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SPs through the years
Since the Congregation’s founding in 1840, the Sisters of Providence have lived vibrant lives of community, ministry and faith.
Sister Henrietta Mackenzie (born Mary Rebecca Mackenzie) entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in September 1860. She became a skilled nurse and infirmarian, assisting for a time with Sisters of Providence in Civil War health care service. She died at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Jan. 8, 1917.
From community records: “Sister Helena Burns (born Bridget Burns) was born in Ireland August 6, 1831. Entered Community Aug. 18, 1847. Took vows August 15, 1853. Died Dec. 22, 1913. “Sister Helena passed many years in Community, in fact was received by our venerable Foundress. She was employed as cook on several of our missions. Though unable even to read or write she was never quite reconciled to her condition of lay Sister. She seemed jealous of the attentions given to the Sisters according to age or rank. She was critical and self willed. With regret we saw her life drawing to its close without any signs of preparation for the great and final summons — the last two or three days she realize that death was approaching and tried to prepare for the great event. She received all the Last Sacraments and we hope during her last hours special graces were given to crown her long life in religion. May she rest in peace. Amen.”
Sisters of Providence in community
This room in Providence Hall became a temporary home for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel during the renovation of the nearby Church of the Immaculate Conception on the motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
Sister Barbara Doherty, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, gives a talk at the National Retreat on Providence, July 16-18, 1993.
![[Between 1954-1960] Sister Innocentia Ashley takes the pulse of Sister Agnes Cecile O'Connor. Sisters of Providence and lay staff members in Mother Theodore and Lourdes Halls continue the legacy of caring for our sisters who are ill.](https://i0.wp.com/spsmw.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/79-Health-Care.jpg?w=280&h=350&ssl=1 "Health Care")
[Between 1954-1960] Sister Innocentia Ashley takes the pulse of Sister Agnes Cecile O’Connor. Sisters of Providence and lay staff members in Mother Theodore and Lourdes Halls continue the legacy of caring for our sisters who are ill.
A Sister of Providence in ministry.
Five girls from St. Rose in Chelsea, Mass., walk through the train station in Boston before they travel to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1929. (Left to right) Sisters Mary Regis O’Kane, Anne Bernadine Dunne, Cyril Tobin, Philip Conlin and Mary Patricia Carroll.
Sister Vincent Omalley (RIP) leads a typing class.
Members of the General Council (1966-1971) (seated left to right) Sister Loretta Therese O’Leary, Mother Mary Pius Regnier and Sister Catherine Celine Brocksmith. (Standing) Sisters Agnes Arvin, Margaret Kern, Mary Joan Kirchner, Rose Loretto Wagner and Ann Kathleen Brawley.
![[between 1976-1981] Sister Adelaide Ortegal as "Patches" with her puppet friend, "Little Patches."](https://i0.wp.com/spsmw.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/74-Sister-Adelaide-as-_Patches_.jpg?w=175&h=245&ssl=1 "Sister Adelaide as \"Patches\"")
[between 1976-1981] Sister Adelaide Ortegal as “Patches” with her puppet friend, “Little Patches.”
Sister Jean Kenny (center) is shown with students at Mother Theodore Guerin High School in River Grove, Ill., as they celebrate winning the 1977-1978 Faculty Foul-a-thon.
The General Council under General Superior Sister Rose Angela Horan, 1960-1966.
Sister Marie Raphael in the Providence Hall Library on the motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
Sister Nancy Brosnon, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, in Haiti in 1992.
A Sister of Providence in ministry.
The 44 postulants in the reception band (class) of 1961 gathered in the Owens Auditorium as “Brides of Christ” prior to their being received into the novitiate at a Eucharistic Liturgy in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Prior to 1964, young women who were entering the novitiate dressed in wedding dresses and received the holy habit during the liturgy of entrance.
Opening of New Dining Room in Providence Hall, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Left to right: Sisters Marie Angela Bannon, Francis Eileen Bannon, Agnes Carolyn Willwerth, Ann Healy.
Sister Martha Rojo ministers as a director of religious education in a parish in San Antonio, Texas (1984).
Mother Mary Pius Regnier and Sister Loretta Schafer, both members of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in August 1976.
Principals of high school sponsored by the Sisters of Providence gather in 1963 for a meeting at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. (Seated left) Sister Mary Joan Kirchner, Director of Education, converses with Superior General Mother Rose Angela Horan. (Standing left to right) Sisters Joseph Eleanor Ryan, Mary Xavier Coppersmith, Mary Raymond Schelhopf?, Dorothy Mary Noe, Mary Ellen Kilday, Miriam Joseph Cahill and Catherine Ursula Hayes.
Sisters of Providence singing at the “Ball before the Fall,” a program in the north wing (the former novitiate) of Providence Hall before it was razed.
Sister Jeanette Lucinio, SP, in her classroom at St. Theresa of Avila, 1960.
![St. Joseph School, Jasper, Indiana, class of 1928. From the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods archives. Alberta Pfau (2nd row, 5th from left) became Sister Edith Pfau. Names: Eleanore Marks, Hedwig Birk, Esther Seng, Anna Mae Gutgsell, Marguerite Klein, Evelyn Buehler, Agnes Salb, Loretta Seng, Elvire Fleck, Clara Schmitt, Eileen Gress, Alberta Pfau, Lillian Sermersheim, Agatha Hopf, Rosalia Thyen, Bernice Fuhs, Maxine Schneider, Marion Melchior, Luella Fehribach, Roberta Streicher, Marie Streicher, Dorothy Schneider, Mary Wuchner, Agnes Lorey, Rosina Klingel, Agnes Heichelbech, Rosina Burger, Loretta Kreilein, Harriett Merder, Lillian Jerger, Marianna Gutgsell, Armella Hochgesang, Maxine Kunkel, Florence Otto, Verena Reyling, Mildred Knapp, Ardella Eckert, Aurelia [Last name missing]](https://i0.wp.com/spsmw.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/61-St.-Joseph-School-Jasper-IN-Class-of-1928.jpg?w=188&h=238&ssl=1 "St. Joseph School, Jasper, IN - Class of 1928")
St. Joseph School, Jasper, Indiana, class of 1928. From the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods archives. Alberta Pfau (2nd row, 5th from left) became Sister Edith Pfau. Names: Eleanore Marks, Hedwig Birk, Esther Seng, Anna Mae Gutgsell, Marguerite Klein, Evelyn Buehler, Agnes Salb, Loretta Seng, Elvire Fleck, Clara Schmitt, Eileen Gress, Alberta Pfau, Lillian Sermersheim, Agatha Hopf, Rosalia Thyen, Bernice Fuhs, Maxine Schneider, Marion Melchior, Luella Fehribach, Roberta Streicher, Marie Streicher, Dorothy Schneider, Mary Wuchner, Agnes Lorey, Rosina Klingel, Agnes Heichelbech, Rosina Burger, Loretta Kreilein, Harriett Merder, Lillian Jerger, Marianna Gutgsell, Armella Hochgesang, Maxine Kunkel, Florence Otto, Verena Reyling, Mildred Knapp, Ardella Eckert, Aurelia [Last name missing]
Mother Marie Helene Franey was superior general from 1948-1953. She was the first superior general to receive an advanced degree and was viewed as the first “modern” superior of the Congregation. Members of her council surround Mother Marie Helene: (left to right) Sisters Rose Genevieve Flaherty, Francis Joseph Elberg, Loretta Therese O’Leary, Catherine Celine Brocksmith, Rose Dolores Thuis, and Gertrude Clare Owens.
Superior General Mother Mary Pius Regnier congratulates Sister Rose Francis Schwartz on the occasion of her 75th anniversary as a Sister of Providence. Sister Rose Francis lived to age 106.
Sisters of Providence participate in an art class during summer classes.
Sister Brendan Harvey (RIP) assists some students with their schoolwork. She began Cara School in Terre Haute, Ind. in 1969 to serve the needs of children with disabilities.
Mother Mary Pius Regnier in 1968.
Sister Eleanor Hubner, principal of St. Rose School in Chelsea, Mass., exchanges hugs with a first grader at recess (1989).
A liturgy at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
At right is Mother Mary Pius Regnier.
Sisters of Providence in community.
Sister Mary Lourdes Mackey (RIP) leads a music class at the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Village School.
Sister Edith Pfau in June of 1977. In addition to decades of ministry in art education, Pfau was herself an accomplished painter and artist.
Sister of Providence Frances Joan Baker in the classroom in the 1980s.
Sister Edith Pfau, secretary at St. Anthony School in Gardena, CA, circa 1986. In addition to decades of ministry in art education, Pfau was herself an accomplished painter and artist.
Retired Sister Claudia Lewis ministers as receptionist and phone operator in Providence Hall (1987).
A Sister of Providence in ministry.
Having learned that many churches in Europe had crypts or rooms constructed underground, the council decided in 1905 to build a crypt under the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was held in the crypt from 1914-1924. The crypt was closed when the Church of the Immaculate Conception was renovated in 1987.
A Sister of Providence in ministry.
Sister Betty Paul enjoys a break with youngsters at a Youth Summer Camp in 1978.
Sister Jeanette Lucinio, SP, with her first grade class at St. Therese School in Alhambra, California, in 1963.
A Sister of Providence looking out toward the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
Sisters Alma Louise Mescher (left) and Mary Jean Mark ministered in the summer of 1965 in the SCOPE Project in Albany, Ga. While in the South they took part in the march to Selma, Ala. led by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
![[Between 1970-76] Sister Alice Louise Potts ministers in the pastoral care department at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.](https://i0.wp.com/spsmw.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/39-Sister-Alice-Louise.jpg?w=396&h=317&ssl=1 "Sister Alice Louise")
[Between 1970-76] Sister Alice Louise Potts ministers in the pastoral care department at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Sister Edith Pfau in 1977. In addition to decades of ministry in art education, Pfau was herself an accomplished painter and artist.
Members of the General Council (1971-1976) (Left to right, seated) Sister Alexa Suelzer, Superior General Mother Mary Pius Regnier; Sisters Edwardine McNulty (standing) Ann Kathleen Brawley and Margaret Kern.
Sister Mary Montgomery, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, in Nicaragua in 1991.
Two Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
Sister Mary Joseph Pomeroy, former dean of students at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods college, assists Sister Rosemary Nudd in adjusting her new doctoral garb for a commencement ceremony in 1985.
Sister of Providence Ann Brendan Burget in the classroom.
Linda Bradley, Saga Director (food services), explains equipment and procedure processes to sisters at open house for the new kitchen in Providence Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
Novices enjoy a walk in Sacred Heart Grove in front of the present Owens Hall. The statue of the Sacred Heart is at the far end of the pathway.
Sister Marceline Mattingly, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in her classroom at Immaculata College in Washington, DC, sometime in the early 1960s. According to Sister Marceline, the theme of the yearbook that year was “Profiles,” and this photo was snapped without her knowing it through the classroom door. She was teaching an anatomy class at the college.
Sisters Agness Veronica Hester (left) and Kathleen Therese O’Connor enjoy ministering with the people of Arequipa, in Peru, South America. In response to a call from Pope John XXIII Sisters of Providence went to Peru in March 1963 and ministered there until 1976.
Sister Esther Newport, a native of Terre Haute, with one of her paintings.
Young women who are discerning a vocation to religious life are called postulants, from the Latin word “postulare” meaning to ask. This is the band (class) that entered the Congregation in the summer of 1947.
Sister Ann Lucille Mortell (RIP) helps a couple of students.
Monsignor James P. Galvin, chaplain for the Sisters of Providence and administrator of Saint Mary’s Village Church, joins parishioners and sisters at the site of the first Mass at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to open the sesquicentennial celebration of the parish in 1987.
Sisters of Providence take final vows in the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1950.
![[between 1971-1976] Infirmary patient Sister Bernadette Therese Whelan enjoys a fall outing with nurse Sister Mary Jo Piccione.](https://i0.wp.com/spsmw.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/22-Sisters-Bernadette-Therese-Mary-Jo.jpg?w=298&h=373&ssl=1 "Sisters Bernadette Therese & Mary Jo")
[between 1971-1976] Infirmary patient Sister Bernadette Therese Whelan enjoys a fall outing with nurse Sister Mary Jo Piccione.
Sisters try to negotiate the slick spots after a snow at St. Michael Province near Lake Arrowhead, Calif., in 1981.
Sister Georgiana Terstegge on the motherhouse grounds of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Sister Georgiana, a Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College professor, established the SMWC Tree Club in 1972 with annual dues of one dollar to help keep the motherhouse grounds forested.
The first Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto was celebrated Feb. 11, 1928. The grotto was built as a replica of the Lourdes grotto in France. Le Fer Hall, built in 1924, is in the background.
A Sister of Providence in ministry.
Sisters of Providence and students in procession.
Sister Edith Pfau previewing the new dining room in Providence Hall on July 29, 1983, prior to its Opening Day.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College students participate in a gym class.
Sister Estelle Scully, Affiliate Relations Manager for Catholic Telecommunications Network, adjusts the camera to just the right angle (1987).
A Sister of Providence in ministry.
In 1979, Sisters of Providence (left to right) Sisters Francis Joseph Elbreg, Mary Aimee Ward, Mary Damien Rouhier, Richard Bussing and Ann Lee celebrated the International Year of the Child with children from Terre Haute.
Sisters at work in the activities room (the old kitchen) of Providence Hall, a sisters’ residence for the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
A Sister of Providence in ministry.
Sister Edith Pfau, secretary at St. Anthony School in Gardena, CA, circa 1986. In addition to decades of ministry in art education, Pfau was herself an accomplished painter and artist.
Students respond to a question by Sister Mary Lourdes Haverty (RIP).
A Sister of Providence in ministry.
Sisters of Providence at Casa Providencia, 1993.
Sister Cecile Morse ministered 42 years in Providence Print Shop, from 1938 to 1980. At this time the Print Shop was located on the second floor of the brick building formerly occupied by the bakery and the cannery department. It is now a storage building for Facilities Management.
A Sister of Providence in ministry.
Prior to 1964 young women who were received into the novitiate of the Sisters of Providence dressed as “Brides of Christ” and received the holy habit (on the table to the right) from the Bishop of Indianapolis. Pictured is the reception band of Aug. 15, 1950.
Sisters gather for the sesquicentennial celebration of the congregation in 1990. The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, were founded by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin in 1840.
Sisters Mary Albertine Coppersmith and Clare Therese Bullock hanging curtains in the new Community Room at Providence Hall, a sisters’ residence for the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
Sister Henrietta Mackenzie (born Mary Rebecca Mackenzie) entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in September 1860. She became a skilled nurse and infirmarian, assisting for a time with Sisters of Providence in Civil War health care service. She died at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Jan. 8, 1917.
Sister Mary Providentia Grussi was director for years of Our Lady of Providence Shrine, beginning in 1925.
Postulants and novices gather at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1921.
Postulants and novices of the Providence Sister Catechists are pictured with their foundress, Mother Marie Gratia Luking, SP, (located second row, fifth from left) circa 1930s.
Young women at South Station in Boston are about to board the train in 1929 to enter the Sisters of Providence. (They are, from left to right, Sister Mary Regis O’Kane, Sisters Ann Bernardine Dunne, Cyril Tobin, Philip Conlon and Mary Patricia Carroll.)
Sisters leave the Cecilian Auditorium at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in the 1940s after attending a Congregation assembly.
Corbe House, the chaplains’ residence, was completed in 1885.
Sister St. Francis Xavier LeFer (1816-1856) came from France in 1841 and “was the soul of the congregation,” according to Mother Theodore Guerin, foundress.
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Christina Blust
Christina worked as the digital media and website manager for Sisters of Providence for 9 years and now serves as the website's designer and consultant through her company, Blustery Day Design. She's a musician, reader, writer and generally curious person.
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