Walking in Their Footsteps: St John School and the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth

Walking in Their Footsteps: St. John School and the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth

Students watch the burning of the palms to make ashes for celebrating Ash Wednesday. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

About the author ...

Emma Milburn is a graduate of St. John School and a member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. She is also a member of Girl Scout Troop 7459. To complete her Gold Award, the highest individual honor a Girl Scout youth can achieve, Emma focused on telling the story of St. John and the Sisters of Charity of Lawrence who first served the school during the early years of statehood, then returned in 1956. This curriculum guide is meant to serve as a brief history of the Sisters’ work in northeast Kansas and beyond, the history of St. John School and the history of Catholic education in Kansas since before statehood. It is Emma’s goal that this curriculum guide will serve as a source of pride and inspiration for all future St. John students who will study their faith.

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Padre Padilla memorial in central Kansas. (Photo Courtesy Kansas State Historical Society.)

Padre Padilla mural at the Kansas Statehouse. (Photo Courtesy John Milburn.)

Chapter1: Faith Takes Root

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o study the history of the Catholic Church in northeast Kansas is to study the history of the first Europeans to travel to North America. When explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado made his expedition in 1540 north through Mexico to colonize New Mexico, he was accompanied by four Franciscan priests, including Father Juan de Padilla.

Padilla was a soldier before he became a friar and was guardian of the convent at Jalisco, Mexico, to become a missionary the native peoples further north. His goal was to educate and convert them to Catholicism. Padilla accompanied Coronado on his expedition to what is present-day Southwestern United States. Padilla was one of the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon. (1) In 1541, based on the tales told by a native known as Turk, the expedition moved north and east in search of Quivira, the alleged site of gold, silver and other metals. In the summer they spent nearly a month in what is now Kansas among the native tribes.

Padilla returned in 1542 entering the area of southwestern Kansas and moving toward the lands of the Walking in Their Footsteps

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Quiviras. A cross was erected in one of the villages and Padilla began his missionary work among the Wichita tribe. He was killed when he decided to leave to work with other tribes. He was the first Christian martyr in what became the United States. His exact place of death is unknown. A mural in the Kansas Statehouse by artist John Steuart Curry depicts Coronado and Padilla on their expedition.

Padilla’s work paved the way for other missionaries to come west across the new American frontier to spread the Catholic faith to native peoples, as well as provide basic education to the children.

A statue of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in the Little Italy section of Providence, Rhode Island. The Several decades later the Spanish had established a permanent congregation was established in 1889 to serve community in North America with the founding of St. Augustine in the spiritual needs of the new Italian what would become the State of Florida. Franciscans opened the first immigrants. (Photographs in the Carol M. Catholic school in 1606 dedicated “to teach children Christian Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, doctrine, reading and writing.” Over the next three centuries as the Prints and Photographs Division. ) The interior of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Philadelphia. (Photograph: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. )

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United States evolved from colonies to a free, democratic nation, millions of Catholics from across Europe would come west for a better life. They found a familiar and comforting reminder of home in the Roman Catholic church. Religious staffed parochial schools _ the first was founded in Philadelphia in 1783 _ that attempted to level the playing field for the poor and marginalized by providing a values-based education. To see that those schools not only multiplied but thrived, the religious orders founded teaching programs across the country to better provide quality instruction for students.

One of the first of those efforts was in 1818 when Bishop William Dubourg of New Orleans arranged for the Religious of the Sacred Heart to teach in the diocese. Madame Rose Philippine Duschesne, who was later canonized for her lifelong work, established the first free school west of the Mississippi River.

Later, in 1836, six sisters from the Congregation of St. Joseph ventured to St. Louis from France and established a motherhouse with a convent school. By the 1850s, the order expanded and sent trained religious staff to the Diocese of Rochester.

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini was also known as Mother Cabrini. Born in Italy in 1850, Mother Cabrini was sent to the United States by the Pope to establish schools and orphanages for immigrants. Her work spread across the United States and the rest of the world. Mother Cabrini was the first American citizen to become a saint. A shrine is dedicated to her in Boulder, Colorado, where she established a camp in the mountains overlooking Denver for girls to attend. Mother Cabrini was canonized in 1950 and is the Patroness of Immigrants.

Not all efforts to recruit religious from the Old World to the United States were successful, putting a strain on efforts to advance Catholic education. Those fortunes turned in 1808 with the founding of the Sisters of Charity by Elizabeth Ann Seton which enabled the first teaching of native-born sisters.

While the narrative has been that religious sisters and priests staffed Catholic schools, the reality is that lay teachers have been a necessity from the outset. This is especially true in light of restrictions that prevented Walking in Their Footsteps

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First Communion, 1962 (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

Adoration 2016. (Photo Courtesy John Milburn.)

sisters from teaching male students when they reached puberty. Boys and girls were segregated and lay teachers filled out the ranks to provide education. It should be more accurately stated that the priests organized the schools in parishes, parents supported the schools and lay school masters served as administrators and oversaw instruction.

Over time, the example and evangelization of the priests and religious in schools had a profound impact on the children. Within generations, the sons and daughters of Catholic immigrants were moved to join the priesthood and religious life, many of whom found their vocation was to return to Catholic schools as teachers and administrators.

While tithing went so far to finance parishes and schools, the Ursuline Sisters created a model where the elite paid tuition for the schools which enabled them to provide a quality education to poor and marginalized children. This example was repeated across the country as it was seen as promoting the common good by instilling values in all segments of society.

Financial issues weren’t the only challenges that Catholic schools faced. As mentioned, in the beginning schools struggled to find enough religious to provide education and generate the numbers necessary to sustain the education system. In addition, Catholics were the subject of racism and bias by Protestants and others who questioned whether Catholics held allegiance to the United States and its values or whether they were truly papists and held loyalty to Rome above all.

It wasn’t enough for the church to establish schools but to also create institutions of higher learning that would prepare teachers in the necessary techniques. The sisters who taught at Catholic schools were not just 6

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A bench and garden area was dedicated to the Sisters of Charity at St. John School. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

subpar because they weren’t trained, but in most cases they hadn’t attended any college at all. What resulted was a tradition by where it was not only important what the teachers taught by why they taught. Of utmost importance was the salvation of the student’s soul, followed by the skills that were needed to succeed in society and the values to make them a good citizen and a good Catholic. Education was more than memorization, but rather teaching children to think and gain their interest in the subjects and in learning altogether.

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Bishop John Baptist Miege was the Bishop of Leavenworth in the Kansas Territory. He agreed to have Mother Xavier Ross and her group of sisters travel from Nashville, Tennessee, to Leavenworth to establish schools, hospitals and social services for the poor and needy children in the frontier. (Photo Courtesy Kansas State Historical Society.)

Mother Xavier Ross was the foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, bringing her fellow sisters to the frontier town on the Missouri River. She barely stood 5-feet tall, but her legacy would eventually stretch across the United States and to South America.

(Photo Courtesy SCL Archives..)

Chapter 2: Mission of Charity

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nn Ross was born in 1813 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of a Methodist minister. The young Ross was taught by her father to be a devout Christian, but he was anti-Catholic. Her path to conversion began with the help of a friend who invited her to Mass when she was 16. Ross was curious what it meant to be Catholic, but knew that her father wouldn’t approve of her being at Mass, let alone ever consider converting. (Anderson) Ross said the Gospel readings that day were from John where Jesus tells his followers that he no longer considered them servants, but rather friends. She felt at home and where she needed to be spiritually.

Within a year, Ross converted to Catholicism, an action that her father and brother did not approve. Ross went to her father the day she became Catholic to explain why she had been baptized and what she felt in her heart God was calling her to do. She was met with a terse reply from her father, “What can a woman do?”

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Drawing of Lawrence as it appeared in 1869. St. John is located in the bottom right of this drawing, labeled No. 12 near South Park and below Mount Oread and the University of Kansas. (Photo Courtesy Kansas State Historical Society.)

For the next two years, Ross was constantly exposed to verbal abuse and religious bigotry from her father, her older brother Joseph and others who despised Catholics. She was viewed as an outcast, a follower of idolatry and superstition. She would quietly leave the house each morning attend daily Mass as to avoid contact with her family. As she walked the route to the church, she felt herself drawing nearer to God and the work he was calling her to do.

Her friend, Victoria, had already gone to Nazareth, Kentucky, to join the Sisters of Charity and Ross realized this was her fate, as well. She made arrangements to join the Sisters of Charity and told her father her intentions. Hoping that he would at least respect her decision to follow her vocation and lead a life serving the Lord, she was instead met with more scorn, hatred and insult from her father.

With that, Ross packed her bag with what she thought might be of use going to the mother house, went to daily Mass and then departed the bustle of Cincinnati by boat for the 130 mile trip to Louisville, Kentucky.

According to the biography of Ross by Sister Julia Gilmore, she felt confident in her decision, “That’s that. My only bridge behind me is burned. From now on, I must build my own bridges or drown.” (Gilmore) She made her way to Nazareth, Kentucky, joining the order and taking her place among the other novice. She had a new name _ Sister Xavier Ross. She soon began teaching at the orphanage, a place where within eight years she would be the superior. On February 24, 1833, she received her habit, moving closer to her goal of serving the Lord and taking her vows. However, that path appeared in serious doubt when her parents arrived Walking in Their Footsteps

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While on a re-election campaign stop in 1911, William Howard Taft stopped in Leavenworth to visit the Old Soldiers Home, as well as this visit to St. Mary’s Academy. (Photo Courtesy Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Archives.)

The first school outside Kansas established by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth was St. Vincent’s Academy in Helena, Montana.

(Photo Courtesy Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth.)

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Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth provided teachers for St. John School and their other education missions across the United States. Above are Sister Joan Therese, Sister Mary Erwin, Sister Peter Claver and Sister Mary Lucy. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

one day, demanding that she put on a new dress they had purchased for her and return to Cincinnati. There was nothing she could do. Being under age, the sisters had to let her go, but told her that once she was old enough to decided on her own that Ross would be welcome to rejoin the Sisters of Charity.

Sister Xavier was crushed, but fate had other ideas. While her father was taking care of personal business, Xavier and her mother were heading to their room at the Galt House in Louisville when her mother came across a woman whom she had met on a previous trip. The woman remarked that it was “a pity” to remove Ross from the “hand of God.” Mrs. Ross was moved by the comment, something her daughter was able to detect.

Asking, “how can you see me suffer so and make no effort to see me happy?” Ross swayed her mother to give her blessing for her daughter to return to the Sisters of Charity. Quickly, Sister Xavier left the hotel and rushed back to the Sisters of Charity house in Louisville. Her mother would continue to stay in limited contact with Ross over the years. Her father wrote one letter three years later, sending a lock of gray hair saying she was the cause for his black hair to turn colors. They never spoke to each other again. (Gilmore) On March 25, 1834, Sister Xavier took her vows in Nazareth. She continued to grow in faith, making her hard work and willingness to do any task asked as a means to glorify God. Two years later, she was back in Louisville teaching at the orphanage. The years took a toll on her and her health suffered. Sister Xavier became Mother Xavier, enduring hardships of serving the poor in less-than-ideal conditions. She eventually lost most of her hearing and by 1858 she was using an ear trumpet to hear.

In 1842, the Sisters of Charity expanded their mission work outside of Kentucky for the first time, establishing educational and hospital missions in Nashville, Tennessee. They served under Bishop Miles who admired their work in Kentucky and prayed for their success in Tennessee. The sisters assumed ownership of Walking in Their Footsteps

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Sister Mary Ann meeting with first-grade parents in 1979. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

their property, a situation that would ultimately lead to their leaving for new lands west.

Over the years, plague hit Nashville when cholera struck many residents. Many of the elites left the city for the country to avoid the disease. This left the poor to suffer the brunt of the illnesses. The sisters did their best to treat the sick, though the number of deaths were staggering. She was now Mother Xavier and the stress was taking its toll.

Over time, the illnesses declined and the Sisters of Charity continued their mission in Nashville, winning the support of Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

In 1850, when Mother Xavier was back in Louisville, it was decided to allow the bishop to establish a diocesan community. It was following a growing trend of dioceses across the United States that were maturing and beginning to develop their own native populations of religious.

She was once again Sister Xavier and part of six nuns who left Louisville to establish the community in 1851. It was not an easy decision, but after prayerful consideration, she realized she had to follow God’s calling to this new endeavor.

Crucifix at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.

(Photo Courtesy John Milburn.)

The Sisters of Charity established a strong and vibrant mission with their hospital, school, boarding houses and new community house. She became known Mother Xavier and made her mark on her young postulates by instilling discipline from the start.

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St. John School was dedicated and opened for classes in 1956. It was built on property adjacent to St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church for a cost of $177,375. The school is located near the site of the original Catholic school founded by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth in 1865. (Photos Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

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Sisters of Charity arrive in Leavenworth, Kansas, on the banks of the Missouri River. (Photo Courtesy Sisters of Charity.)

Chapter 3: Sisters Go North …“Be submissive to superiors; frank and open with them. Obedience is the mainspring of a watch. If the mainspring is out of order, the watch will not go. If a Sister is obedient, her life moves smoothly and perfectly; if she thinks little of obedience, she is never at peace, for obedience is merely doing the will of God. “ Every act of obedience is an act of faith, and the just man lives by faith.”… Mother Xavier Ross

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hile the Spanish didn’t make an effort to establish Catholicism in what would become Kansas after Padilla, the French did several centuries later. Véniard de Bourgmont led an expedition in 1724 that traveled from Fort Orleans to Kansas, interacting with the Kansa Indians. The French build Fort de Cavagnial in 1744 near where Leavenworth is today. It was used as a way station for French Jesuits and a base of operations. A fur company’s log cabin served as the first Catholic chapel in Kansas.

Though France abandoned its interests in Kansas, the Catholic Church remained, expanding missions to the 14

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Mass in 1979. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

Osage tribe in southeastern Kansas. The first recorded baptisms are believed to have taken place in 1822.

Permanent missions were established with the Potawatomi tribe in northeast Kansas in 1838 and enlarged the mission in southeast Kansas with a permanent mission in 1847. Other denominations also made missions to the native tribes during these early frontier and territorial days of the state.

During territorial days, German and Irish Catholics came to the region to build Fort Riley and similar places.

To unite and minister to them, circuit priests established parishes. The economic struggles of life on the plains made it a challenge for Catholic congregations.

The Sisters of Charity continued to grow and serve the Lord though storm clouds were on the horizon, much like the growing concerns about Civil War.

Bishop John Baptist Miege was influential in founding a number of Catholic institutions, including Detroit University in Michigan. But he held the decision that he made in the 1850s among his greatest, as evidenced by the following passage:

"When you see our good Sisters of Charity, give them as great a blessing as your hands and your heart can afford; it will not be more than I wish for them. When I received them, I did one of the very few good things I ever did for Kansas."— Walking in Their Footsteps

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Sister Marie Helen with her class in 1971. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

Extract from a letter of the Right Rev. J. B. Miege, S.J., while traveling in the year 1873, in South America, to collect means to finish the Cathedral in his Episcopal City, addressed to the Rev. Albert Heiman, Scipio, Kansas. (Anonymous)

Events would change the course of the Sisters of Charity in Nashville in 1857 when a misunderstanding that had existed between Bishop Miles and Father Schacht reached a dreadful conclusion. Father Schacht had used funds from the parishioners to build a new mother house in Nashville in hopes of establishing a diocesan community. The misunderstanding forced Father Schacht to leave, but Bishop Miles refused to assume the debt for the mother house that had been accumulated. Had the community been allowed to grow, ample funds would have been available to repay parishioners. As a result, the sisters were left to repay the debt at all cost. They were forced to sell their possessions and most of the buildings. They were left without a mission, without guidance and without much of a future.

The sisters gathered and discussed their next steps and where they would go. At this time, bishops from the region were gathering in St. Louis for the Metropolitan Council. The sisters urged Mother Xavier to consider 16

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Sister Owen Marie 1956-57

Sister Joan Therese Cunningham 1957-60

Sister Angela Marie Domann 1960-61

Sister Georgeanne Desch 1961-67

Sister Adrian Mitchell 1967-70

Sister Mary Ann Bartolac 1970-88

Sister Phyllis Stowell 1981-88 18

Sister Elizabeth Youngs 1988-94

Mrs. Pat Newton 1994-2019

Mr. Chris Reffett 2019-present Walking in Their Footsteps

Movers relocate the former house used by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth that staffed St. John School. The house was converted into a new addition for the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

going to St. Louis and ask those gathered if they had use for their services in the new territory. The sisters had expressed desire among themselves to perhaps begin mission work with the Indian tribes, but certainly in more open spaces where they could expand their reach. One of those in attendance was Bishop John Baptist Miege of Leavenworth in the Kansas Territory. Miege was eager to lure a colony of sisters to his diocese to begin work. Mother Xavier had met with other leaders before Miege arrived at the council, earning their blessing and support should anyone seek their service.

Miege met with Mother Xavier. The two reached an agreement that the sisters would leave Nashville and take up residence in Leavenworth, on the condition that the sisters would be allowed to follow the Rules and Constitutions of St. Vincent de Paul and that Miege would remain their ecclesiastical superior.

He welcomed Mother Xavier to make the move, urging her to “Come north,” advising her and the sisters to arrive by November because of the weather and difficulty traveling.

St. John the Evangelist Church (Photo Courtesy John Milburn.)

During Mother Xavier’s absence, the sisters began praying to the “Incomparable Virgin” to intercede and help with their plight. To this day, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth recite the prayer daily asking for Mary to watch over them and guide them through whatever task they are given.

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The sisters arrived in Kansas on November 11, 1858, in Leavenworth. They opened the St. Mary’s Academy for Young Ladies on March 8, 1859, establishing one of the pillars of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth’s core ministries, that of providing quality education and religious formation for the children on the Plains. Many of those children were orphans and black children who had escaped slavery to live in the “free state” of Kansas. They added to that on March 15, 1864, when they opened St. John’s Hospital in Leavenworth, the first civilian hospital in Kansas. The hospital was administered by a woman, a rarity at this time in the United States, and nurses were trained by the Sisters of Charity. The sisters provided essential health care in the frontier homes and to those traveling west in wagons to settle the frontier, often found to be sick and carrying deadly diseases. In 1869, the first group of sisters headed further west, landing in Helena, Montana, where they established a second mission. In later years they established schools and hospitals in California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Wyoming. All of these missions were and remain focused on serving the poor and the First day of kindergarten. (Photo Courtesy John Milburn.) marginalized of society with the love of Christ and strength of the Holy Spirit.

The Sisters of Charity expanded their mission to South America when they opened a location in Peru on November 8, 1963. Additional missions were established to serve Bolivia, Ecuador and Guatemala.

The Lawrence Catholic community dates to the early territorial years of Kansas history. According to a church history written by Mary Donnelly in 1904, the Rev. T.J. McGee organized the first congregation in 1855. The first recorded Mass was in 1857 and soon property for a church and rectory was donated by Barnard Donnelly. They were constructed at the site of the present church campus between Kentucky and Vermont streets near historic South Park. A church that was built in 1858 was constructed with materials donated by Charles Robinson, the first governor of Kansas.

In 1863, Bishop Miege was in Lawrence to administer the sacrament of Confirmation. The date was August 21 20

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Archbishop Joseph Naumann leads the procession for Confirmation Mass. (Photo Courtesy John Milburn.)

when William Quantrill and his Missouri ruffians came to town. Father Sebastian Favre was pastor of St. John at the time and was begged by the Quaker minister to hide him from Quantrill, who hated ministers. The Quaker minister was hidden in a rug while his wife was disguised as a house maid. Miege was undeterred and confronted Quantrill to explain his mission to Lawrence. Eventually, after spending time investigating the occupants, Quantrill ordered his men to leave and do no harm to the church, the rectory or its occupants. However, 14 Catholics living in Lawrence weren’t as fortunate. As a result, Miege instead of administering Confirmation conducted funeral Masses for the dead.

Not long after the Sisters of Charity arrived in Kansas and as the fires of the Civil War were dying, the sisters established their first mission in Lawrence in 1865. Making that first trek were Mother Vincent, Sister Mary Joseph, Sister Mary Austin and Sister Mary Gregory. Their first home was a leaky stone building attached to the church, where they were able to take refuge from the rain and offer thanks to God. They decided to seek other lodging, finding a recently built home owned by Mr. and Mrs. O’Keefe.

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Studying at the altar. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

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St. John School has developed a reputation over the years of academic excellence and innovation. Sister Susan Yerkich was known for her teaching of math to middle school students. In addition, the school has a rich heritage of supporting the arts through music and theater productions. (Photo Courtesy John Milburn.)

Word spread that the sisters were in Lawrence to establish a Catholic school and children were soon enrolled.

The sisters struggled to find the resources to support themselves and the students, but they were always able to provide. For example, when the sisters gave a man seeking alms $5, he returned some time later with $10 as repayment for their kindness. Similar stories are told of those early days, how the sisters taught not only the children but adults to be self-sufficient in order to provide for their families.

On February 12, 1876, Sister Emilda Traynor died of pneumonia, the first death in the mission. The mission would continue until 1878 when the sisters were forced to return to the mother house in Leavenworth, despite all hopes that some good would have been done in training the Catholic children of the community.

A second mission had opened shortly after Lawrence, that in Wyandotte. They occupied a twostory brick home that was constructed for the students and sisters. It was under the direction of the Rev. Anthony Kuhls. The school continued to thrive and serve the Wyandotte community long after the sisters left Lawrence.

The sisters also were called to Eudora, a German community seven 22

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miles from Lawrence, in 1870. A school was established and the community embraced the sisters and their work. They were able to sustain their mission and thrive until a plague of grasshoppers wrought havoc on Kansas and the sisters, forcing them to withdraw their mission and return to the mother house in Leavenworth.

The construction of the present-day St. John School marked the return of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth after a 78-year absence since their first mission. The Middle school students light devotional candles outside the Padre Pio Chapel inside St. Lawrence mission was established in 1865 by John the Evangelist Catholic Church with their prayer partners in the elementary Mother Xavier Ross, the first education effort grades. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.) outside of Leavenworth by the order. The school was withdrawn in 1878 because of circumstances of the time. The first four teachers were Mother Vincent, Sister Mary Joseph, Sister Mary Austin and Sister Mary Gregory.

Four Sisters of Charity were part of the faculty in 1956 when the new St. John opened. The school was part of a 10-year effort to establish a Catholic school in Lawrence by the Right Reverend Monsignor George Towle, pastor of the church. There were 180 students enrolled the first year. The faculty included Mother Superior Owen Marie, Sister Ellen Louise, Sister Lorraine and Sister Mary Lucy.

The school had eight classrooms and was built for $177,375 and is located in nearly the same spot as that first school in 1865.

Teacher Rose Huber distributes ashes to a student during Ash Wednesday Mass. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

After starting with K-6 and later adding seventh and eighth grade, the decision was made in 1969 to drop the two upper grades because of declining enrollment and changes to how the Lawrence Public Schools were organizing instruction. This is also the same time that an addition was built with more classrooms, offices, library and visual arts room.

There was an increase in enrollment to 205 in 1974. All of the students were from Catholic families and there were non-Catholic families on a waiting list to get in. Principal Sister Mary Ann was quoted at the time saying that the increase was part of a national trend where parents were “rethinking” Catholic education and their priorities. She went on to say that the school “reinforces and acts as a resource” for teaching their children religion. Sister Mary Ann said parents and teachers were required to work together closely in Walking in Their Footsteps

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educating children.

“Religious education of children rightfully belongs to the parents,” she said in a Lawrence Journal-World article from August 15, 1974.

“We want our parents and we need our parents. We try to be available whenever they want us. They in turn make sacrifices to send their children here.”

The school used a non-graded classroom for certain subjects at this time, a new concept that harkened to the days of Students listen as ground is broken on the new school addition. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.) the one-room school. In addition, St. John invited senior citizens to the school to assist with programs and learning to enrich the academic atmosphere.

Sister Mary Ann said in another article in 1975 that St. John “didn’t try to be better, but different” than the other schools in Lawrence. At the same time, she said students left St. John well-rounded and prepared for continuing their education in public schools, scoring above average on standardized testing.

“We’re trying to help develop human beings who are ready for the good life, who can accept moral responsibility for their actions,” she said in 1976.

While that sentiment runs through all Catholic schools, it has a different complexion at St. John. That formula was one of developing a personalized approach to classroom teaching.

Sharon McDonald, science teacher at St. John School for more than

“Our schools have been, for the most part, too 20 years, sends students off for summer vacation in May 2010. authoritarian,” Sister Mary Ann said. “The trend is (Photo Courtesy St. John School archives.) toward what you see at St. John. We’ve been able to move ahead because of the people here.”

The school was struck with tragedy in October 1977 when two sisters died in a traffic accident while driving to an educational meeting. Killed was Sister Benedicta Gasperich and Sister Elizabeth Anzicek. Also injured in the accident were principal Sister Mary Ann Bartolac and Sister Clare Marie Gappa.

The school saw a major change in 1994 when Pat Newton took over as principal from Sister Elizabeth Youngs, 24

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First Communion 2010. (Photo Courtesy John Milburn.)

who took a similar position at a Sisters of Charity school in Montana. Newton, who had been a teacher at St. John for 20 years, was the first lay principal in St. John history. She retired from the school after the 2018-19 school year.

Leadership and growth under the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth As previously stated, St. John School’s opening in 1956 marked the return of Catholic education to Lawrence for the first time in 78 years. The school opened under the leadership of Sister Owen Marie Falk, Principal, Sister of Charity of Leavenworth (SCL). In 1957, the first sixth grade class of 16 students graduated. Sister Joan These Cunningham, SCL, became the second principal of St. John School until 1960 when Sister Angela Marie Domann, SCL, arrived. In 1961, the first eighth grade class of 31 students graduated.

Sister Georgeanne Desch, SCL, arrived in the fall of 1961 to become the fourth principal. During her leadership, the first Studying in church. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

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Father Jeff Ernst, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, distributes Communion during school Mass. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

class of students who entered in 1956 as first graders, graduated in 1964 as 8th graders with a class of 20 students. Sister Adrian Mitchell, SCL, became the fifth principal of St. John School from 1967-70. It was under Sister Adrian’s administration that grades seventh and eighth were discontinued by 1970 in order to ease the transition to the new junior high format adopted by the Lawrence Public Schools.

Under the principalship of Sister Mary Ann Bartolac, SCL, St. John Church joined together with the newly formed Corpus Christi Catholic Church in the 1970s and offered a Catholic education at St. John School for the children of that parish. Sister Mary Ann served as principal for eleven years until Sister Phyllis Stowell, SCL, arrived in 1981, and kindergarten was added that fall with increased demand and need. The 1980s were a time of continual growth, which also meant increased financial needs. To augment funding, a fundraiser began in 1983 known today as the St. John School Benefit Auction. On June 13, 1988, Fr. Michael Scully, OFM, Cap, Pastor of St. John the Evangelist, established a Development Committee and deposited $1,000 to set-up the St. John Development Fund. In 1988, just months before Sister Elizabeth Youngs, SCL, began as principal, the first class of students who entered in 1981 as kindergartners, graduated from the sixth grade. There were 33 graduates in the class of 1988.

Sister Elizabeth left St. John in 1994, and Mrs. Pat Newton, a third grade teacher with 20 years of classroom 26

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Sister Mary Lucy Downey and Sister Ellen Burns stand near the north entrance of the school. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

teaching experience at St. John School, became principal – the first lay principal in the history of the school.

In 2000, Corpus Christi Catholic Church relocated to a new building that included space for a second Catholic school in Lawrence. St. John and Corpus Christi parishes came together again to create a unified Catholic School system called, “The Lawrence Catholic School.” St. John School was renamed “The Lawrence Catholic School”… with campuses at the St. John site and the Corpus Christi site. In spring 2006, The Lawrence Catholic School split, and the St. John Campus was renamed, “St. John School,” again becoming a parish school under the direction of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.

In 2006, St. John School celebrated its 50th anniversary and archived school memorabilia and historical documents into a digital format. With 50 years in the books, St. John School launched two new programs to preserve the future. In fall 2007, Walking in Their Footsteps

Sister Susan Yerkich (Photo Courtesy St. John School archives.)

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A memorial was placed on the St. John School grounds marking the 150 years of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and 50 years with the school. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

Preschool was added serving 3 and 4 year olds, and Spanish Language was added to the school curriculum. Mrs. Newton also advocated for inclusion of the fine arts into the school, seeing the establishment of a full-time art class, music classes and regular theater productions. Upon her retirement following the 2018-19 school year, the renovated performance space was formally named the Pat Newton Performing Arts Center, complete with new sound and light system, expanded stage and storage area for musical instruments.

The 2011-12 school year opened a new chapter in the history of St. John School as the decision was Sister Susan Yerkich was known for her use of innovative methods for teaching math to middle school students. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.) made to add middle school grades. The decision was prompted, again, by the Lawrence Public Schools’ decision to move from the junior high to middle school arrangement of grades. St. John then established from pre-school through eighth grade. In 2013, six new classrooms were added to the school which included three new classrooms, a science lab, a school library, and the St. Bosco Room which provides a large space for youth groups and parish events.

The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth maintained their presence at St. John from the day the first school bell rang in 1956 until 2015 with the death of Sister Susan Yerkich who had taught mathematics at the school since 1982.

Yerkich was raised in Butte, Montana, and attended Catholic schools before entering religious order. She was assigned to the education mission and she realized how much she enjoyed teaching. Yerkich didn’t always want to be a sister.

“I started to think about it seriously when I was a junior in high school,” she said in a 2008 newspaper article.

“So, I entered our community in August of 1963. The community that I’m a member of actually taught me, they were the teachers that taught me in high school. I’m sure I was influenced by them and their teaching.”

Yerkich was one of 50 women to enter the Sisters of Charity community that summer after she graduated 28

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high school. She said women who wanted to work with Catholic ministries of education, child welfare or health care had few options other than to join the religious life. But as the years have passed, those numbers have dropped, with fewer than 5 percent of all teachers in Catholic schools in the United States belonging to a religious order and less than 1 percent were members of the priesthood.

Yerkich was the only sister The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth were honored in April 2008 , celebrating their 150th anniversary and 50 years of service to St. John School. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives. at St. John following the departure of Sister Elizabeth Youngs in 1994.

“Being here, I don’t feel like, ‘Oh, I wish there were more sisters here because I feel lonely,’ I think it’s kind of a tribute to the current lay leadership that the schools go on beautifully when sisters aren’t present. I mean, there was a time when that norm was (that) Catholic schools were staffed by sisters. But there aren’t that many sisters to staff the schools, but most of the sisters, or a lot of the sisters, want to do other kinds of work,” Yerkich said in 2008. “And so the lay people that are now making up the majority of teachers in Catholic schools are wonderful teachers and … I feel as though they pass on the same values that were started in the Catholic schools.”

Newton said that would be the challenge for St. John in the years to come when the Sisters of Charity no longer had a presence at the school. Lay teachers can still be the role models for students and teach the Catholic faith to children, “but it’s just extra-special to have the presence of the sisters here and we’re really lucky to have had them for so many years,” she said.

Sadly, that day came in 2015 when Sister Susan died, ending the era of Sisters of Charity being at St. John. The convent house was moved a year later next to the existing parish center to provide a lasting memory of the sisters being at St. John, while providing a new purpose for the house to support church activities.

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Members of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth sit front and center during the dedication of a memorial at the school commemorating their 150 years of service in northeast Kansas and 50 years at the school. (Photo Courtesy St. John School Archives.)

During the 2016-2017 school year, a new gym was added and the previous gym was transformed into the new performing arts center to be used for music instruction, band, orchestra, hand bell choir, vocal choir, and theatre classes. The space has an enhanced stage area and a sound and light booth. The space is also used by St. John parish for gatherings and meetings. A small kitchen area is available for refreshments and catering.

Members of the St. John Parish were involved in the decision to expand the school’s footprint, which would include removal of the three-story house that served as the home of the Sisters of Charity since they returned to teach at St. John in the 1950s. Listening to the concerns about losing this piece of history, the sisters’ house was moved across the parking lot and placed in the open space between the south side of the school and the existing Simon Parish Center. The house was renovated and incorporated into the parish offices to create expanded workspace for parish staff and meeting rooms for parish activities. The new combined structure preserves the history of the sisters while restoring the rows of houses that once existed along Vermont Street facing east overlooking Lawrence’s historic South Park.

St. John School continued to grow and expand its academic offerings for students as it approaches its 65th anniversary. Middle School students may choose from a variety of exploratory and elective classes including advanced art, advanced band and orchestra, robotics, foods, and foreign languages (Spanish; Latin, French, German, Italian, and Mandarin Chinese). Students are also able to travel to Catholic shrines in Colorado, as well as annual visits to our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C. In 2019, Mrs. Newton retired after more than 20 years as principal. In honor of her service and devotion to the arts, the newly remodeled event space was named The Pat Newton Performing Arts Center.

Mr. Christopher Reffett began his tenure as St. John School principal July 2019. He is the first male to be principal at St. John and second lay person to lead the school.

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Students perform the traditional Christmas program at St. John the Evangelist Church. (Photo Courtesy John Milburn.)

Father Scully was pastor of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church on two occasions, as well as being a faculty member and administrator at St. Thomas More Preparatory School in Hays. He said his connections with the Sisters of Charity had been through the school and with St. Mary’s College in Leavenworth. He describes them as a “fine group of sisters who are very committed to their work. At St. John School, they set the tone and attitude which was one of serious education and serious Christian doctrine.”

Scully believes that Catholic education is “absolutely important” if a parish can afford to make the investment. He says that because young people, especially in grades first through eighth, must have the guidance of Catholic principles as they begin their lives. There must be a strong commitment to keep the school, as was evidenced by earlier efforts by the Sisters of Charity to establish Lawrence and other missions.

Scully said Catholic education changed over the years because the culture changed, as well.

“In my opinion, young people must see dedicated religious and clergy members. If they have the presence of these religious and clergy members, they will come to the conclusion in their minds that young people are important in today's world,” Scully said. “Also, religious and clergy members often know much more basic Catholic theology than the ordinary teachers.”

In Scully’s experience, he has found that St. John's school has offered a strong foundation for students who have attended. Often, students tend to forget about church every now and then, but those who have had a strong Catholic education will usually either come back to going to church more often or at least show a sincere dedication to personal growth.

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Suggested Study Questions Discuss how Catholicism arrived in what is today Kansas. Who were the key players in bringing the faith to this region?

What were the struggles that early Catholics faced in establishing communities? Why was the Catholic Church important to immigrants coming to the United States and the Kansas territory?

How did Sister Xavier Ross come to the faith? What was the reaction of her family to her decision to become Catholic and later to join a religious order?

What does Sister Xavier Ross’ story tell us about the perseverance of women and religious in the 1800s to establish their mission and to do the work of God? Discuss the early church and school in Lawrence.

Why did the school in Lawrence cease to exist? When did it return?

How did St. John School get established and who was responsible for providing education and leadership for more than 50 years?

Discuss the role of women in the Catholic Church in establishing missions for education and health care.

Why should young Catholics consider a vocation as a priest or religious?

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Father John Cousins is installed as pastor by Archbishop Joseph Naumann in October 2019. (Photo Courtesy John Milburn.)

Bibliography “Father Juan De Padilla.” Father Juan De Padilla, 1999, wichitacathedral.com/weddings/29-articles-under-home/component/ content/article/73988.

Brinkman, Marie. Emerging Frontiers: Renewal in the Life of Women Religious: Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, 1955-2005. Paulist Press, 2008.

Gilmore, Julia. Come North! The Life-Story of Mother Xavier Ross, Foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. McMullen Books, 1951.

Entz, Gary R. “Religion in Kansas.” Kansas History, 2005, pp. 120–145.

Henning, Sarah. “Ministerial Mainstay: Lawrence Nun Remains in Classroom as Religious Numbers Dwindle.” Lawrence JournalWorld, 27 Apr. 2008.

Jacobs, R. M. (1998). U.S. Catholic Schools and the Religious Who Served in Them: Contributions in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

Journal of Catholic Education, 1 (4). http://dx.doi.org/10.15365/joce.0104022013

McNamara, Pat. “‘What Can a Woman Do?": Mother Xavier Ross (1813-1895) and the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth.” McNamara's Blog, 11 Feb. 2011, www.patheos.com/blogs/mcnamarasblog/.

Anderson, Mark and Julie. “Sisters of Charity Mark 150 Years.” The Leaven, 7 Dec. 2007.

History of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, 1898, St. Mary’s Academy, written by an anonymous member of the community.)

Milburn, Emma. “Father Michael Scully.” 1 Aug. 2019.

Donnelly, Mary. The St. John Church. 1904. MS 225617, Kansas Memory. Kansas State Historical Society, n.p.

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