Sr. Henrietta Gorris, CSA – the “Angel of Hough”
Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine
“Don’t move; improve. Don’t just say it; live it.”
These were the words of Sr. Henrietta Gorris, CSA, who came to be known as the “Angel of Hough.” There she worked to uplift an impoverished community during the aftermath of violence.
Sr. Henrietta’s journey to religious life began when she was a lay student at Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Canton, OH. There, she suffered a severe case of appendicitis. Apocryphally, she promised to enter religious life if her own life was spared—and spared it was! She entered the Sisters of Charity in 1925, and professed final vows in 1928.
For over thirty years, Sr. Henrietta served as both a nurse and administrator at Mercy and Timken Mercy Hospitals, and later as the Director of Nursing Service at St. Vincent Charity Hospital in Cleveland. Her work was instrumental in building what would become Mercy Medical Center.
In spite of her successful career, Sr. Henrietta felt called to serve the poor through missionary work. Though initially dissuaded by her superiors, in 1965 she shared her dream with one of the missionary priests serving at Rosary Hall, the Alcoholics Anonymous ward at St. Vincent’s. He encouraged Sister to consider Hough, a neighborhood in East Cleveland. Hough was a place where the poor endured poor living conditions, inadequate housing, and incidents of police harassment. A year later, in 1966, tensions in the neighborhood erupted into violence. The city was ravaged by several days of looting and arson, and the mayor eventually called upon the National Guard to restore order. Sr. Henrietta felt a deep connection to this community, and focused her efforts on uplifting its people.
Tough, determined, and practical-minded, Sr. Henrietta lived and worked alongside the Hough residents, operating out of a rehabbed apartment building that she turned into a convent and mission center. She soon gathered a group of dedicated volunteers from all over the city. She began the Famicos Foundation, which seeks to empower residents and provide aid through social services, education, and neighborhood revitalization. Today, Famicos still stands strong, serving Cleveland.
Sr. Henrietta encouraged the residents to get to know their neighbors, and to create a place where people care about one another. She also worked to provide education for job training, minor home repair, housekeeping skills, health, nutrition, insurance, and more. Infamously, Sr. Henrietta would also conduct unscheduled visits to residents’ homes, to ensure that they were implementing the program’s teachings.
Sister passed away in 1983, but the impact of her work is still felt today. Sr. Henrietta was a woman of hard work, with a deep love of the community she served. She laid the foundation for a community of respect, renewal, and resilience.
