Inside the CPPS Archives

Sisters in the Summer

The Sisters of the Precious Blood have always had busy summers. They celebrated, worked, took classes and more. The summer of 1939 is such an example — the Sisters’ Chronicles depict a snapshot of what life may have looked like for a busy Sister during the summer.

In June and July, 16 Sisters would travel to various parishes to teach Christian Doctrine (now known as CCD) to local children, preparing them for “the reception of the Sacraments of Confession and First Holy Communion.”

In June, 107 Sisters from the missions arrived at Salem Heights to participate in the first summer retreat conducted by a Precious Blood Father.

Other Sisters arriving at Salem Heights prepared to renew or make final vows. In July, a delegate of the archbishop conducted classes for these Sisters. Still others attended classes “in the branches offered in our school at the Motherhouse!”

On July 29, the Sisters received their “obediences” or the locations of their next mission. They had “this news conveyed to them by a note in a small sealed envelope.” The Sisters would go into the Chapel at Salem Heights and open the envelope and read it “in the presence of the Eucharistic Lord exposed in the Blessed

Sacrament.”

The next day, July 30, the Golden and Silver Jubilees were celebrated with a Mass and a “festive dinner,” which “formed a pleasant feature amid the solemnities of the day.” The Sister Jubilarians were “favored by a specially prepared program consisting of instrumental selections, songs and speeches.”

On August 5, 200 more Sisters — including postulants preparing for investment and novices preparing to profess their first vows — attended a retreat, again given by a Precious Blood Father.

To end the summer, on August 15, the Congregation celebrated investment, profession and renewals of vows. “At the Communion of the Mass, 12 novices made their first Profession of Vows. Five Sisters renewed their vows for one year in the same manner, and 43 Sisters pronounced final vows.” Eleven postulants joined the Congregation, also.

In late August, the Sisters dispersed to continue their ministries or begin new ones. According to the 1939 Chronicle, “the greatest number of Sisters present at the same time at the Motherhouse during this summer was about 350.” 

Creative pursuits of all types allow us to express thoughts and feelings that can sometimes be difficult to put into words. Color, form, texture or sound can take us to a place beyond language as we continually seek transcendent experiences that elevate, challenge and inspire.

Many Sisters of the Precious Blood make art and crafts, and while the forms of their creations vary widely — carving, painting, quilting, singing and many more — they share in common a means of communion with others, and a way to reflect the beauty of God.

When Sister Mary Ann Smith made her final profession of vows with the Sisters of the Precious Blood in 1945, she was assigned to domestic work as a cook, seamstress or housekeeper, and she applied her numerous skills and talents in those areas as she served in mission houses across the country. Later in her ministry, she served for two decades in a variety of roles with Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, where part of her duties included helping mothers and children living in poverty learn essential homemaking skills.

Throughout her ministry, she served God’s people — among her many roles in community building, she served as a board member of the Emergency Resources Bank and Montgomery County Hunger Coalition, and she worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to distribute cheese and butter. The mayor of Dayton declared May 12, 1988, as Sister Mary Ann Smith Day; the Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross recognized her for the “many years of service [she] provided to the hungry of the community.”

All those years, Sister Mary Ann also developed and expanded the practical application of her hands-on skills into a rich legacy of distinctive cookery, ceramics, fiber art, woodworking and carving, and handmade rosaries.

Born in 1920 in Lima, Ohio, Sister Mary Ann’s first woodworking teacher was her brother Bob. She developed her artistic talents in classes at St. Joseph’s College, the University of Dayton, the Dayton Art Institute and the Columbus College of Art and Design. She made liturgical ceramic vessels, as well as ceramics for home use and display, and her pieces won several awards in the Midwest Ceramic Show in Dayton. She taught woodworking to boys at St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Dayton and taught weaving to women in Ottoville, Ohio. She built 11 altars and made dozens of candle holders for the Maria Stein retreat house in Mercer County. In her lifetime, friends and family also enjoyed her hand-dipped chocolate candy. Sister Mary Ann died in 1994 at the age of 73. 