Cornelia Connelly

Cornelia Connelly
Mother Cornelia Connelly, ca. 1877.
Born	Cornelia Peacock 15 January 1809 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	18 April 1879 St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, England, UK
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Roman Catholic Nun
Known for	Founding the Society of the Holy Child Jesus

Cornelia Connelly (née Peacock; January 15, 1809 – April 18, 1879) was the American-born foundress of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious institute. In 1846, she founded the first of many Holy Child schools, in England.

Cornelia Peacock was born in Philadelphia and raised a Presbyterian. Orphaned at the age of 14, she went to live with her half sister Isabella and her husband. In 1831 she was baptized into the Protestant Episcopal Church and, despite her family's protests, married the Reverend Pierce Connelly, an Episcopal priest. Cornelia had been well educated by tutors at home. Pierce was five years her senior, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. The two moved to Natchez, Mississippi, where Pierce had accepted the rectorship of the Holy Trinity Episcopal church. By all accounts they were an immensely happy couple and welcomed by their parishioners. Pierce profited from land investments, and in 1835 was appointed chairman of the Episcopal Convention of the Southwest, which augured well for a future bishopric. At the time the couple had a son, Mercer, and a daughter, Adeline.

In 1835 a wave of anti-Catholic resentment struck the US due to massive Catholic immigration from Europe. Consequently, the Connellys delved into a study of Catholic beliefs and practices. Soon Pierce had become so uncertain in his own beliefs that he resigned his parish and went to St. Louis to consult with Bishop Rosati about conversion. In doing so, Pierce sacrificed a promising career as well as the financial security of his family. His wife however supported him fully: "I am ready to submit to whatever he believes to be the path of duty." Pierce now took his family to Rome before committing himself. Cornelia however was already received into the Catholic Church while waiting in New Orleans for passage to Italy. In Rome, Pierce petitioned for admittance to the church so compellingly that, after meeting Pierce in a personal audience, Pope Gregory XVI was moved to tears. Two months later he was received into the church. Ordination was a different matter. Celibacy being required of priests in the church's Latin rite, Vatican officials suggested that he consider the Eastern rite instead, which ordains married men – particularly as Cornelia was pregnant again. Being an ambitious man, Pierce ignored the advice. There were no Eastern-rite parishes in the US for him to serve, and only celibates can become Eastern-rite bishops. The family were otherwise happy in Rome, where they stayed in the palazzo of the English Catholic John Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury. The Connellys moved on to Vienna, where their 3rd child John Henry was born. But in July, a bank crisis in the US forced Pierce to return to Natchez to find employment. Offered a position at a Jesuit college in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, Pierce taught English, while 29-year-old Cornelia taught music at an academy for girls. For the first time the couple were poor, but by all accounts quite content.