleans to seek election as a bishop at an Episcopal church convention. When his efforts failed, this was the final straw. He renounced his priesthood to delve deeper into the Catholic faith, which meant losing the family’s house and source of income.
As they continued to explore the Catholic faith, Cornelia and Pierce both desired to become Catholic, but one factor stood in their way: Pierce felt called to continue serving as a priest after his conversion.
Now, today, if a priest from the Episcopal or Anglican faith converts to Catholicism, there are procedures in place that can allow the man to remain married. Back then, these provisions did not exist, meaning that if Pierce desired to be a Catholic priest, he would have to renounce his marriage to Cornelia.
Both recognized the need to learn more before Pierce made a final decision, so they set sail for Rome. Before this, in 1835, Cornelia converted to Catholicism, making her faith her central focus.
Pierce’s Conversion
The family arrived in Rome in 1835, and Pierce took the time to learn more about the Catholic faith and priesthood. He converted in 1836, and the couple had their third child in 1837.
Pierce had been encouraged to live as a convert before making a final decision on his priesthood, so the couple moved back to the US. They settled in Louisiana, where both Cornelia and Pierce became teachers at a local Jesuit school.
Tragedy struck the family twice during this time. First, a newborn daughter died at only six weeks of age. Then, their two-and-a-half-year-old son was accidentally knocked into a vat of boiling sugar by a large dog. Cornelia held her son for 43 hours until he died. These tragedies caused her lifelong devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows.
Pierce, however, was still not content with his life. Soon after they found out Cornelia was pregnant with their fifth child, he decided to become a Catholic priest. Cornelia was broken-hearted, but resigned herself to God’s will.
Pierce was ordained in 1844, and in 1845, as required by the Church, she took a vow of perpetual chastity. She and the children went to live with a cloistered order. The plan was for their children to enter Catholic boarding schools when they were eight years old, and after all of the children were in school, she would take religious vows.
Life as a Religious Sister
Cornelia did not feel at home in a cloistered environment. She was encouraged by her confessor to discern other forms of religious life. Through her prayer and discernment, God revealed His plan for her to found the Society of the Holy Child Jesus.
The mission of this order is “to rejoice in God’s presence and to help people believe that God lives and acts in them and in our world”. They work in educational, spiritual, healthcare, and pastoral ministries. Cornelia moved to England to begin this work with the help of a local bishop. Despite some bumps in the road, the order began to grow quickly.
Pierce’s Revolt
Meanwhile, Pierce was discontent again. He sought more prestigious assignments as a priest and resented Cornelia’s growing influence in the Church, as well as her friendship with her local bishop.
Pierce and Cornelia had been forbidden from making contact so as to avoid scandal. Pierce began breaking this rule, showing up unannounced, throwing fits, crying, and raging to get her to return to him, but she refused, citing their vows to God.
Then, he pulled their children out of school without her knowledge and blocked communication between them. He renounced his priesthood and initiated a court case to force her to return to him. This court case created a huge scandal. Eventually, Cornelia won the case, but her reputation was damaged. Additionally, Pierce’s actions destroyed her relationships with her children.
Cornelia prayed for her children for the rest of her life and remained steadfast in prayer and Marian devotion during this time of suffering. She continued to devote herself to growing the Society of the Holy Child Jesus until her death.
Lessons From Venerable Cornelia Connelly
Venerable Cornelia Connelly suffered greatly due to Pierce’s actions, yet she remained faithful to her vows and to God. Her strength stemmed from her regular prayer routine and devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows. She found comfort knowing Mary understood her pain.
Later, Cornelia would state that the Society of the Holy Child Jesus was founded on her broken heart. Cornelia allowed God to use her as His instrument, even in the midst of devastating circumstances, and God brought great fruit from it.
The Church was also founded on pierced hearts-the heart of Jesus pierced on the cross and Mary’s heart pierced by watching her Son suffer. Through these two sets of pierced hearts came the resurrection, the opening of the gates of Heaven, and a great mission in the Church. When we remain rooted in God, He can also bring great things out of broken hearts.
May Venerable Cornelia Connelly intercede for all with a broken heart.