Inspiring Innovator: Sister Mary Ignatia

Sister Mary Ignatia, 1889-1966

Why She’s Notable: Known as the “Angel of Alcoholics Anonymous,” this Irish nun helped found AA with “Dr. Bob” Smith and Bill Wilson. In 1939, she established Ignatia Hall, the first treatment unit for people with alcoholism, at Akron’s St. Thomas Hospital. It became a national model, saving lives with dignified treatment. “Her strength and her belief in the human spirit is what sets her apart,” says Leianne Neff Heppner, president and CEO of Summit Historical Society of Akron, OH, which has the Women’s History Project.

Her Local Impact:

About 10,000 people descend upon Akron annually to celebrate AA on Founders’ Day. A 14-bed Ignatia Hall detox unit lives on at Summa Health’s new behavioral health facility, which has a heritage center honoring Ignatia.

Her Legacy: Millions worldwide have found sobriety through AA. Ignatia was recognized in a letter from former President John F. Kennedy. AA and Ignatia Hall not only helped develop an effective treatment, but they also removed the stigma. At Ignatia Hall’s start, people with alcoholism were cast out and sent to asylums. Ignatia overcame pushback of admitting hospital patients — sometimes having to sneak them in — and advocated for the treatment of alcoholism as a disease. “This is something that she and Dr. Bob did without support of others in a time when it wasn’t recognized,” Heppner says. “It was her mission to help these individuals have better lives.”