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Treasures from Archives: Foley Hall Elevator
Foley Hall conjures many memories for many people. For those of us who never had the privilege of seeing this magnificent edifice, old photographs help us to imagine what an awesome structure Foley must have been. Another way in which we can appreciate the grandness of this building is to peruse some old documents wonderfully preserved in our Archives. The cornerstone of Foley Hall, then known as the Academy, was laid in 1860 with the three-story structure completed in 1868....
Praise for the 10-second rule
In the passages from the Gospel of John read during the fifth week of Lent, Jesus says several times something to this effect: “I am sent by my Father, I am taught by my Father,” and “do what you have heard from the Father.” At the Sisters of Providence summer book sale, I picked up a small book entitled, “The 10-Second Rule,” which offers a pretty simple practice for “doing what we hear the Father tell us.” The basic premise...
Women’s History Month: English as a Second Language
“The Eighth American Saint” describes how the French sisters learned English after arriving at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in October of 1840: “Sister Theodore made ready to greet the new postulants as best she could in her few words of English. One of them was a French girl, Josephine Pardeillan, from Alsace; she had arrived earlier and had been living for some time with the Picquets at Sainte-Maire [Ill.]. Two others came from Vincennes — Frances Theriac and Genevieve Dukent. The fourth,...
Women’s History Month: Such speed!
“The Eighth American Saint” describes the railroad experience of Mother Theodore and her traveling companions: “They rode to Philadelphia on the South Amboy and Camden Railroad, opened only a few years before, the first rail route between New York and Philadelphia. The locomotive, the John Bull by name, was imported from England and was the first the sisters had ever seen. It was amazingly large and the coaches were too, seating a least forty people. The train went like lightning,...
Sister Betty Hopf honored with Sunshine Award
Wednesday, May 11, was not a normal day at the office for Sister of Providence Sister Betty Hopf. For 14 years, Sister Betty has ministered as the chaplain of the Hux Cancer Center through the Union Health Group. Sister Betty Hopf displaying the Sunshine Award. But when she arrived on that day, her colleagues greeted her at the entrance as she was receiving the Union Health Sunshine Award. “I was just stunned,” Sister Betty admitted. “I was humbled and shocked....
Registry records every woman who has entered the Congregation
Since Nov. 9, 1840, every woman who has entered the Sisters of Providence has had her name recorded in one of two entrance books that are kept in the Congregation’s Archives. Now, thanks to our partnership with the Indiana Historical Society, the first entrance book has been digitized and is now available online in an easy-to-read format. Working with the IHS’s Historic Document Preservation Program and the Preservation Imaging Lab, the 300 pages of this unique registry provide a wealth...
SPs and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine
Last week, I spent several days on a Civil War pilgrimage to Gettysburg, Antietam, Harper’s Ferry and Manassas. On our way to Antietam (also known as Sharpsburg, Md.), we stopped at an awesome museum in Frederick, Md. — the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. It rocked! There was information about the evacuation of the wounded, field hospitals, embalming, Dr. Letterman and his early version of triage, and, lo and behold, a brief entry on Sister Athanasius Fogarty and the...
Looking back on Good Friday
“Did my grade school self really know how to adore this covered cross?” As elementary school students at St. Monica School/Parish in Chicago, my classmates and I were expected to show up in our parish church on Good Friday morning to participate in silent adoration. This is the sixth Station of the Cross, where Veronica wipes the face of Jesus and Simon of Cyrene helping Jesus carry the cross. And it was silent. I don’t remember any prayers being said;...
2017 reflection for Foundation Day
Thanks, in part, to the latest volume of the SP history written by Sister Maureen Abbott, “New Lights from Old Truths,” we have cast new light on a saying of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. During instructions with the novices, Mother Thedore tells them that she doesn’t have new things to say to them, but she does have old truths which they have heard repeatedly. And so she challenges, “Close not the eyes of your soul to these old truths, for...
Treasures from Archives: Father Goossens
Rev. Emile J. Goossens In one of my recent forays in the stacks of Archives, I stumbled upon a unique item. In an archival box marked chaplains I discovered a black leather wallet in the file of the late Father Emile J. Goossens. No, there wasn’t any money, but there was a wonderful pin — a little tarnished — marked Chaplain, St. Mary’s Fire Dept. Father Goossens was named the Congregation’s chaplain in 1941. He was born May 11, 1903,...
Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, pray for us!
As we approach the feast of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin on Oct. 3, we invite each of you to join us in praying a novena to Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. A novena is nine days of prayer, usually for a special intention. Sister Jessica Vitente with a statue of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Why “pray to a saint,” you ask? In the Catholic church we believe in the communion of saints. We believe that just as we...
Sisters, SMWC unveil historic district sign marker
An event six years in the making culminated on Monday, Sept. 25, as many Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, joined administrators from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) to unveil the official sign marker for the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Historic District. Because of the distinction, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places. During the unveiling, Sisters of Providence General Superior Sister Dawn Tomaszewski, SP, along with Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett and SMWC Interim President Brennan...