Charles Chapman Grafton

Grafton – the man

Charles Chapman GraftonCharles Chapman Grafton (1830 – 1912) was trained at Harvard Law School, then became a priest and one of the three founding fathers of SSJE in England in 1866.  He returned to SSJE in Boston, then in 1888 became Bishop of the Diocese of Fond du Lac in Wisconsin.  He was brilliant pastor, ardent ecumenist, community organizer, and founder of the Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity in Fond du Lac.

 

 

 

Grafton – the biography

Br. Eldridge Pendleton, SSJE has authored a fascinating biography, Press On, The Kingdom; The Life of Charles Chapman Grafton, the culmination of 25 years of research.
The book is available for $15.00 at Blurb.com

Grafton – the house

GraftonHouseIn 2014, with the help of the Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity, SSJE bought an eighteenth-century house adjacent to our rural monastery, Emery House, to house our monastic interns, men and women.  In honor of the Sisters’ support and the connection between the two communities, the house was named Grafton House, and its chapel, the Chapel of the Holy Nativity.