Uncategorized

This blog continues the history of the Sisters of Notre Dame in the United States a few years after their arrival on July 4, 1874. Sister Mary Modesta became the provincial superior in 1875. She was asked by Mother M. Chrysostoma to erect a larger house in Cleveland. She purchased property containing woods and stone…

Some of the new foundations in Covington corresponded to the beginnings of the congregation in Coesfeld. Besides teaching, sisters took over orphanages in Cold Spring, Kentucky and in Bond Hill, Ohio. In 1877 the sisters were introduced to St. Aloysius Orphanage. The speaker on this occasion “thanked” his Excellency Count Bismarck whose expulsion of the…

Just two years after the arrival of the first sisters from Germany, the first postulant from America, Katherine Franzioni, asked to enter the congregation and did so on November 15, 1876. In April, 1877, she and two other postulants received the religious habit from the hands of Bishop August Többe. As part of the investment…

Without experience in architecture, Sister Modesta had to erect a building. The project began in the autumn of 1875, and in July 1876 the chapel of the four-story building was completed and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. While the Sisters were happy to have a center, a heavy burden of debt lay on Sister Modesta’s…

Ministry in Covington began on August 15, 1874, by Sister Mary Odilia and Sr. M. Ignatia. At first, life was very difficult, and these two sisters had many sacrifices to make. First, there was no convent; consequently, they stayed at a Franciscan convent. In addition, the way from the school on Sixth Street to the…

Father Reichlin, a pastor in Cleveland, had a very poor church and school with mounting debts. Worried about the sisters’ income, he was relieved at the sisters’ modest expectations, and he agreed joyfully to have two sisters take over the school until a third could come from Germany. Sisters began to teach in Cleveland in…

An 18-hour train trip brought the sisters to Union Depot close to Lake Erie. Father Westerholt, pastor of St Peter Parish in Cleveland, met them. A half hour later they arrived by two carriages at the parish where ladies of the parish had supper ready. When the ladies left, the sisters prayed prayers of gratitude.…

The Sisters who came to America settled in Ohio (in Cleveland and Delphos) and in Covington, Kentucky. They are still there today. How did the Sisters get to these states? The pastor of the Mother of God Parish in Covington went to Europe in 1870. His bishop, August Többe, asked the pastor to visit Goch…

Although Sister Maria Aloysia Wolbring spoke little about herself, there is much evidence of how other sisters treasured her. Interviews and letters told of her solicitude for the sisters’ well-being. Were they warm enough? Would they appreciate a surprise? Who could use some encouragement? Is anyone overburdened? An interview with a sister living with the…

[As the sesquicentennial of the arrival of the Sisters of Notre Dame in America approaches on July 4, 2024, my thoughts turn to the founding sister.] Sister Maria Aloysia was someone who always did what needed to be done, as was shown in her going to the United States as a traveling companion to Mother…