No, it’s not March “madness” here at the monastery, but gladness and gratefulness as we celebrate the opening of our 60th anniversary of foundation! Pictured below are the 12 pioneer sisters at the Logan airport chapel in Boston with Archbishop Richard Cushing and Father Celsus Wheeler, Provincial Minister of the Holy Name Province of the Order of Friars Minor. They had just celebrated Mass and were ready to board the plane for Greenville, South Carolina on March 1, 1955. The story of those early days was preserved for us by a long letter written by Sr. Veronica to the Sisters they left behind at the Jamaica Plain, MA monastery.
More March gladness…on Wednesday, March 5, we were once again joined with many friends in our chapel to begin our Lenten journey. Father David Phan, OFM, presided at our Ash Wednesday Liturgy. Yes, we are glad to be on our way to Easter joy and all the conversion surprises our God has for us this Lent… may we all live with wide open hearts.
More…yes, this week we join in the first National Catholic Sisters Week as a part of Women’s History Month. Religious Women have a several hundred year history of service here in the United States of America and that is something to celebrate! As we reflect with joy the past 60 years of our Poor Clare life here in South Carolina we remember all those who have gone before us in this holy vocation. Our story in the USA started with the arrival of the Bentivoglio Sisters, Magdalene and Constance in 1875. They were Italian Poor Clare Nuns on a mission from Pope Pius IX to establish a monastery in America. This goal was accomplished in Omaha, Nebraska in 1878. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Peace to you and all your loved ones. Sister Kathy Ann