Spring 2006 Volume 4, No. 2
Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph Proclaiming Jesus through Education and Christian Formation
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FROM OUR CONGREGATIONAL LEADER Sister Michele Morek, OSU
In this issue
Dear Friends,
Companions on the Journey ............ 3 Ursulines of Belleville unite with Mount Saint Joseph community
At home we had a rosebush that bloomed with both lovely white and red roses. This wasn’t a miracle — a white rose had been grafted onto the red rosebush. Though the grafting had not been without pain and loss, the new bush bloomed more beautifully than either rose by itself.
Small But Mighty .............................. 6 St. Paul School follows Catholic tradition with dedication, creativity
It sounds so easy to say, “the Belleville Ursulines merged with the Mount Saint Joseph Ursulines,” but between the lines of that simple statement, one would find much thought and prayer, joy and suffering. The result is a richer diversity of roses in the garden of God. During the merger process, our two communities experienced the power of the spirit of our founder, Saint Angela Merici. It is amazing that two groups separated from each other for over 350 years found so few real differences between them when the currents of history and the tides of circumstance brought them back together. Any of the sisters from Belleville would feel right at home in Saint Paul, Kentucky, working with Sister Anne Michelle in a tiny country school, just as their foremothers in North Dakota would have fit right in with the pioneer Mount Saint Joseph Ursulines in New Mexico. Both communities served preferentially in small towns or rural areas; both have simplicity of lifestyle and a spirit of hospitality deep in their bones; and both empowered others through education and Christian formation. Saint Paul is typical of the places we love to be; we hope we (with vocations, and with the help and collaboration of pastors, parents, and friends) can have the privilege of staffing that school for another 65-plus years.
Daughter of the Parish .................... 9 Sister Ann McGrew reflects on her life and vocation journey A Loving Welcome to Our New Sisters ............................................... 11 Getting to know the Ursulines from Belleville Soli Deo Gloria ................................ 12 We rejoice in the gifts of our sisters, given for the kingdom of God
Asking God’s blessings on all your intentions for this new year, OUR MISSION
Sister Michele Morek, OSU Congregational Leader, Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph
We, the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, sustained by prayer and vowed life in community, proclaim Jesus through education and Christian formation in the spirit of our founder, Saint Angela Merici.
Ursulines Alive is published by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, Maple Mount, Kentucky. Three Issues — Spring, Summer, and Fall — will appear during 2006. Editor: Sister Ruth Gehres, OSU Photography and production assistance: Jerry Birge, Kelly May, Jennifer Kaminski Mission Advancement Staff:
Sister Suzanne Sims, Director of Mission Advancement Sister Rose Marita O’Bryan, Director of Mission Effectiveness Sister Pam Mueller, Director of Vocation Ministry Jerry P. Birge, Director of Marketing and Communications Marian Bennett, Sister Marietta Wethington, Co-directors of Ursuline Parterships Sister Ruth Gehres, Associate Director of Communications Melanie Sears, Kelly May, Jennifer Kaminski, Administrative Assistants
We welcome your response to Ursulines Alive. You may contact us at: Ursulines Alive, c/o Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount KY. Phone: (270) 229-4103. Fax: (270) 229-4953. E-mail: ualive@maplemount.org. Web site: www.ursulinesmsj.org. Cover photo: Sister Mary Patrick McDonagh (center), a member of the Ursuline Sisters of Belleville, receives the emblem of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph from congregational leader Sister Michele Morek during a liturgy at Mount Saint Joseph on November 25. This ceremony was part of a celebration of the merger of the Ursuline Sisters of Belleville with the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, which was effective October 21, 2005. Sister Lennora Carrico (left) was Sister Mary Patrick’s special companion during this celebration of the integration of the two communities. See story beginning on page 3.
OUR VISION As Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, we will: • Commit ourselves to simplicity, hospitality, justice and service; • Reverence the values of our founding rural heritage; • Live and minister contemplatively as women of hope; • Witness gospel values through the charism of Saint Angela Merici; • Bind ourselves to one another in charity, celebrating and respecting the uniqueness of each person; • Invite and mentor new members; • Respond to the signs of the times and the needs of the Church and the world through collaborative relationships; and • Stand in prophetic witness to the world by living in right relationships with the earth and the human family to effect justice through systemic change.
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Companions on the Journey Ursulines of Belleville unite with Mount Saint Joseph community by Sister Ruth Gehres, OSU
spirit of unity and joy filled the Mount Saint Joseph Chapel on November 25, as Ursulines from Belleville, Illinois, and Maple Mount, Kentucky, celebrated the coming together of their two communities as one — the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. It was the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria — a major date on the Ursuline calendar. On this day in 1535, in a small oratory in the city of Brescia, Italy, Angela Merici and 28 more dedicated women signed their names in The Book of the Company, signaling the official beginning of the Company of St. Ursula. From this small seed, the family of Ursuline Sisters has grown and spread throughout the world in service to God and God’s people.
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Now, 470 years later, in this festive liturgy, Ursulines from two communities were celebrating their unity. Celebrant of the liturgy was the Most Rev. John J. McRaith, bishop of Owensboro, who warmly welcomed the sisters from Belleville. A proclamation of the story of the founding events of November 25, 1535, opened the ceremony. To symbolize the unity of the Maple Mount and Belleville communities, Sister Catherine Kaufman from Belleville and Sister Mary Irene Cecil from Maple Mount poured water from each motherhouse into the baptismal font at the chapel entrance. Soil from the holy ground of each place was then intermingled in a container that would receive a small maple seedling — a symbol of the united community being formed through the merger.
Sisters Frances McDonagh (left) and Mary Angela Matthews prepare a container to receive a maple seedling symbolizing the unity of the two congregations.
The final action before the liturgy was the signing of The Book of the Company — already containing the names of the Mount Saint Joseph sisters — by the ten sisters from Belleville, each accompanied by a companion from the Maple Mount community. Following the signing, each sister received the Ursuline pin, signifying membership in the Mount Saint Joseph community, from congregational leader Sister Michele Morek. Joyful voices then joined in singing the entrance hymn, “We Are Companions on the Journey,” as the Belleville sisters and their companions from Maple Mount walked together to their places among the assembly gathered to celebrate this new beginning. The Call and the JJourney ourney
As Ursulines, the two communities share a common beginning and a similar development. From their founding in Brescia, the early Ursulines followed the call of God outward in Italy, then into France and Belgium, and eventually throughout Europe and into the New World. The histories of both the Belleville and Maple Mount communities follow a path from Brescia through Milan in Italy, then to Avignon and Bordeaux in France, and from there to Liège, Belgium. From Belgium, one group followed a call to Straubing, Bavaria, while another moved toward Ahrweiler in the Rhineland.
Sister Marilyn Mueth inscribes her name in the Book of the Company.
Already in the 17th century, the great Ursuline missionary, Marie of the Incarnation, journeyed with a band of sisters to bring the knowledge of Christ to Native Americans in what is now Canada. In the early 18th century, Ursulines came to minister in New Orleans. Both of these Ursuline foundations came from France.
In 1858, Ursulines from Straubing came to serve the educational needs of German immigrants in Louisville. Just 16 years later, five sisters traveled from Louisville to Daviess County to establish a school for girls at what is now Maple Mount. From Mount Saint Joseph Academy, the community — independent from Louisville in 1912 — went out to serve God’s people in Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, a number of other states, and missionary commitments in Central and South America. continued on page 4
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Companions on the Journey continued from page 3
In many ways, the call and the journey of the Ursuline Sisters of Belleville and that of the Ursulines of Mount Saint Joseph run parallel. The Belleville sisters describe their history as one “of not standing still,” of openness to new ventures. Their story reflects the spirit of adaptability that from the beginning has distinguished the daughters of Angela. The Challenge of the New World
American member of the community, Sister Mary Angela Cain, entered in Kenmare in 1915. Many more followed. One famous alumnus of the North Dakota schools was Lawrence Welk, a student of the Ursulines in Strasburg in the school’s earliest days. Welk, who after fourth grade left school to work on the farm, was playing accordion for dances in the area already as a teenager. Sister Dorothy remembers that some of the young women who later became Ursulines had danced with Lawrence Welk.
The ten sisters who left Ahrweiler in the summer of 1910 could not have imagined the strenuous life that lay before them in America. Their imposing monastery, Calvarienberg Moving to IIllinois llinois — Mount Calvary — stood on a hill amid the green, vineyard-covered A decisive moment came in 1930, mountains of northwestern Germany. when the bishop of Belleville From their new homes in North invited the sisters to staff a school in Dakota, the pioneer sisters looked The Ursuline convent in Calvarienberg (Mount Calvary), from Fairmont City, Illinois. Between over vast, flat plains, where prairie which sisters came to North Dakota in 1910. Ursulines came here 1930 and 1945, they accepted grass waved constantly in the wind. from Montjoie, Belgium, in 1838. A shrine commemorating the Illinois schools in Grand Chain, North Dakota had been a state for crucifixion of Jesus has existed here since the 15th century. Millstadt, East Saint Louis, just 21 years. The sisters divided into Mascoutah, and Mounds. Meanwhile, the situation in North Dakota two groups — five to St. Anthony, five to Strasburg. These villages were was becoming strained. A new law forbade sisters in habit to teach in almost 100 miles apart and the sisters, used to living in large convents public schools. (Some parish schools had become public when the in Germany, embraced a life of isolation and scarcity — the life of the people were no longer able to support them.) The bishop was pushing pioneers. the community to separate from the German motherhouse — a move Homesteaders had begun settling St. Anthony in 1884. Originally they were not ready for. In addition, in North Dakota there were no from Germany and Hungary, many had first tried making a new life in Catholic universities in which the younger sisters could pursue higher Russia, a less hospitable environment than the one they had left in education. In 1942, at the invitation of Belleville Bishop Henry Germany. When the sisters arrived in 1910, the St. Anthony Althoff, the community transferred its regional headquarters to Illinois. community had already built a church and a school. They welcomed By 1943, the only mission remaining in North Dakota was Kenmare, the Ursuline teachers with joy. The school provided for both day and where the sisters continued to teach until 1962. (In the 1950s, some boarding students, since many families lived far from the town, with no returned to teach in high schools in Bismarck and Minot.) means of transporting the children, especially during the severe winters. In 1945, Belleville became the permanent site of the motherhouse. At Enrollment grew from 35 to over 100 the first year, and the little school that time, membership in the community — comprising both sisters was often overcrowded. But attendance varied with the seasons. It was continued on page 5 understood that the boys would not come to school during harvesting and planting times. St. Anthony School, Life was much the same in Strasburg and, after 1912, in Kenmare, the third North Dakota mission accepted by the Calvarienberg Ursulines. In all of the North Dakota missions, the sisters’ ministry also included teaching summer religion classes for public school children. They struggled with the language, the weather, and the many challenges of adapting to a new culture. Crops were poor, and there was little money to pay the sisters. Instead, the people brought produce to supply the needs of the sisters and boarders. “The sisters had very little,” reflects Sister Dorothy Helbling, a native of St. Anthony. “But all of them always spoke of their beautiful time there.”
where the first Mount Calvary Ursulines taught. The kitchen and dining room were in the basement, with classrooms on the first floor. On the second floor were the boarders’ quarters. The sisters slept in the attic.
In 1912, Kenmare was designated as the headquarters of the Calvarienberg missions in America. In 1930, American missions were recognized as a Region of the Calvarienberg community. The first 4
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from Germany and American vocations — was 62. In 1947, the sisters elected their first American-born vicaress (superior), Sister Barbara (Estelle) Jacoby, who served until 1950, and again from 1962-68. Sister Estelle is remembered as a strong leader who placed high value on the education of the sisters, encouraging them to attain appropriate degrees and arranging speakers and workshops at the motherhouse. Under her leadership, the current motherhouse building was constructed. In order to rally support for this project, she established the Ursuline Sisters Auxiliary and Friends Club, which provided encouragement and material support. This organization, with more than 80 members, continues to be a vital part of the Belleville Ursulines’ life today. Separation fr om G ermany from Germany By 1961, there were 73 sisters in the community, which continued to be a Region of the German motherhouse. As the younger sisters pursued higher education, and as the Second Vatican Council (196265) recommended a more open approach to religious life, tensions between the German community and its American region increased. The administration in Calvarienberg found it difficult to understand that ministry in the United States required a less cloistered, more flexible way of life. In the American region, the experimentation encouraged by Vatican II was not permitted. In Belleville, concern for the feelings of the German sisters decreased as they became fewer (no new German sisters came after 1954), and as many of the German sisters also felt the need for separation. Finally, in 1977, the Chapter (governing assembly) of the Belleville sisters drew up a proposal for separation, which then went to the General Chapter in Calvarienberg. Although the German community approved, the separation process took six years to clear a series of frustrating obstacles in Rome. Finally, on August 13, 1983, an independent, diocesan community — the Ursuline Sisters of Belleville — was established. Sister Dorothy Helbling, superior since 1975, was elected the first superior general of the autonomous community. Since the separation, the Belleville sisters have continued to nurture a good relationship with the German motherhouse.
Ursuline teachers from Germany with their Benedictine pastor, Father Andrew Kolbeck, in the early days at St. Anthony, North Dakota.
followed a call to ministries that reflected the work of Angela and her early followers — religious education, pastoral ministry, retreat work, spiritual direction, and ministry to the sick and homebound. This was also a time of decreasing membership, as sisters began to reconsider their religious vocations. For some it was a time of recommitment and new energy. Others made the decision to leave religious life. Many young people were dedicating themselves to ministry in the Church, but fewer were entering religious communities. As a result of these developments, together with the death of its older members, the Belleville community found itself becoming much smaller.
When the autonomous congregation was established in 1983, 27 Ursuline Sisters of Belleville were teaching in four schools in Illinois and one in North Dakota and serving at King’s House Retreat and Renewal Center, St. Henry Seminary, and the Catholic Center, all in Belleville. Besides these ministries, the community — small yet strong — welcomed groups to their motherhouse for meetings, liturgies, workshops, and scripture classes. Still today it is a strong religious presence in In 1945, the sisters purchased the future Holy Spirit Motherhouse, at the Belleville area. The 1026 N. Douglas Avenue, as their regional headquarters in Belleville. The New D ir ections Dir irections continuing scripture classes have property now includes two other houses and a larger motherhouse building (erected 1959) on eight acres at the same location. a history of more than 30 years. For most religious communities, The motherhouse also serves as a the years after Vatican II saw center for the Auxiliary and for significant changes in spirituality, ministry, and lifestyle. The Council the 27 men and women who are Covenant Members (Associates) of urged communities to return to the spirit of their founders, to the community. rediscover the spiritual heritage of their institute. For Ursulines, this meant immersion in the life, writings, and spirit of Saint Angela In the early 1990s, the continuation of the mission and charism of Merici. It also meant an opening to new ways of living together, and the congregation became a source of serious concern. Sister Mary new ways of proclaiming the Gospel to God’s people. While many of Ellen Backes was superior when the 1991 Assembly began discussion the Belleville sisters continued their traditional service as teachers, many continued on page 10
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Small But Mighty St. Paul School follows Catholic tradition with dedication and creativity by Sister Ruth Gehres, OSU
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f you ask Deanna Kipper to talk about St. Paul School, you’ll be immediately impressed by her conviction and enthusiasm. “We’re small but mighty!” proclaims Deanna, who should know more than a little about this remarkable school set in the rural terrain of eastern Grayson County, Kentucky. A 1956 graduate of St. Paul High School, Deanna began volunteering as school secretary in 1971. “Ten years later,” she laughs, “they hired me.” After close to 35 years of service to faculty, staff, and several generations of students, Deanna generously shares her knowledge of the history of this endeavor and of the determined people who have made it possible — pastors, parishioners, faithful friends, and the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. St. Paul’s head teacher, Sister Anne Michelle Mudd, claims a history at the school almost as long as Deanna’s. A native of Peonia, about 13 miles south of St. Paul, Nancy Ann Mudd attended Peonia Public School — then taught by Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph — before traveling for high school to St. Paul, graduating in 1959. In fall of that year, she entered the Ursuline community at Maple Mount. She made final profession in 1965.
history of dairy farms and crops: wheat, soybeans, corn, Bethany, a kindergarten student at St. some tobacco, and vegetable Paul, is proud of her bright apples. gardens attached to every house. There was once a general store here, and a post office. Now called “St. Paul, Leitchfield,” the village is actually ten miles from Leitchfield, the county seat and current post office location. At the center of the settlement — both geographically and spiritually — stands St. Paul Church, an attractive brick structure where pastor Father Marty Hayes celebrates the Eucharist on Sundays and three weekdays. He is also pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish in Clarkson, about halfway between St. Paul and Leitchfield. The St. Paul parish register lists 160 families, including a few in neighboring Hardin County.
It’s just a short walk across the road from the church to St. Paul Catholic Elementary School, a long, one-story brick building surrounded by grass and an abundance of shade trees. Inside, the place is a beehive of activity. In the K-2 room, Saint Paul School Sister Anne Michelle has Sister Anne Michelle’s early placed her chair in a teaching ministry took her to Central City, Flaherty, Waverly, and strategic position to help the kindergarteners with sound and word Owensboro in Kentucky, and then to Lourdes Elementary School in recognition skills — B for bear, M for moon, T for table. The little Nebraska City, Nebraska. In 1977, she returned home to Grayson ones squirm a bit, but they are proud of their work, and they hold County and St. Paul as an elementary teacher for eight years, and up their papers for then, from 1983-85, as head teacher. Since 1997, she has served as their teacher to principal and as teacher of grades K-2, and she also teaches religion in check and praise. grades 5 and 6. Her enthusiasm and dedication help to explain the She, in turn, is success of this ministry. attentive and encouraging. Driving into the settlement of St. Paul on a bright fall morning, one relaxes in its peacefulness. On each side of the county road, behind Behind the spacious, shaded yards, sits a row of modest, neat houses. Some of kindergarten area, these lofty trees were probably beginning their life when the first with their desks settlers came to this location almost 200 years ago. With no back turned at a 90streets, there’s nothing to interrupt the view — beyond the line of degree angle, the houses — of rolling farm land and green fence rows. Although most people have city jobs now, this is still agricultural land, with a long continued on page7 Sister Anne Michelle helps kindergarteners Zachary (left) and Jarrett with sound recognition skills. 6
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first and second graders concentrate on math exercises. “Ms. Rose” Pharris, the teacher’s assistant, works with them individually or in groups at her table near the back of the classroom. There’s an air of industry here — no one seems distracted by what’s happening elsewhere in the room. The walls and shelves around the wall are busy too — with learning aids, pictures and posters, colorful books, and displays of student work. The east wall is almost all windows, filling the room with light. Above Sister Anne Michelle’s desk, under a bright paper rainbow, a statue of our Blessed Mother smiles down on the young students and their teachers. In an equally bright room down the hall, Ms. Michelle Robinson works with grades 3-5. These children display a lively curiosity about the visitor who has come to write a story about them. They are eager to talk about their school. “It’s like a family here,” Ashley says. “We all take care of each other.” Many of the children are related, and “they get along like brothers and sisters,” Deanna says. Randy, who with his brother recently transferred from a public school, was happy to find that there were no bullies at St. Paul’s. “I really like going to school here,” he says with conviction. This room is also full of books and learning aids, including a large world map near the teacher’s desk. A row of computers occupies a long table under the window. Michelle — in her sixth year at St. Paul — reflects the positive attitude that pervades the school. “I’m not Catholic,” she
“I reinforce everything that Sister Anne Michelle teaches them,” says Ms. Rose Pharris, who works here with Kenneth and Hanna while Sister Anne Michelle teaches the kindergarten group.
says, “and I wasn’t sure what it would be like here. Now I know — it’s a wonderful place to work!” Mrs. Joan Butterworth, who has taught at St. Paul for eight years, has nine students in grades 6 and 7. There are no eighth-graders this year. Looking around this upper-grade classroom, one sees displays of a variety of projects — science, art, computers — and the same combination of intensity and self-determination that characterizes the lower grades. The students obviously feel free to move around to confer with their teacher and each other about their work, or to work on individual projects located on tables and shelves around the classroom. Joan is eager to talk about the achievements of St. Paul students, past and present. Currently all the students are working on producing original books for a contest sponsored by the Grayson County
Ms. Michelle Robinson’s third-graders (row in foreground) work diligently while the fourth-graders participate in class. Third-graders are Blake, Ashley, and Katie. Fourth-graders are Maggie (left), Randy (with hand raised), and Bret.
Library. “St. Paul students regularly take prizes in these contests,” Joan says with obvious pride. Two fifth graders recently won first and second prizes for their stories in a newspaper contest. The whole school also takes part in regular conservation contests — the lowergrade students create posters, and the older ones write essays. Joan notes that a St. Paul seventh grader recently won the top prize in a contest that included high-school students. Students at St. Paul also participate in county spelling bees and 4-H activities. These students consistently score well above state and national averages in math, science, and reading. They are also aware of what is happening in the world around them. The entire school took up a “change collection” for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Today, some of the upper-grade students are creating cards to send to a young girl suffering from cancer at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis. Keeping the SSpirit pirit Aliv Alivee St. Paul is the only Catholic school in Grayson County, and children who come from the surrounding parishes in Wax, Peonia, and Grayson Springs — as well as from St. Paul — are supported by their parishes. (Thanks to the Kentucky League for Educational Alternatives — KLEA — these students can ride public school buses.) Independent students — including, this year, three who are not Catholic, pay their own tuition. But tuition does not begin to cover Wyatt, the only fifth-grader at the financial needs of the school. “To St. Paul this year, enjoys working math problems at the board. keep it going, we have lots of fundraisers,” Deanna Kipper explains. These include an Octoberfest with booths, a cakewalk, bankers (pulltabs), and a raffle. Later, there’s a pizza kit sale and a magazine drive, and the church picnic in July also brings in funds designated for the school. Organizing fundraisers is an important activity of the school board, made up of six dedicated parents. Parents also contribute to the maintenance of the building, volunteering for cleaning, cutting continued on page 8
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grass, and, every fall, preparing for the opening of classes. “Sister Anne Michelle’s brother John, with help from others in the family, mops and waxes our floors,” Deanna says. “My husband was a ‘gopher’ until poor health interfered,” she adds, “and my nephew comes regularly to change out the lights.”
Ursuline teachers at St. Paul School during the 1944-45 school year: from left, Sisters Rosaria Ray, Dolorita Robinson, Ancilla Marie Warren, Mary Estelle VanVactor, Loretto Durbin, and Patricia Cummins. All are deceased except Sisters Rosaria and Dolorita, who are active retired sisters at Mount Saint Joseph.
Besides the three teachers, one teacher’s aide, and a secretary, the payroll also includes one maintenance person and a cafeteria manager. In discussing the entire teaching staff, Sister Anne Michelle explains that Barbara Tilman, a St. Paul parishioner, volunteers to teach religion in JOIN US IN grades 3 and 4, and Father Brian Johnson, CONTINUING pastor at Grayson Springs, Peonia, and Wax, OUR MISSION OF teaches seventh-grade religion, including PROCLAIMING preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation.
JESUS THROUGH A Long H istor Histor istoryy
EDUCATION AND
CHRISTIAN The first school at St. Paul — a one-room building — was built in 1908 by Father CONSIDER Anthony Helling, who added a second room REMEMBERING in 1912. This was a full century after the first THE URSULINE families settled in this area and formed a SISTERS AND Catholic community under the leadership of OUR MINISTRIES Father Charles Nerinckx. The first teachers IN YOUR WILL! were lay women. In 1939, when Father Charles DeNardi became pastor of St. Paul and its missions, he renovated the old two-room school building and opened a parochial school there the next year. As FORMATION.
teachers, Father DeNardi engaged the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, who had been teaching in summer catechism missions in eastern Grayson County since 1925. Father DeNardi, who was pastor for the next 18 years (and again from 1972-84), knew the Ursulines well, since his own sister — the late Sister Charles Ann DeNardi — was a member of the community. The first Ursuline teachers at St. Paul were Sisters Agnes Jean Greenwell, Leander Mattingly, and Joseph Carmel Redmond. Their number increased as the parishioners added a ninth-grade room in 1941 and three more high school rooms in the three years that followed. During this time, some elementary classes were meeting in the sisters’ home. By 1945, the men of the parish were again building a new school — the structure now standing just north of the church. Students from all parishes of Grayson County were accepted here. By September 1955, enrollment had grown to 210, and the parish erected a separate high school building across the road from the church. When the high school closed in 1967, the elementary school moved to this new building. The previous school building now serves as a parish hall and, in the basement, the school cafeteria. continued on page 9
Twenty-five of St. Paul’s 26 students were present for this photo on September 2, 2005. Obviously, joy in learning is an important part of life for these children. Staff members in back row are, from left, Rose Pharris, Joan Butterworth, Michelle Robinson, Deanna Kipper, and Sister Anne Michelle Mudd.
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enrollment in the elementary school maintaining just over 100 students. Three or four Ursuline teachers ministered there during this time, often serving also as religious education teachers in other Grayson County parishes.
In 1977, Sister Anne Michelle returned first as a teacher, then, in 1983, Sister as teaching principal. After teaching in Knottsville, Kentucky, 1985-97, Anne she returned to St. Paul. Talking with her about the school and the Michelle Chelsea creates a greeting for Morgan, a young girl being treated for cancer in St. Jude Hospital in children, one senses a great sense of pride and commitment, and a remembers Memphis. Chelsea, who has several cats, drew a determination that mirrors and supports that of the entire St. Paul “the two picture of a cat on her card. community. buildings on either side of the road” when she came to St. Paul as a high Since the parochial school at St. Paul school freshman in fall 1954. opened in 1940, 80 Ursuline Sisters Among her teachers she recalls Mission of St. Paul Catholic School of Mount Saint Joseph have served in Sisters Lucita Greenwell and Karl this ministry with the people of rural Melanie Brill, both deceased, and St. Paul Catholic School shares in the educational mission Grayson County. Founded in rural Sisters Marie Kathleen Saffer and of the Catholic Church Daviess County in 1874, the Mount Dolores Ann Mudd, who left the in cooperation with families and parishes. Saint Joseph Ursulines have served community after many years of This mission to provide a religious and academic education for more than a century in rural service. She also remembers Sister prepares students to become responsible members of family, Church, and community. Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and Charlesine Boling, who today New Mexico. St. Paul School stands lives at the motherhouse. These Saint Paul Catholic School today as a testimony to this and other Ursuline teachers must realizes the religious dimensions of education commitment, and to a collaborative have made a strong impression on in a Catholic school: relationship with pastors, her, because the September after teaching the message revealed by God parishioners, and friends that has her graduation found her and proclaimed by the Church, building community nurtured by worship and prayer, kept this “small but mighty” pursuing her own Ursuline fellowship in the Holy Spirit, endeavor alive and moving forward vocation at Mount Saint Joseph. and fostering service with both the Christian — proclaiming Jesus through and the entire community. education and Christian formation The ’60s and ’70s saw the closing into the 21st century. of the high school, and
Daughter of the Parish “Growing up, I always wanted to be a Sister,” says Sister Ann McGrew, whose life until age 18 was closely tied to St. Paul Church, and to the community and school in the St. Paul settlement. The daughter of J.V. and Florence McGrew, Ann grew up in rural Grayson County with six brothers, who welcomed and loved her. When she started first grade at St. Paul in fall 1952, the family lived in the Clarkson area, some six miles away. A “Catholic school bus” supported by the parishes in the area transported nine children from two families to the school. In 1956, when Ann was 10, the McGrews moved to St. Paul. She remembers walking to church every morning with her brothers and other students. Usually her mother came with the children. “We didn’t feel that we were forced to go to church,” she says. “We wanted to go. In the summer, when school was out, we still went to church almost every day.”
At St. Paul, Ann loved her Ursuline teachers and thought often about becoming an Ursuline. When her father died in the summer before she started high school, she received a letter from Sister Pauletta McCarty, who had taught her the year before. “She just wanted to tell me that she was thinking of me,” Ann remembers. She also remembers how touched she was by Sister Pauletta’s love and concern. In September 1964, Ann McGrew became a postulant, and in July 1972, she made her perpetual profession as an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph. In her more than 40 years as an Ursuline, Sister Ann has been a teacher, pastoral minister, campus minister, director of novices, and spiritual director. Today she serves as a member of the congregational Leadership Team and as director of the RCIA program at St. Martin Parish, Rome, Kentucky. 9
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During this time, visits between the two communities increased, of practical ways for the community to move forward. A directive of both to nurture their relationship and to consider practical the 1995 Chapter committed the community to study ways of concerns related to merger — finances, collaboration, of sharing resources with buildings and grounds, ministries, other Ursuline communities. “We Belleville Ursulines have always prided ourselves as personnel, and organizational policy. In small but mighty! Over the many years, we’ve experienced fall 2004, a “straw poll” of the Mount This same time saw the beginnings of the awesome and challenging activities on Douglas Hill. And Saint Joseph community revealed Ursuline Society — a cooperative initiative like Peter, James, and John, we get comfortable in our overwhelming support for merger. In of nine autonomous Ursuline situation. God beckons us not to stay rooted in our tents April 2005, the Belleville community congregations that seeks “to create a new but to take the steps down the mountain, following Jesus voted in favor of it. A final vote by the model of Ursuline community together” and Saint Angela into deeper paschal renewal of our lives. membership of the Mount Saint Joseph and “to move beyond collaboration and Change invites us to suffering and resurrection, and we community was unanimous, and in May, toward integration.” Belleville’s hear the voice of Jesus touching us, raising us up, too, the leadership team at Mount Saint membership in this group — together with saying ‘Be not afraid.’” Joseph voted unanimously to accept the communities from Ohio, Kentucky, and request of the Ursuline Sisters of Kansas — placed them in an environment Sister Dorothy Helbling and Council, August 4, 2002 Belleville. This action required approval of collaboration and helped them to get to from the Congregation for Institutes of know the spirit and sisters of the member Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic life in Rome, which communities. was received in July. The official date for merger was set for October 21, 2005 — the feast of Saint Ursula. Two Communities Come Together During the late 1990s, the Belleville sisters found themselves drawn more and more to the Ursuline community at Mount Saint Joseph. Informal meetings led to regular visits, with sisters from each motherhouse traveling to the other for retreats, sabbaticals, and extended stays. Actual planning for union began in August 2000. In September 2002, the Mount Saint Joseph Ursulines welcomed three Belleville Ursulines as residents of Saint Joseph Villa, their healthcare facility. In 2003, Sisters Evelyn Latham of Belleville and Vickie Cravens of Maple Mount made their final vow preparation together, with Sister Marie Goretti Browning of Maple Mount as their director. At a November 2003 meeting in Belleville, the leadership of the two communities made the decision to consult a canon lawyer to assist in moving toward merger. Sister Christine Rody, a Vincentian Sister of Charity who had recently assisted her own community to merge with the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, accepted this charge. (Later, a financial adviser was also consulted.) Counseling both communities, Sister Christine emphasized the need for “prayer, reading articles on merger and reconfiguration, prayer, discussions, prayer, trust, prayer, honesty with feelings, prayer, and more prayer.” Msgr. James Margason, vicar general of the Belleville Diocese and faithful friend of the Belleville Ursulines, speaks with Sister Dorothy Helbling and Sister Christine Rody, SC, at the Blessing of Memories liturgy on October 21, 2005.
Blessing of M emories Memories October 21-22 found many Ursulines and friends gathered at the Belleville motherhouse for the Blessing of Memories — with many more joined in prayer at Mount Saint Joseph. Live in harmony, one heart, one will . . . these words of Angela rang out in the opening hymn of the Friday evening liturgy celebrated by Msgr. James Margason, vicar general of the Belleville Diocese and longtime friend of the Belleville community. This evening was filled with symbolism, including the placing of articles precious to the community — their constitutions, their emblem, a recent photo of the community, and a compilation of basic community information before the altar at the offertory. Later, in the community room, through a slide presentation and displays of historic photos, the Belleville sisters shared the lives and ministries of their sisters, all the way back to the first South Dakota mission in 1910. For every ministry, a candle was lighted. At the end, the room glowed with light. After the Saturday morning liturgy, all who had gathered went in pilgrimage to Mount Carmel Cemetery, where many of the Belleville sisters are buried. Yes, I shall arise, and return to my Father . . . the group sang after the reading of the names of all buried in Belleville, as well as many buried elsewhere where the sisters have served, and Sisters Bridget Holzer and Magdalene Schammel, who are buried at Maple Mount. October 21, the official date of merger, was also a time for celebrating gifts, particularly the gifts the Belleville sisters bring to this new, blended community — their pioneer spirit, their concern for and attentiveness to one another, their gift of continued on page 11
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A LOVING WELCOME TO OUR NEW SISTERS SISTER DOROTHY HELBLING, a native of St. Anthony, North Dakota, served as general superior of the Ursuline Sisters of Belleville from 1995 to the time of the merger. She has been a teacher and retreat director. Her grandparents on both sides were among the first settlers in St. Anthony, who welcomed the Ursulines from Germany in 1910. Currently she serves in prayer ministry and hospitality in Belleville. SISTER MARY ELLEN BACKES was Sister Dorothy’s student in Minot, North Dakota. She has been a teacher, director of religious education, and general superior. She is currently a pastoral assistant in Springfield, Illinois. SISTERS FRANCES AND MARY PATRICK MCDONAGH entered the Calvarienberg Ursulines from County Galway, Ireland, and came to Belleville in 1954. Sister Frances has been a teacher and nurse and has served in vocation ministry. Sister Mary Patrick has been a teacher, nurse, and outreach volunteer. Both are dedicated to outreach and prayer in Belleville. SISTER MARILYN MUETH, from Paderborn, Illinois, has been a teacher, pastoral associate, retreat director, and religion coordinator. She now teaches second grade in Millstadt, Illinois. SISTER EILEEN MULLEN, from Colgan, North Dakota, had a long, productive teaching career and has been a trusted mentor for younger sisters. She lives at Saint Joseph Villa, Maple Mount, and is devoted to the ministry of prayer. SISTER CATHERINE KAUFMAN, from Piopolis, Illinois, is a gifted homemaker who operated the Belleville motherhouse kitchen for more than 40 years. Now at Sister Mary Patrick Sister Dorothy the Mount, she volunteers for quilting, plant care, switchboard, and cooking up treats for special occasions. SISTER MARY ELIZABETH KRAMPE, born in Rome, Kentucky, has served her community with her talents as seamstress and homemaker. At the Mount, she is a generous helper, especially in quiltmaking, and is dedicated to the ministry of prayer. SISTER EVELYN Sister Frances Sister Mary Ellen LATHAM, from St. Paul, Minnesota, an experienced teacher, recently completed a degree in substance abuse counseling. She is currently a counselor at Riverplace Counseling Center in Anoka, Minnesota. SISTER EMILY ZENT, a native of Mandan, North Dakota, was a lifetime teacher in North Dakota and Illinois. After retirement, she began a ministry of writing to prisoners and interceding for them with the authorities. One of the first Belleville sisters to come to Saint Joseph Villa, she delights everyone with her big smile and great sense of humor.
Sister Catherine
Sister Marilyn
Sister Eileen
detachment in following the call from Germany to North Dakota to Illinois and now to Kentucky, the countless persons who have known Jesus through their dedication and ministry — all reflecting in a unique way the spirit and courage of Ursuline founder Saint Angela Merici. eginning AN Nee w B Beginning As companions on the journey, the two communities — now one — entered joyfully into the solemn yet simple liturgy of November 25. Describing it as “a new day for both of us,” congregational leader Sister Michele Morek spoke of the symbolic signing of the Book of the Company by the sisters from Belleville, and “the commingling of water and sacred soil from the Belleville
Sister Mary Elizabeth
Sister Emily
Sister Evelyn
prairie and the Mount Saint Joseph farmland, and the planting of a new tree,” actions that “lead us out into the future.” Sister Michele then invited all members of the blended community to renew their religious vows together. “Perhaps the shortest part of the celebration today, this is the most significant,” she pointed out. “Today when the Belleville sisters renew the vows they took many years ago, they do so with us, and they do so ‘according to the constitutions of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph.’” After the renewal of vows, Sister Michele spoke in the name of all of the sisters at Maple Mount: “Welcome to our community, our very dear sisters!” The assembly responded with wholehearted applause and warm embraces for our new Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. 11
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Soli Deo Gloria We rejoice in the gifts of our sisters, given for the kingdom of God Sister Catherine M arie Lauter wasser is the Marie Lauterwasser newly appointed associate local community life coordinator at the Mount Saint Joseph motherhouse. A former music and classroom teacher in Kentucky, Nebraska, and Missouri, she was principal of Mount Saint Joseph Academy, 1980-83. She is also a member of the archives staff at Mount Saint Joseph. Sister E mma Cecilia B usam recently received Emma Busam notification of the success of her $5,000 grant request from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The funds will assist in preservation and care of collections in the archives of the Diocese of Owensboro. Sister Emma Cecilia has served as diocesan archivist since 1991. She also served as director of archives at Mount Saint Joseph, 1983-2001. Sister Larraine Lauter was named 2005 Woman of the Year by the Owensboro Business and Professional Women. She credited “the many strong women in my community and family” as her mentors. Founder and executive director of La Plaza Immigrant Community Center in Owensboro, she is dedicated to assisting Hispanic migrants and immigrants, particularly women. Sister F rances M iriam SSpalding palding Frances Miriam received the first-place certificate from the Kentucky Business and Professional Women’s Association in a contest for collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House program. The houses provide “a home away from home” for families of seriously ill children who are receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. Sister Frances Miriam, who gives thanks for the diligent help of a multitude of Ursuline Sisters and other friends, collected 47 pounds of pop tabs, which are collected for their recycling value. MTSTJO_AliveNews.pmd
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WELCOME! WEL COME! During the Sunday liturgy on January 22, Kar Karen en SSiciliano iciliano of Springfield, Illinois, took the first formal step toward becoming an Ursuline sister as she entered the Ursuline Contact Program. A human resources manager for the State of Illinois, Karen holds a master’s degree in psychology and is certified in lay ministry by the Diocese of Springfield. She is active in her parish and, since October 2004, she has been a participant in the Spiritual Direction Training Program at Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center. Sister SSara ara M arie G ome Marie Gome omezz “is always at work behind the scenes,” doing “so much to improve and strengthen and beautify our church,” wrote Father Joe Blonski, pastor of St. Joseph (Aztec) and Holy Trinity (Flora Vista) parishes in New Mexico, where Sister Sara Marie serves as director of religious education and coordinator of liturgical music. Father Blonski’s long and enthusiastic tribute to Sister Sara Marie appeared in the January 8 parish bulletin. Sister M ar Matthias ard Mar aryy M atthias War d has been named Bishop’s Delegate for Women Religious (Vicar for Religious) by the Most Rev. Donald E. Pelotte, Bishop of Gallup, New Mexico. Sister Mary Matthias has served two years as elected chairperson of the Gallup Sisters Council. She has extensive experience in retreat work and spiritual direction and is currently director of Sacred Heart Retreat Center in Gallup. Sister D iane M arie P ayne Diane Marie Payne and Stacey Cowan, MSW, display Care Notes booklets purchased by Hospice and Palliative Care of the Ohio Valley through an Angela’s Ark grant from the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. The grant — from donations to the Ursuline Flatboat Adventure in August 2004 — assisted Hospice in acquiring various materials to assist families, particularly children, in the grieving process. Sister Diane Marie — who submitted the grant — is Hospice chaplain, and Stacey Cowan is a bereavement coordinator. 2/23/2006, 3:00 PM