To understand the spirit of Holy Child Schools, one must know Cornelia.

She was a wife, mother, convert to Catholicism and foundress of a religious congregation of women. In 1846, Cornelia Connelly began a quiet revolution. With a small band - six, all told - of newly professed nuns, she set out to do nothing less than completely change the way children were educated.

And she succeeded.

Challenging the efficacy of rote education, Cornelia Connelly believed that children learn best when treated with reverence and respect and when actively engaged in their education. This was a radical belief at the time and, indeed, for more than a century thereafter. Today, Cornelia’s beliefs are recognized as valid and effective and as a role model for educational reform.

Cornelia Connelly’s educational tenets can be recognized in the best of current educational practice. And they can be seen, every day, in the Holy Child Network of Schools which thrives across the country.

To learn more about Cornelia Connelly see SHCJ Publications