Sister Blandina of Cincinnati

Sister Blandina Segale had a second chapter to her life. After spending 20 years bringing civility and the light of Christ to the Wild West, Sister Blandina and her biological sister, Sister Justina, worked hard for immigrants and those in need in Cincinnati, Ohio. They began their work in 1896 and organized the Santa Maria Institute in 1897 to provide catechesis, social services, and homes for those in need. They worked initially among the immigrant Italian population, but their scope expanded as more and more people in need flooded into Cincinnati in the first quarter of the 20th century. They fought against bigotry, religious persecution and opposition, and sometimes an adverse legal system. But their efforts became one of the largest and most important social services organizations in Ohio, Santa Maria Services.