The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-10-27
THE WORCESTER spy SUNDAY. OCTOBER o. 1901

which has been conducted by the
women Of the parish Of st. Paul's.
| For number of years a committee
from one of the societies at the church
have given their services and taken
In charge the band of orphans and ar
ranged a picnic in the country. The
! last annual event of this nature was
shortly after the sisters had purchased
the farm in Leicester, and the outing
was in Leicester.
| The development Of the new estate
has been at a standstill since it was
purchased, owing to the fact that 1t
was necessary to secure funds to carry
on the work. For over rs years the
work has been carried on and the sup
port of the institution is derived partly
! from a weekly pension of a dollar and
half paid for some OF the children
and partly from spontaneous charity.
There have been occasional fairs, en-
/ tertainments and collections for its
/ benefit.
The new home bought by the sisters
is in St. Joseph's parish of Leicester.
1t is beautiful farm, ideally located.
The property purchased includes SO
.
The homestead and farm have been in
the possession of the Kent family since
1888, but all the buildings on the farm
are practically new. The location of
| the new home is directly between the
| two big reservoirs of the Worcester
water service. The conduit connecting
the waters of the Kettle Brook system
and those of Lynde Brook passes
through the property.
The road leading from the house to
| the Leicester road is a pleasant one.
For nearly slnile the trees. on both
sides meet and cast their shade over
the road. The house is situated on
an eminence and the surroundings are
beautiful
The house contains IS rooms and
only such changes have been made
as to adjust the building for the de-
as to adjust the building for the
demands made, temporarily to re-
Worcester institution. During the
summer IA of the larger boys have
plished considerable in their work In
the feds. But just as soon as COO
weather set in, 10 of this number re-
turned to Worcester and the remainder
found accommodations in Leicester
The building Is heated by steam, and
they will remain all winter. A school
has been established and the advant-
ages equal to those received by the in
mates of the Worcester home are thus
secured From time to time the sisters
in the Worcester asylum have found
the work too combining, and the Leices-
ter property offers special attractions
and is an ideal place for rest. Since
the transfer of part Of the work of
the sisters to Leicester, Rev. John f.
| Redican, who has charge Of the parish
, Of st. Joseph in that town, has be-
come a prominent benefactor of the
/ institution. Among the improvements
that have been made has been the fur
nishing of chapel. The windows and
stations of the cross were presented
! by FIR. Redican, and when the original
spring house, from which the residence
and outbuildings reeeiY2 their supply
of water, was altered, FIR. Redican
! gave most of the material used in the
reconstruction, and this has already be-
come one of the most attractive spots
about the property. The water is from
a clear spring, and on Sept. 16 the
building and well were blessed by Rt.
Rev. Bishop Beaver, and 1t is known
as st. Anthony's we'll. The property
has been also blessed by Bishop
Beaver and the home is now called
Nazareth.
A number of gifts have been made to
the sisters to beautify their new prop
erty, and among them is a statue, the
gift of Miss Mary Purcell of Holyoke
and statue of the blessed virgin is
now being imported, which is the gift
of a friend of the order and will be
placed in the chapel.
Aside from the work which has beer
done among the orphans, the sisters
have devoted their time to other good
works. In 1897 Rev. FIR. Power placed
at the disposal of the order the build
ing at the corner of Chatham and
High Streets and provided means for
the establishment of the institution,
| which is known as st. Joseph's Home
of Mercy. This has been furnished for
the purpose of having a temporary
home for young women who are work
/ ing or out of employment
Since this has been opened over 200
young women have been beneficiarfes
of the institution. This work has been
entirely in the hands of the sisters.
! Another work that has been taken
up has been the establishment of the
devotion to st. Anthony of Padua.
| This is a later-day devotion in the
Catholic church. The devotion started
in France a few years ago and was
soon introduced into America. In Au-
gust, 1898, a shrine was completed and
dedicated by the bishop of Springfield
adjoining the convent building on High
Street
The original statue of the saint was
replaced during the present year by
larger and more beautiful one, the
gift to the institution by Rev w A.
Power of Blackstone, who is brother
of the promoter of the work of the
sisters since they came to Worcester.
The offerings which have been made
at this shrine since the devotion has
been established have aided the Sisters
of Mercy greatly in carrying on their
work In fact, that has been the prin-
cipal source of income.
A representative of The Spy called at
the High Street institution yesterday
and was received by the mother superb
or. who conducts and manages the
many works of the order in ..this city.
At present there are Il sisters under
her direction and committed to the
care of the order are 102 children,
ranging in age from a few months to
II years. In connection with the work
she said:
I'VE now have 100 or more children
under our care all the time, while our ac-
commodations are not for more,than 80.
We have other applicants which we are
forced to turn away. Our work largely
depends upon the aid that we receive
from charitably disposed persons, as
not more than one-half of the children
have friends that can aid financially
towards their support. The Nazareth
Home was secure to aid us in meeting
the demands made and to give the chill
dren an opportunity to have a little
outdoor life in the summer which We
have been unable to give them in our