Sr. Blandina Segale, Part 1: The Fastest Nun in the West

American Catholic History

Noelle & Tom Crowe

History, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Education

5 • 724 Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sister Blandina Segale was a spitfire of a pint-sized Italian nun who faced down lynch mobs, tamed outlaws, outwitted juvenile troublemakers, and built or rebuilt schools, orphanages, hospitals and convents, often with her own hands and the those of anyone she could cajole or convince to help. Whew! She was originally from Italy, but after her family immigrated when she was 5, she became a Sister of Charity at 16. At 22, in 1872, she was sent to the frontier mining town of Trinidad, Colorado. She spent 20 years out west, and her impact was tremendous. But this episode is only part of her amazing story. After she was recalled to Cincinnati in 1892 she spent another nearly five decades working equally hard for women and children in that town. But that will be a story for another day.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to American Catholic History, brought to you by the support of listeners like you.
0:11.0	If you like American Catholic History, please become a supporter at American Catholic History.org.
0:17.0	Also, if you don't already, be sure to follow the podcast and give us a five-star rating and a great review wherever you get your podcast.
0:26.1	I'm Noelle Heister Crow.
0:27.3	And I'm Tom Crow.
0:28.5	Today, we're talking about one of our favorite figures on American Catholic history.
0:33.9	She's known as the fastest nun in the West.
0:37.6	She was a pint-sized bit fire of a woman who would have given John Wayne a run for his money in taming the West.
0:43.7	She actually did gain the respect of Billy the Kids, so yeah, I think you're right.
0:48.7	No, we're talking about Sister Blendina Seagali, and she led a remarkable life that we've had to break up her story into
0:57.5	two episodes. It was so remarkable. Absolutely. Her exploits in the Wild West were just one big part of
1:03.1	her story. But after two decades, staring down lynch mobs, evangelizing outlaws, fighting for the
1:08.9	rights of the natives, building schools and orphanages with
1:11.9	her own hands, and of course, sharing the love of Christ with everyone who would listen,
1:16.7	she was recalled to Cincinnati, where she was just as much a force of nature for the immigrants
1:21.4	and the poor in that town for many more decades. So we've got a lot to cover. Let's start with her beginnings.
1:29.3	Sister Blandina was born Rosa Maria Sagale in 1850 to very poor parents near Genoa in what was then
1:37.8	the kingdom of Sardinia. When she was just four years old as the battles to Unify Italy ramped up,
1:44.7	her parents fled Italy for the United States, settling in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1:49.9	Her education was with the Sisters of Charity, the order founded by St. Elizabeth Anne Seton.
1:55.4	From a very early age, she determined that she would become a sister of charity and told her father as much.
2:01.7	Well, she made up her mind and then just did the thing. So out of character. I know, right?
	...

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