2022 Summer DOME

URSULINE

Continuing the Legacy of Spirituality and Service A PUBLICATION OF THE URSULINE SISTERS OF LOUISVILLE • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

Rooted and Reaching

The Teaching Ministry Of The Ursuline Sisters of Louisville From 1858–1938

On the cover Main photo: First graduating class from St. Mary High School in Cumberland, Maryland, 1913. Front Row: Pearl Gunter and Mary Schriver. Second Row: Marguerite Dorsey, Winifred King (later became Sister Carmela), Nellie Price (later became Sister Mary Carmel), and Sister Carmelita Doyle.

Bottom, left: Sister Hedwig Hellenthal with her First Holy Communion class at St. Francis of Assisi in Louisville, 1933-34.

Bottom, right: Graduates of St. Patrick High School, Sidney, NE, 1931. L-R: Eileen Hall, Sister Amanda (Mary Ann) Caulfield, Helen Stueve (later became Sister Dolora), Sister Marguerite Brookman, and Florence Hinman (later became Sister Janet).

A PUBLICATION OF THE URSULINE SISTERS OF LOUISVILLE

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 2

On The Cover/About This Issue

3

From the Leadership Circle

4–11 The Teaching Ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville from 1858–1938 12-13

By The Numbers

14-15 Peruvian Journal: Rooted and Reaching

About this issue In this issue you will read a brief history about the teaching ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville from their founding, in 1858, through 1938. These strong women of great faith put down “roots” in Louisville at a time when prejudice against Catholics and German immigrants was very real, and there were many obstacles to overcome. From 1858 to 1938, their teaching ministry “reached” across the country quite rapidly, going as far north as Pennsylvania, west to Nebraska and south to Columbia, South Carolina.

This growth was not without struggle or sacrifice; quite the opposite. Their mother superiors often had to borrow money and ask for donations to keep the community going. The Sisters often depended on the kindness of the communities where they were sent for shelter, food and other necessities. There were two groups of Sisters that broke away during this period to form separate communities, but there was also the South Carolina Ursulines, who chose to join them.

From its humble beginnings at Shelby and Chestnut streets with three Bavarian Sisters, by 1938 the Louisville Ursulines had grown in number to over 400 in the community. We hope this short history gives you a glimpse into the story of these daughters of Angela, who remain “united in one heart and one will.”

—Kathy Williams, editor A brief note of a change in future issues of the DOME. Due to increased printing and mailing costs, beginning in the fall of 2022, we will be printing two issues per year: the winter and spring issues. We will continue to stay in touch with you through our social media platforms and e-newsletters.

16-17 AMC Spirituality: Rooted in the Ground of Our Being 18-19 Planned Giving: College Scholarship Gave Asian Student an Escape from Communist China 20 2022 Community Days DONOR/ALUMNI RELATIONS

KIM BRADLEY Manager, Donor/Alumni Relations COMMUNICATIONS/PR OFFICE

KATHY WILLIAMS

Director, Communications/Public Relations DOME Editor, Art Direction and Design DOME CONTRIBUTORS

GINNY SCHAEFFER ELLEN MCKNIGHT KATHY WILLIAMS SISTER SUE SCHARFENBERGER LAUREL WILSON Archivist

KAREN HEILERS Proofreader

DONATION INFORMATION The Ursuline Sisters of Louisville appreciate the support of those who share their financial resources with us.

We make every effort to ensure that you receive the maximum tax credit allowed by law. When making a donation, make your check payable to the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, and mail it to Donor Relations Office, Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, 3115 Lexington Road, Louisville, KY 40206, or use the enclosed remittance envelope.

The check must be processed through the Donor Relations Office for the Ursuline Sisters to generate the proper documentation you will need for your tax-deductible donation.

Ursuline Society and Academy of Education (USAE) is the corporate title under which the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville do business. USAE does not include gifts received for the other corporation, Sacred Heart Schools (SHS), Inc. Gifts for Sacred Heart Academy and other campus schools are received by the SHS Office of Development and used exclusively for the schools and their programs.

FROM THE LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

Rooted and Reaching

In reflecting on roots and reaching out, I am immediately drawn to the gospel and our charism.

Our life must be centered on the life and teachings of Jesus if we are serious about reaching out to others in love, service, hospitality and compassion. Jesus invites us to be in an intimate relationship with Him and God—to be rooted in that relationship in order to reflect and reach out to others in sharing that love relationship.

As Pope Francis said in his book, Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future: “The firm center of Christianity is the essential proclamation, the kerygma. It means that God loved me and gave himself up for me. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His love on the Cross, are what calls us to be missionary disciples, inviting us to recognize each other as brothers and sisters of the larger human family, and especially of those who feel themselves orphans. As the Beatitudes and Matthew chapter 25 show us, the principle of salvation is fulfilled in the compassion we demonstrate.”

This is the gospel mandate—this is what we are invited to embrace

Throughout our history and the spread of our vow of teaching Christian living, we have been able to touch the lives of many persons and respond to their needs because of God’s fidelity and the support of many donors and friends. and to ask of God, to allow this gift of love to take deep root in our hearts and reach out to others.

We, the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, express it a bit differently in our charism: “A contemplative love of God resulting in an openness and eagerness to serve the needs of others.” The awareness and intentionality of embracing God’s unconditional love, and abiding in that love, touches us at the deepest level and opens our hearts for the capacity to reach out and serve the needs of others. And the reaching out to others is beyond our comfort zone. So where is the need we are to serve and who are the people to whom we reach? The immigrant neighbor, the alienated family member, the friend struggling with cancer, the stranger in the homeless shelter, and many others who are in need and waiting for a response of love, compassion and generosity.

Throughout our history and the spread of our vow of teaching Christian living, we have been able to touch the lives of many persons and respond to their needs because of God’s fidelity and the support of many donors and friends. For all of us, it begins at our baptism, when God calls us into that deep relationship that needs to be nurtured to take root, thus branching out and touching the lives of others, no matter where and what the need is.

God be with you in love.

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Rooted and Reaching, Part One: The Teaching Ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville from 1858 –1938 in the “New World.” Mother Salesia, age 26, was accompanied by two other Ursulines, Sister Pia Schoenhofer, also 26, and Sister Maximilian Zwinger, who was 50 years old.1

By 1858, the city of Louisville, established on the banks of the Ohio River, was rapidly expanding with many French, Irish and German immigrants who were eager to raise their children in the Catholic faith. That same year, Bishop Martin J. Spalding, of Louisville, sent Father Leander Streber, a native of Bavaria, back to his home country to recruit Sisters to teach children of German immigrants at the school at St. Martin Parish.

With the equivalent of $22.50 total for traveling expenses and seed money for a convent, Mother Salesia and her two companions arrived in Louisville on October 31, 1858. They made their home in a tiny frame house on East Campbell Street in Louisville, near St. Martin’s, and then set to work. Sister Pia, academic directress, applied for incorporation as an educational

Enter Mother Salesia Reitmeier, a young and talented Ursuline Sister of Straubing, Bavaria, who answered the call to travel to Louisville, Kentucky,

Mother Salesia Reitmeier, Sister Pia Schoenhofer, Sister Maximilian Zwinger

St. Martin of Tours School, 1889

Ursuline Sisters of Louisville Timeline

Ursuline Convent in Straubing, Bavaria, opens.

1691

1535 Angela Merici founds the Company of Saint Ursula in Brescia, Italy.

4

The Sisters found Ursuline Academy of the Immaculate Conception on East Chestnut Street in Louisville.

1859

A new convent and chapel are built at Chestnut and Shelby streets. Mother Salesia dies at age 36.

1868

Sisters begin staffing schools in Illinois, spreading the mission of the Ursulines.

1872

1858

1864

1870

1874

Three Ursuline Sisters from Straubing arrive in Louisville to teach children of German immigrants at St. Martin of Tours school.

The Louisville Ursulines receive “incorporation in perpetuity” as Ursuline Society and Academy of Education (USAE).

The Sisters establish a new school in the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul in Cumberland, Maryland.

Five Sisters were sent to staff Mount St. Joseph Academy in Daviess County, Kentucky.

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Within ten years, the Sisters had established a grade school for girls; a high school—Ursuline Academy of the Immaculate Conception (1859–1972) that took boarders; a training school for teachers; and a novitiate, and built a small convent and chapel. institution. On January 12, 1864, the institute was incorporated in perpetuity, and was able to confer academic honors under the title, “Ursuline Society and Academy of Education.”

Within ten years, the Sisters had established a grade school for girls; a high school—Ursuline Academy of the Immaculate Conception (1859–1972) that took boarders; a training school for teachers; a novitiate, and built a small convent and chapel.2 All of this had been

and the academy. The early parochial schools they directed were St. Mary’s School (1861) on Eighth Street in West Louisville; Corpus Christi School (1864) in Newport, Kentucky; St. Aloysius in Covington, Kentucky (1866); St. Joseph School (1867) and St. Peter’s School (1868), in Louisville. These first few schools laid the foundation that would take the Ursulines of Louisville across the United States.

Mother Martina Nicklas, the second mother superior, continued

accomplished during the Civil War era, when food was scarce and prices were high, making it exceedingly difficult to maintain the boarding school. Sadly, Mother Salesia took ill from worry and shock over a wall collapse during the construction of a larger chapel, and died.3 At the time of Mother Salesia’s death in 1868, at age 36, the community numbered thirty professed Sisters, six novices and five postulants, and the Sisters oversaw five parochial schools

1535-1938: Ursuline Sisters of Louisville Timeline The Sisters purchase 10 acres of land on Workhouse Road (now Lexington Road). On October 4, the Sisters open the Academy of the Sacred Heart for grades 1-12 on the property.

1877

Sisters begin staffing schools in Missouri.

1883

1881

1895

Sisters begin staffing schools in Tennessee, at the request of pastors in that state.

Thirteen Louisville Ursulines establish an independent Ursuline foundation in Paola, Kansas.

New construction begins on Sacred Heart Academy following construction of Ursuline Academy in 1900.

1903

1912 Louisville Ursulines in Daviess County establish an independent Ursuline foundation—the Ursuline Sisters of Mount St. Joseph.

Sisters begin staffing schools in Ohio and West Virginia, and their ministry spread, even during World War I.

1915

1916 Sisters begin staffing schools in Nebraska under the leadership of Mother Angela Leininger.

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Rooted and Reaching, Part One: The Teaching Ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville from 1858 –1938 Continued from page 5

the work of expansion for the community, both in novices and schools. Part of that expansion included Cumberland, Maryland, situated on the state border, 75 miles east of Morgantown, West Virginia. In 1869, correspondence between Father Cyril Knoll, O.C.C. and Mother Martina “eventually resulted in the establishment of an Ursuline school in the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul.” 4 Over 100 Ursulines of Louisville came from Cumberland, including Sisters Rita Dressman, Catherine Franze, Kathleen Neely and Mary Martha Staarman. Over 250 Ursulines ministered at Sts. Peter and Paul/St. John Neumann School between 1870 and 2000. Sister Rita Dressman was the last Ursuline to have served at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish (2007), and Sister Eileen Carney was the last Ursuline Sister to leave Cumberland, in 2010.

Requests continued to come in from pastors in several different states for these excellent teachers,

and thus the Ursulines were sent. Other parish schools the Ursulines taught at during this period of expansion (1872-1886) included schools in Lafayette, Logansport, Madison and Peru, all in Indiana; and in Illinois the following towns: Germantown, Mascoutah, Columbia, Bloomington, Edwardsville, Metamora, El Paso, Peking, Minonk, Ottawa, Henry, and Lincoln. They also taught in East Liberty, Pennsylvania.5

Concurrently, Mother Martina authorized the purchase of land in 1877 on Workhouse Road (now Lexington Road). That same

year, in a three-story mansion on the estate, the Sisters opened the Academy of the Sacred Heart, also known as Sacred Heart Academy (SHA), which was a coed school for students in grades one through twelve. Students attended from the

1535-1938: Ursuline Sisters of Louisville Timeline The Ursuline Motherhouse is completed on Cherokee Drive (now Lexington Road).

Sacred Heart Junior College opens on Lexington Road and later becomes Ursuline College.

1921

1917 1918

Sisters take care of soldiers at Camp Taylor during the flu epidemic.

Sacred Heart Academy burns to the ground in April. No lives are lost.

6

On the Lexington Road campus, Sisters house refugees from the Great Flood of the Ohio River, which occured during The Great Depression.

1936 Sisters begin staffing schools in South Carolina under the leadership of Mother Petra Garthoeffner.

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1937

Straubing Ursulines Caecilia Staemmer and Seraphina Winkler flee political oppression in Germany and come to live with the Louisville Ursulines for several years.

1938 South Carolina Ursulines join with Louisville.

1938

1938 Sacred Heart Junior College expands to a four-year college for women renamed Ursuline College under the leadership of Mother Roberta Zehe.

surrounding countryside and paid a small tuition fee that, together with proceeds from selling farm products, gave the Sisters their only source of income. By 1887, all the boarding students from Ursuline Academy had moved to SHA, the new school “in the country” and Ursuline Academy enrolled only day students.

In 1874, Father Paul Joseph Volk established a new school, Mount St. Joseph Academy, near Owensboro, Kentucky, and asked for five Ursulines to staff it. Sisters Pia Schoenhofer, Xavier Wurm, Johanna Froeba, Martina Greineder and Margaret Allgeier were sent, and unknown to them at the time, this marked the beginning of a profound change in the community.6 Several years later, in 1912, after much emotional debate, these Sisters separated from the Louisville Ursulines to form their own autonomous community—The Ursuline Sisters of Mount St. Joseph.

In 1881, Sister Pia Schoenhofer was elected as the third mother superior of the community, which now numbered 108 members that served at 20 schools. During this time, there was much debt and financial hardship, but the Sisters persevered. 1883 marked the silver jubilee of the community, with three days of celebration. In 1884, Mother Pia chose to return to her homeland of Bavaria, and the direct link between Louisville and Bavaria was broken until the twentieth century, when the bonds were renewed.

1. Sister Mary Blanche Hirschbuehl with pupils at St. Boniface in Evansville, Indiana, early 20th Century 2. S acred Heart Convent, Conemaugh, Pennsylvania. Front Row: Unknown Sister, Sisters Leonita Reichert and Mary Ellen Flynn. Back Row: Sisters Margaret Larner, Antoinette Johmann, Florence Stanley, and Angelina Geis 3. Louisville Ursulines at Mount St. Joseph Academy, Daviess County, Kentucky 4. Sister Ruth Clemens (L) and Sister Dolores Ackermann (R) on a picnic in Sidney, Nebraska

In 1890, Sister Florence Meder became mother superior, and at the request of Bishop William George McCloskey, she withdrew teachers from other states to meet the needs of local schools in Louisville. In 1897, the Ursulines were asked to take charge of St. Joseph’s Orphanage (now St. Joseph Children’s Home), serving as both teachers and house parents there. Over 160 Ursuline Sisters of Louisville served at St. Joseph’s Orphanage for 113 years (1897-2010).

Another school the Ursulines took charge of was St. Boniface in Louisville, in 1898. The Sisters walked to the school from the convent

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Continued from page 7

at Chestnut and Shelby streets.

Many vocations came from this parish, and this commitment came full circle with the establishment of Nativity Academy at St. Boniface in 2003, with Sister Paula Kleine-Kracht as the first administrator.

At the start of the twentieth century, Mother Theodore Guethoff was busy with new construction in Louisville for Ursuline Academy and Sacred

In 1914, Mother Angela Leininger was elected superior of the Ursulines. A former directress of Sacred Heart Academy for fifteen years, she jumped at the request of Monsignor Anton Link of Nebraska for teachers. Sisters at this time were teaching in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, but Mother Angela was convinced that the educational ideal of Angela should be carried as far as possible, and thus the Ursulines went westward.

Heart Academy. She received another call to staff a new school in Cumberland, Maryland. Saint Mary, a co-ed high school, had its largest enrollment of 420 students in the 1950s. In 1959, the pastor announced that the school would

merge with Ursuline Academy at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, and it would be an all-girls school.

In addition to staffing the schools in Cumberland, the Sisters traveled to nearby towns in Maryland, Pennsylvania and West

St. Augustine, New Straitsville, Ohio, 1920s. L–R: Sisters Antonia Wagner, Juliana Auerweck, Domitilla Bender, Benedict Rezanina, and Henry Vollmer 8 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 | DOME

Virginia to teach catechism to children enrolled in public schools on Saturday mornings and during the summer months.

Starting in 1908, the Louisville Ursulines taught at St. Peter Claver parish school, in the Smoketown

St. Francis de Sales High School, Morgantown, West Virginia, 1939

neighborhood of Louisville, teaching Black children at a time when their schooling was “separate but equal” under the law; but in reality, the schooling for most Black children was far from equal.

In 1914, Mother Angela Leininger was elected superior of the Ursulines. A former directress of Sacred Heart Academy for fifteen years, she jumped at the request of Monsignor Anton Link of Nebraska for teachers. Sisters at this time were teaching in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, but Mother Angela was convinced that the educational ideal of Angela should be carried as far as possible, and thus the Ursulines went westward.

The first missionaries to Nebraska left Louisville on December 28, 1915. Five Sisters, accompanied by Mother Angela, stepped off the train into 40 degrees below zero weather, a sharp contrast to the moderate climate in Louisville they had left behind!

They lived in a two-story frame house that had no fuel, no furniture, nothing that resembled a convent.

This did not stop these brave Sisters; they immediately started a boarding

school and day school. When school began on January 10, 1916, they already had 48 pupils, 28 of whom were boarders.8 Tragically, back home in Louisville, a fire destroyed Sacred Heart Academy in 1918.

Miraculously, no lives were lost, and the beautiful new chapel was untouched. Boarders and students had to study in St. Angela Hall, the original mansion on the property.

The new Motherhouse was also used after the fire for students.

Mother Angela pushed on. She sent $6,000 to construct another boarding school in Nebraska and sent five more teachers to staff it.

She also opened a boarding school in North Platte, and soon thereafter, the Louisville Ursulines staffed schools in the Nebraska cities of Rushville, South Sioux, Omaha, O’Connor and Sidney.

One of the Sisters called to South Sioux, Nebraska, was Sister Mary Claire Mountrey. She was called to leave at the last minute in September, 1918, due to another Sister’s illness. Traveling alone from Louisville by train, Sister Mary Claire left on a Thursday morning with a satchel full of sandwiches and

One of the Sisters called to South Sioux, Nebraska, was Sister Mary Claire Mountrey. She was called to leave at the last minute in September, 1918, due to another Sister’s illness.

Traveling alone from Louisville by train, Sister Mary Claire left on a Thursday morning with a satchel full of sandwiches and “50 cents so that I could buy myself some coffee in Chicago.”

“50 cents so that I could buy myself some coffee in Chicago.” After buying a ten-cent cup of coffee in Chicago, and waiting several hours, she got on a train for Sioux City. After several train delays, and buying a second cup of coffee in Manilla, Iowa, she arrived in Sioux City at 11 p.m. Friday night, rather than 2 p.m. as planned. Sister Mary Claire recalled, “And there I was.

I was alone.” After sleeping in the station all night, then catching a DOME | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

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Rooted and Reaching, Part One: The Teaching Ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville from 1858 –1938 Continued from page 9

streetcar, she walked to the convent at St. Michael into Mother Angela’s arms on Saturday morning. Mother Angela had been sending telegraphs, frantic to find her.

When recounting her story to Sr. Concetta Waller in 1982, she recalled, “I still had 30 cents in my pocket,” to which Sr. Concetta replied, “You did almost as well as Mother Salesia.” 9

The western missions were very fruitful in vocations and higher education for the Sisters. Being close to Creighton University, the Sisters were able to pursue advanced degrees there. This was very advantageous, as religious teaching orders began to be required to meet various state requirements to be certified. Mother Angela supported the Sisters in these endeavors.

Through the economic and societal changes of the 1920s and 1930s, the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville continued their teaching mission. In 1921, they founded

Schools that Ursulines served between 1858–1938 Name of School

City

State Year Started

St. Martin of Tours School Ursuline Academy St. Mary School Corpus ChriSt.i School St. Aloysius School St. Joseph School St. Peter School St. Boniface School SS Peter & Paul School St. Charles Borromeo School St. Joseph School St. Anthony School SS Peter & Paul School St. Mary School Holy Childhood Jesus School St. Boniface School St. Francis of Assisi School St. Joseph Academy Immaculate Conception School Sacred Heart Academy St. Mary School St. Boniface School St. Mary School

Louisville Louisville Louisville Newport Covington Louisville Louisville Lafayette EaSt. Liberty Peru Logansport Jeffersonville Cumberland Madison Mascoutah Germantown Dayton Daviess Co. Columbia Louisville Bloomington Edwardsville Metamora

KY KY KY KY KY KY KY IN PA IN IN IN MD IN IL IL KY KY IL KY IL IL IL

10

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 | DOME

1858 1859 1861 1864 1866 1867 1868 1868 1869 1870 1870 1870 1870 1872 1872 1873 1873 1874 1875 1877 1877 1878 1878

St. Mary School St. Patrick School St. Mary School SS Peter & Paul School St. CeleSt.ine School St. Vincent de Paul School St. Mary School Sacred Heart School St. Patrick School St. Boniface School St. Joseph School St. Francis of Assisi School Holy GhoSt. School St. James School Holy Trinity School St. Alphonsus School St. Joseph St. Bernard School St. Mary School St. Joseph School St. Henry School St. Michael School

Lincoln Lincoln El Paso HaubSt.adt CeleSt.ine Louisville Memphis Pekin Minonk Evansville Owensboro Ottawa St. Louis St. James Louisville

IL IL IL IN IN KY TN IL IL IN KY IL MO IN KY

1878 1878 1879 1879 1880 1880 1881 1881 1881 1881 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885

Daviess Co. St. Louis St. Henry Memphis St. Louis FroSt.burg

KY MO IL TN MO MD

1885 1886 1886 1887 1889 1891

Sacred Heart Junior College and Normal School, accredited by the University of Kentucky, to meet the demand for higher education for women. At that time, there were few institutions where women could earn a secondary degree, and it was a way to educate their own Sisters. In 1938, Sacred Heart Junior College was expanded to a four-year institution and renamed Ursuline College.

The Ursuline Sisters of Columbia, South Carolina, joined the Louisville Ursulines in 1938.

The Louisville Ursulines had been teaching in South Carolina since 1936 and were connected with the Columbia Ursulines. The teaching mission and charism of the Louisville Ursulines was spreading across the United States and continued to grow in the upcoming decades.

Special thanks to Laurel Wilson for research for this article.

Ursuline Sisters of Columbia, South Carolina. Front Row: Sister Frances Berberich, Mother Gertrude Myers, Mother Clare Agnes Maguire, Sister Benedicta Dougherty, Sister Dolores Fitzgerald. Back Row: Sister Rita Reilly, Sister Teresa O’Connell, Sister Eugenia O’Neill, and Sister Marianna Meyssen 1. Under His Mighty Power, p. 33 2. Under His Mighty Power, p. 39 3. Annals of the Ursuline Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Louisville, 1858-1914, p. 3 4. Under His Mighty Power, p. 43 5. Annals of the Ursuline Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Louisville, 1858-1914, p. 18

6. Under His Mighty Power, p. 44 7. DOME magazine, winter 2020, p. 5 8. Under His Mighty Power, p. 62 9. Oral History Interview of Sister Claire Mountrey by Sister Concetta Waller, March 4, 1982

Schools that Ursulines served between 1858–1938 Name of School

SS Peter & Paul/ Ursuline Academy St. Patrick School St. Joseph Orphange/ Children’s Home St. Boniface School St. Anthony School St. George School St. Helen School St. SylveSt.er School St. Romuald School St. Mary School St. Elizabeth of Hungary School St. Leo the Great School St. Therese School St. Ann School St. Peter Claver School St. Mary High School St. Francis of Assisi School St. Martin School St. Augustine School St. Francis de Sales School Sacred Heart School

City

State Year Started

Cumberland MD Mount Savage MD

1892 1896

Louisville Louisville Louisville Louisville Louisville Ottenheim Hardinsburg Cumberland Louisville Louisville Louisville Louisville Louisville Cumberland Louisville Rome New Straitsville Morgantown Conemaugh

1897 1898 1899 1899 1902 1903 1903 1903 1906 1906 1907 1907 1908 1910 1911 1912 1915 1915 1915

KY KY KY KY KY KY KY MD KY KY KY KY KY MD KY KY OH WV PA

St. Patrick Academy St. Mary School St. Patrick School St. Aloysius School St. Ambrose School St. Joseph School St. Mary School St. Michael School St. Michael/St. Therese School St. Bartholomew School Blessed Sacrament School Sacred Heart Junior College/ Ursuline College St. Michael School Sacred Heart Model School St. Rita School Catholic Schools Office Ursuline High School St. Peter School St. Joseph Academy Holy Spirit School Our Mother of Sorrows School

Sidney Rushville North Platte Louisville Seymour Diamond Washington S. Sioux City Omaha Columbus Omaha

NE NE NE KY IN IN IN NE NE IN NE

1916 1916 1916 1916 1917 1918 1918 1918 1918 1919 1920

Louisville Madison Louisville Louisville Louisville Columbia Columbia O’Connor Louisville Louisville

KY IN KY KY KY SC SC NE KY KY

1921 1922 1924 1928 1932 1936 1936 1937 1937 1937

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BY THE NUMBERS

From Bavaria to Louisville and beyond: 1858–1938 Ursuline Sisters of Louisville Ministry Arrival Dates by State (through 1938)

WASHINGTON WASHINGTON

OREGON OREGON

IDAHOIDAHO

south south dakota

wyoming wyoming

dakota

utah

utah CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA

kansas

kansas

new arizona mexico new

arizona

texas

1858

Ursuline Sisters from Bavaria arrive in Louisville, Kentucky to teach at St. Martin Parish

INDIANA

1868 ILLINOIS INDIANA 1872

ILLINOIS missouri 1872

RHODE ISLAND RHODE ISLAND connecticut

KENTUCKY TENNESSEE

1883

1881

TENNESSEE

1881

1915 virginia west 1915

virginia

virginia

1915

virginia NORTH CAROLINA

1858

new jersey

1870

1915 west

1858

connecticut

1869

OHIO

KENTUCKY

missouri

1869 PENNSYLVANIA

OHIO

1868

1883

1870

new jersey

maryland delaware maryland

delaware

SOUTH NORTH CAROLINACAROLINA

SOUTH1938 CAROLINA

ALABAMA GEORGIA

1938

MISSISSIPPI

louisiana

MISSISSIPPI

louisiana

1883

ALABAMA GEORGIA FLORIDA

FLORIDA

Ursuline Sisters begin teaching in Missouri at Holy Ghost School in St. Louis

1883 1915

Ursuline Sisters begin teaching Ursuline Sisters begin teaching in Missouri at Holy Ghost in Ohio at St. Augustine School School in St. Louis

1915 1915

Ursuline beginteaching teaching Ursuline Sisters Sisters begin in St. Augustine School inOhio Westat Virginia at St. Francis in deNew SalesStraitsville School in Morgantown

Ursuline Sisters begin teaching Ursuline Sisters begin teaching in Marylandat at Sts. Sts. Peter Peter and in Pennsylvania 1870 PaulSchool School in in Cumberland and Paul East Liberty

1916 1915

Ursuline Sistersbegin begin teaching Ursuline Sisters teaching in Nebraska in West Virginia at St.atFrancis St. Sales Patrick Academy in Sidney de School in Morgantown

Ursuline Sisters begin teaching Ursuline Sisters begin teaching in Illinois at Holy Childhood of in Maryland at Sts. Peter and 1872 Jesus School in Mascoutah Paul School in Cumberland

1938 1916

UrsulinesSisters of Columbia, Ursuline begin South Carolina join Louisville; at teaching in Nebraska continue teaching at Ursuline St. Patrick Academy in Sidney

1938

Ursulines of Columbia, South Carolina join Louisville; continue teaching at Ursuline School in Columbia

Ursuline Sisters from Bavaria SistersKentucky begin arrive Ursuline in Louisville, teaching in Indiana at St. 1868 to teach at St. Martin Parish

1858

Boniface School in Lafayette

Ursuline Sisters begin Ursuline Sisters begin teaching teaching in Indiana in Pennsylvaniaat at St. Sts. Peter 1869 Boniface in Lafayette and School Paul School in East Liberty

1868 1869 1870

Ursuline Sisters begin Ursuline Sisters teaching teaching inbegin Tennessee at in Illinois at Holy Childhood of St. Mary School in Memphis

1881

1872 1881 12

iowa

iowa

oklahoma arkansas

texas

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

oklahoma arkansas

mexico

massachusetts

NEW YORK

MICHIGAN

MICHIGAN

1916

colorado

massachusetts

minnesotawisconsiN

minnesota

nebraska1916

colorado

maine maine

wisconsiN

nebraska

NEVADA

NEVADA

new newhampshire hampshire vermont vermont

north north dakota dakota

montana montana

Jesus School in Mascoutah

Ursuline Sisters begin teaching in Tennessee at St. Mary School in Memphis

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 | DOME

1858

1858

in New Straitsville

School in Columbia

BY THE NUMBERS

Louisville Ursulines By the Numbers Hamburg

MECKLENBURGVORPOMMERN

SCHLESWIGHOLSTEIN

Hamburg

MECKLENBURGVORPOMMERN

NIEDERSACHSEN

NIEDERSACHSEN

100

Berlin

100

BRANDENBURG

Berlin

SACHSEN-ANHALT

HORDRHEINWESTFALEN

GERMANY NORTH CAROLINA

109

109

BRANDENBURG

80

BAVERIA

0 60

SAARLAND

Straubing Munich

40

54

0

17

20

11

8

11

23

8

6

Ohio

Missouri

Indiana

3

2

8

3

Koln

SACHSEN

Peru

Berlin

BRANDENBURG

SACHSEN-ANHALT

Mississippi

Illinois

Maryland

NIEDERSACHSEN

HORDRHEINWESTFALEN

HESSEN

THURINGEN

Frankfurt am Main

RHEINLANDPFALZ

SAARLAND

Perpetual Professed

RHODE ISLAND Dates Served Age PresidentsName camePresidents from missions came from missions outside of Kentucky PENNSYLVANIA connecticut outside of Kentucky Mother Salesia Reitmeier 26 1858-1868 1869 1868-1881 Mother Martina Nicklasnew jersey29 1870 1915 west INDIANA 1881-1884 Mother Pia Schoenhofer 50 1868 virginia ILLINOIS maryland 1915 1872 1884-1890 Mother Leandra Schweri 41 third of Mother Superiors/ delaware virginia missouri1890-1892 One 1858 came from Presidents missions Mother Florence Meder 47 1883 KENTUCKY outside of Kentucky NORTH 1892-1896 Mother Leandra 49 CAROLINA Schweri TENNESSEE 1896-1899 1881 Mother Innocent Schlangen 51 SOUTH arkansas CAROLINA 1899-1908 Mother Theodore Guethoff 37 1938 1908-1914 Mother Victoria Bernsen 44 ALABAMA Mother 1914-1920 54 GEORGIAAngela Leininger MISSISSIPPI 1920-1926 Mother Theodore Guethoff 58 louisiana FLORIDA 1926-1932 Mother Chrysostom Luecker 55 1932-1938 Mother Petra Garthoeffner 54 1938-1944 Mother Roberta Zehe 50

OHIO

8

MECKLENBURGVORPOMMERN

2

and includes novices, even those who didBAVERIA not make final vows.

1868 1918 1868 1933 1918 1938

maine

wisconsiN Mother Superiors, 1858–1938 NEW YORK MICHIGAN One third of Mother OneSuperiors/ third of Mother Superiors/

iowa

3

Vocations from Out-of-State Missions The number of vocations listed above are from 1858 to 2022, GERMANY Membership Trends Membership Trends NORTH CAROLINA

massachusetts

9 of 27

Hamburg

Pennsylvania

vermont

8 8

66

SCHLESWIGHOLSTEIN

0

hampshire 9 of 279 ofnew27

6

6

South Carolina

BADENWURTTEMBERG

Indiana

RHEINLANDPFALZ

11

Temporary Professed

Novices

Perpetual Professed Temporary Professed

Novices

Straubing

Perpetual 30Munich 204 Professed

30372

1933

419 204

372

Temporary 6 44 34 6 38 44 Membership Trends Professed

38

BADENWURTTEMBERG

1868 1918 5 32 Novices 30 204

1933 372

1938 3225 419

5 34

6

44

38

34

5

32

34

25

34

9 of 27

One third of Mother Superiors/ Presidents came from missions outside of Kentucky

1883

Ursuline Sisters begin teaching in Missouri at Holy Ghost School in St. Louis

Mississippi

Frankfurt am Main

23

23

South Carolina

20 80

SACHSEN

THURINGEN

HESSEN

17

Nebraska Peru

20 17

Nebraska

GERMANY NORTH CAROLINA Koln

West Virginia Mississippi

Berlin BRANDENBURG

SACHSEN-ANHALT

HORDRHEINWESTFALEN

109

Ohio

40 100

South Carolina

MECKLENBURGVORPOMMERN

Missouri

Hamburg

NIEDERSACHSEN

Nebraska

40

HOLSTEIN

West Virginia

Munich SCHLESWIG-

54

West Virginia

60 54 120

Straubing Munich

66

66

Ohio Illinois

BADENWURTTEMBERG

Straubing

BADENWURTTEMBERG

60

Missouri Maryland

SAARLAND

SAARLAND

Illinois Pennsylvania

BAVERIA

RHEINLANDPFALZ

BAVERIA

RHEINLANDPFALZ

Frankfurt am Main

80

Frankfurt am Main

THURINGEN

HESSEN

SACHSEN

THURINGEN

HESSEN

SACHSEN

Maryland Indiana

GERMANY NORTH CAROLINA Koln

Pennsylvania

Koln

SACHSEN-ANHALT

HORDRHEINWESTFALEN

innesota

a

120

120

SCHLESWIGHOLSTEIN

DOME | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

13

PERUVIAN JOURNAL

Rooted and Reaching faith of the people was not alive and active. That was the situation in much of Latin America after the Spanish conquest, invasion and conversion. So, Pope Pius XII invited religious communities to send ten percent of their membership to Latin America to evangelize and respond to the spiritual need of thousands of the faithful.

Sociologists tell us that the years move in cycles. Our lives. Historical events. Every part of our happening is connected to every other part.

Our journey as a congregation has experienced this. To understand this, though, it is necessary to look back to history, the history of evangelization and being church in different cultures and places.

In general, the Church saw itself as growing as missionaries took the gospel message to far-away lands.

That is true since the time of Paul.

Evangelization was, in a manner of thinking, a conquest that was “religious.” Latin America is an illustration of this school of thought.

While we rejoiced with the faith sewn in the “New World,” we interpreted the absence of priests and catechists as a sign that the

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In the case of the Ursulines of Louisville, contact was made with the superior of the congregation, Mother Agnes Marie Long, and after communication between religious authorities, she, and her assistant Sister Delia Lynch, traveled to Peru to begin conversations, expressing a desire to be a part of this missionary effort.

Reaching across borders was not new to the Ursulines: Italy to France to Germany to Louisville to Peru?

Deeply rooted in the charism of Angela, a contemplative love and an ardent desire to serve was more than enough to encourage these women to reach beyond borders.

The story that unfolded probably surprised all the participants.

Simply, the evangelizers became the evangelized. And those who needed religious and catechetical formation were indeed the catechists, those whose deep faith was manifested and celebrated in faithful devotion to the images of Jesus and Mary.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 | DOME

It was a time when base Christian communities—neighbors, family, friends—came together to reflect on the scriptures and transfer their meanings to their daily lives. Faith took expression on the streets, in the park, in the factories and in the soup kitchens.

For the Ursulines who traditionally were teachers, it was logical, that what we could bring to this dialogical ministry was an experience in education. We were asked to begin a school in a recently established “barrio” or “pueblo Joven” (new town), Carmen de le Legua. At the same time, two of the four sisters were to minister in the Peruvian naval school in another part of Lima.

We waited with great anticipation for news from our missionaries who, in the ’60s, could only rely on the Peruvian mail service to communicate newsletters. Most of us knew little about the joys and difficulties of the four sisters who led the effort until much later.

In addition to the Peruvian mail, the Sisters also began to rely on a Jesuit friend who had a ham radio.

On a somewhat regular basis, we could count on contacting family and friends through ham radio conversations. One spoke a sentence or two and then “over” to allow the receptor to share the same and successively conclude with “over.”

While there were occasional visits from Ursuline Sisters from the leadership team, basically, visits

PERUVIAN JOURNAL

Santa Angela Merici church yard, 1960s

were scarce. Much of that changed in the ’80s. I remember clearly when Sister Betty ( Jeanne Therese) Albers, requesting to make a visit to Peru, simply said, “I want to go to visit the Sisters.” She stayed for 18 years!

And, as our community in Peru grew, so also did our communication with our Louisville community.

50th Anniversary celebration, 2015

with Holy Spirit Parish in Louisville.

There was a bonding, not only with the two parishes, but also with Saint Angela Merici School in Carmen de la Legua. The friendship from those visits continues to this day.

In addition, and very significant to Saint Angela Merici School,

It was probably in the late ’80s or early ’90s when it occurred to some of our Sisters that maybe a fax machine would help facilitate communication. What an innovation! We could receive written communication without waiting three or four weeks, or sometimes more for the mail to arrive.

The technology revolution of the ’90s, with the help of electronic mail, changed everything. It became much easier to share information of what was happening in Peru, what we were doing, and what many of our difficulties and blessings were. At the same time, we were better aware of the events and processes that the congregation was experiencing.

One very significant “connection” happened when, for a short time, we had a Sister–parish relationship

were visits from some teachers from St. Francis of Assisi School, a traditionally Ursuline-staffed school. Almost at the same time, two professors from Bellarmine College, and later, a group of Bellarmine students, visited our school. These contacts and visits expanded our understanding of being in relationship with a broader and more global community. All the visitors were housed in our home.

Later, two teachers from Sacred Heart Academy accompanied a group of students to Carmen de la Legua, and over three days established interesting and significant awarenesses on the part of north and south that we are all a part of a larger family. While many of our concerns, interests and difficulties are similar, there is a richness in the opportunity to share who we are and what we long for, coming from different realities and holding different dreams.

Over the course of many years there have been significant efforts on the part of individual Sisters to make contact, respond to specific needs, or share important resources: from musical instruments to art materials, to books and sports equipment, to mention a few. Many Sisters have contributed to the enrichment of Saint Angela Merici School in Carmen de la Legua over the years.

Footprints, and handprints, and heart prints are evidence that the charism of Angela Merici knows no border fences. And our various ministries in Peru have been at the heart of our Ursuline family.

DOME | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER DOME | SPRING 2022 2021

15

ANGELA MERICI CENTER: ROOTED

Rooted in the Ground of Our Being

BY GINNY SCHAEFFER

God is the ground of our being.

—Paul Tillich

Even though I grew up in a rural, farming area and, to this day, love flowers blooming in my yard, I am not much of a gardener. I do know that plants can be picky about the type of soil in which they can grow. Sometimes it is the ph level. Other times it is the composition—is it sandy and does it drain well, or does it tend to stay moist or even wet? It is also about location, location, location—full sun, partial sun or shade can determine a plant’s health. Plants want to grow, but they need what they need to do so.

Jesus knew this, too. He saw the farmers around him trying to feed their families and squeak out something of a living by what they could grow. He often used stories about seeds, planting, weeds and harvesting to teach lessons about God’s ultimate reality. One such story is about a farmer casting out seed on his fields. Some of it fell on hard ground and was immediately devoured by birds.

Some of the seed fell on gravel and sprouted but was not able to put down roots and withered away under the sun’s heat. Some fell in the weeds and were choked back. Finally, some seeds fell on good earth and did what seeds are supposed to do, and produced a great harvest for the farmer. (Mt 13:3-9)

I can almost imagine that ah-hah moment when Jesus first realized these lessons that he later shared with us, lessons about the condition of our hearts and how receptive and fertile the soil of our hearts might be.

I know, for myself, there are places in my heart that have been hardened by the wounds I have experienced.

They are dried out and depleted by the searing heat of the pain and suffering caused by these wounds. What has hardened your heart?

There’s another plot of ground within my heart that is full of rocks and stones made up of core beliefs

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 | DOME

about myself and others that prevent the deep roots from developing. Some of my personal stones are perfectionism, procrastination and avoidance of conflict, just to name a few. How would you name yours?

Then there are the weeds that grow up with the young plants, vying for the same sun and nutrients needed to grow. For some reason, it seems that the weeds always win this battle. Worry, anxiety and fear are the weeds that grow and spread throughout my heart and look and sound a little bit like: What if this or that happens?

What if I don’t have enough?

What if I fail or disappoint?

What if I’m not enough?

What about you? What do the weeds in your heart look and sound like?

bear fruit.

Finally, yes finally, there is soil within my heart, within all of our hearts, that is free of rocks, stones and weeds, soil that is moist, open, soft and full of what is needed to allow what is planted to grow and

Paul Tillich, a 20th century theologian, tells us that the Creator of the cosmos is “… the ground of our being.” It is the essence of the Divine in our hearts that receives, nurtures and allows the seeds of our lives to grow.

There is nothing other-worldly about these seeds.

They are the innate gifts, talents and passions with which we are born. They are the seeds of love and life, compassion, kindness, acceptance and understanding.

They are the seeds that make us more fully human by allowing the Divine within us to bear fruit.

But what of the hardened, stone and weed infested ground in our hearts? Do we just forget it and chalk it all up as a loss?

Of course not. Any farmer or gardener worth their salt knows that earth can be reclaimed and restored to

ANGELA MERICI CENTER: ROOTED

There is nothing other-worldly about these seeds. They are the innate gifts, talents and passions with which we are born. They are the seeds of love and life, compassion, kindness, acceptance and understanding. They are the seeds that make us more fully human by allowing the Divine within us to bear fruit. its life-giving essence. It needs attention—to be cared for and nurtured. Sometimes it needs to rest. Other times it needs to be turned over, watered and nutrients restored.

We do this with our hearts by cooperating with its Creator. We stay connected to the One in whom “...we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) through the usual practices of prayer, meditation, reflection, ritual and reading sacred texts.

But wait, there’s more. In Philippians 4:8, St. Paul encourages us to fill our minds, and thus our hearts, with what is true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious— the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly, things to praise, not things to curse. When we focus on these things, we eventually discover that there is not as much room for rocks and stones and weeds, and that our hardened hearts once again become soft, receptive and full of what is needed to bear fruit to share with the world.

Upcoming AMC Spirituality Events: Prayer in the Spirit of Taizé: Second Monday of the month 7:00 pm Ursuline Motherhouse Chapel 3115 Lexington Road Sept. 12, Oct. 10, Nov. 14 and Dec. 12 Sabbath Moments: Saturdays, 10 am–12 pm Ursuline Motherhouse 3115 Lexington Road Sept. 10, Oct. 8, Nov. 12, Dec. 10 Follow us on Facebook at: amcspirituality or visit www.amcspirituality.org to see our virtual Taizé prayer services and reflections. You may also sign up to receive updates in your inbox! Please email us at amc@ursulineslou.org for more information and to sign up.

DOME | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

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PLANNED GIVING

College Scholarship Gave Asian Student an Escape from Communist China

BY ELLEN MCKNIGHT

Left: Tao family before Jacqueline left Taiwan for United States Above: Sister Raymond Carter, Ursuline College Dean of Academics

Born a Buddhist in Shanghai, China, during WWII, Jacqueline Yung Tao attended third grade in a private Catholic school run

by Franciscan nuns in a French section of the city. Shanghai was under Japanese occupation, where sirens and possible air attacks kept everyone on alert. Three years after the war ended in 1945, there was a period of peace before the eventual takeover by the communists. This was the deciding factor for her father to send his family of six to safety in Taiwan. They left him and their possessions behind, taking only two suitcases filled with photographs and pictures.

December 1948 was the last time Jacqueline saw her father. She was eleven years old.

Her education and religion would be the guiding factors for her future. Her high school in Taiwan was near a Catholic church, where

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she spent a lot of time and met several Sisters from Kentucky. She converted to Catholicism and was baptized. Jacqueline was chosen by the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville to receive a full four-year scholarship to attend Ursuline College in Louisville, Kentucky, where several Asian students were enrolled or had graduated.

Jacqueline said, “It was extremely hard for a high schooler to get a Taiwan passport, much less a visa to the United States. Sister Raymond Carter, academic dean of Ursuline College at that time, intervened and wrote many letters on my behalf so I could attend the college, beginning in 1957. Plans materialized to get me to Louisville, but with limited English and traveling alone, it wasn’t an easy journey. I purchased a big leather suitcase to pack for America.

My first stop was Hong Kong.

While there, I was able to contact

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 | DOME

my father for the first time since fleeing China eight years earlier. It was the last time I ever spoke with him.

“With my one large suitcase and a big itinerary, it took me multiple days to reach my destination in Kentucky. From Tokyo, I zigzagged to Fairbanks, Alaska; then to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; to Seattle; to Los Angeles; to Chicago; and finally to Louisville, where I met Sister Raymond for the first time.

“Initially, I came to the United States to attend Ursuline College as a special trainee in religion, under the sponsorship of Archbishop A. Riberi, Internuncio of Free China, who worked with converts in his religious program in Taiwan.

Plans changed course during my four years of studies. I majored in liberal arts and home economics.

PLANNED GIVING After graduation, I went to New York City, and eventually became a junior accountant. In New York, I met my husband, John Herde. We were married in 1965 and will celebrate our 57th anniversary this fall. We have two wonderful daughters, Jennifer and Juliana, and four grandchildren. We have traveled worldwide and are now retired in Virginia to be with our family.”

Jacqueline stayed in contact with several Asian classmates after she graduated from Ursuline College in 1961, but most important was her connection to Sister Raymond Carter, who championed her journey to Louisville from Taiwan and her college enrollment in Kentucky, and who gave her guidance and advice over the years. “Sister kept me up to date with everything going on at Ursuline College. She helped me stay in America.”

Top and Right: Wedding Photos, October 23, 1965 in Manhattan Below: 50th Anniversary Celebration – Jacqueline and John Herde

Recently, her daughter, Juliana, sent a donation that was originally intended to be her mother’s planned gift in memory of Sister Raymond and for the Chapel Preservation Fund. Sending it now, rather than later, assured the family that her gift would be used as intended, and more importantly, while her mother was still alive. Jacqueline added, “It is rewarding to do so, and makes me feel good to be able to give back to the school that did so much for me. Because of the Ursuline community, I was able to come and stay in the U.S. and live a wonderful 60-plus years as a citizen.”

John and Jacqueline (center) with daughters Jennifer (L) and Juliana (R ) behind them with their spouses and children DOME | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

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August 2–5, 2022 Community Days Walk In Faith/Camina Con Fe

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