😷 Spanish Flu Flashcards
(12 cards)
When did the Spanish Flu occur and how does it relate to the Victorian Era?
It occurred in 1918–1919, after the Victorian Era, but the Church’s response was still shaped by its Victorian legacy of charity and service.
How did the Church provide spiritual care during the Spanish Flu?
Priests and nuns administered last rites, offered comfort, and prayed with the dying, often at great personal risk.
What role did Catholic hospitals play during the Spanish Flu?
They treated patients and were often staffed by religious sisters who served as nurses.
How did the Church support grieving communities?
By organizing aid for orphans and families, and offering spiritual and emotional support through parishes.
What values did the Church promote during the Spanish Flu crisis?
Compassion, charity, solidarity, and hope.
Spanish Flu (1918–1919)
Though this pandemic occurred just after the Victorian Era, the Catholic Church played a significant role in the global response:
spiritual care
Priests and nuns provided last rites, comfort, and pastoral care to the dying—often risking and losing their own lives.
Churches remained open where possible for prayer and spiritual support, although many had to suspend public Masses.
health services
Catholic hospitals and clinics treated patients across Europe, North America, and beyond.
Religious sisters, especially nurses, served heroically in overwhelmed medical facilities.
community support
Parishes organized aid for orphans and bereaved families, offering practical help and spiritual support.
The Church encouraged solidarity and charity, reinforcing values of compassion and hope in a time of fear and loss.
industrial revolution and the churches response
Issued Rerum Novarum (1891), supported workers’ rights, promoted social justice, expanded education and health services.
spanish flu and churches response
Provided spiritual care, ran hospitals and orphanages, supported communities with prayer, comfort, and health services.
