Relationship Between Sisters and Doctors

From the very beginning, the Catholic Sisters and the nonsectarian Mayo physicians worked well together – so well that for the first century of the existence of Saint Marys Hospital, they held an unspoken and unwritten exclusive partnership. This partnership was never established in any form of written contract or formal agreement; rather, a simple handshake represented the “trust and mutual respect” that binded the two groups together.¹

"...They were inspired by each other to go to great lengths on behalf of patients, and make great sacrifices, and that’s what made it work.” -Sister Ellen Whelan

To celebrate such a long-standing relationship, Sister Ellen Whelan Ph.D. wrote two books, titled The Sisters' Story Part one and two, presenting the history of this relationship. As the author, Sister Ellen explained that what can be found in these books is “a story of how Mayo brothers and Sisters came together… They were inspired by each other to go to great lengths on behalf of patients, and make great sacrifices, and that’s what made it work.”²

In fact, Sister Ellen believed that this mutual inspiration was also how the two groups were able to make science and religion work well together: "They have a mutual purpose of serving humanity. That’s true for the Mayos who weren’t religious necessarily, and equally true for the sisters who were religious. Their primary goal was to take care of the patients, so science was going to cure the patient, compassion, nursing…"³ Therefore, despite the Mayo brothers not being religious and the Sisters hardly having experience with medicine or science, they made it work. They saw the other acting in such dedicated and sacrificial ways that they were deeply inspired and felt mutual respect.

Even to this day, such mutual admiration is present, keeping the relationship alive. Despite the waning number of sisters, Sister Ellen and others proclaimed, “I don’t think [the relationship] has changed.”⁴