World News
Four religious congregations with shared history hold gathering
Published: August 16, 2005
IMMACULATA, Pa. (CNS) -- More than 950 sisters from four religious congregations met at Immaculata University to celebrate their shared but little-known history extending back to the early 19th century. The gathering, which began July 29, drew together the Oblate Sisters of Providence, who are based in Baltimore, and the three congregations of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary -- based in Monroe, Mich., and Immaculata and Scranton, Pa. The sisters heard stories about Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, who founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence in 1829, and Mother Theresa Maxis Duchemin, one of that order's pioneers who later became its superior general. Mother Duchemin went on to found the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and was the link between the Oblate Sisters of Providence and the Immaculate Heart congregations. "Each time we encounter one another, there is an opportunity for us to discover and experience our connectedness -- the legacy which began in 1829," said Sister Annette Beecham, an Oblate Sister of Providence.
Copyright (c) Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .
