The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-05-11
FIRST AMERICAN s|sTERHOOD.


the Centenary Of Their
Foundation.
The one hundreth anniversary of
the founding of the first Sisterhood
indigenous to the United States was
celebrated on April 25 at the Mother
house of the Lorettines at Loretto,
ordinary interest not alone for the
Diocese of Louisville, within whose
borders the foundation was laid, but
also for the Church in the United
States. 'The Sisters of Loretto at
the Foot of the Cross" is the name
which was given to this distinctively
American Sisterhood by it's founder,
the Rev. Father Nerinkx, who es-
tablished the first Community on the
old st. Stephan farm where he lived
with Father Badin, where Bishop
Flaget had his Episcopal residence,
and where the first seminary in Ken
lucky and the west was established.
From the Order the locality received
the name of Loretto.
The ceremonies incident to the Gen.
tenary celebration began at an early
hour with the reception of postulants
and the profession of Sisters at which
The Right Reverend Dennis O'Donag-
hue, Bishop of Louisville, off1ciated.
The solemn services of thanksgiving
commenced with the celebration of
Pontifical Mass by the Most Rev. JOS
eph Weber, D. D., C. R., formerly Arch
bishop of Lemberg, Austria. who re-
signed his Episcopal See some years
ago in order to join the Congregation
of the Resurrectionists where he is
Master of Novices in the novitiate at
Berlin, Ont.
The chasuble which he wore was
the same one which was given to
Father Nerinkx by some pious royal
ladies of Belgium and which he wore
at the first reception of Sisters into
the Order. The sermon was preached
by Bishop O'Donaghue, who paid tri-
bite to the Order and it's achieve
meats during the century of it's exist
ence.
History of the Order.
The Sisters of Loretto were found
ed by Father Charles Nerinkx, an
exile of the French Revolution, who
was laboring in Kentucky under Bish-
op Flaget. Mr.. James Dent, who had
in 1907 offered 400 acres of land for
the erection of school building, hav-
ing gone on visit to Maryland, re-
turned to Kentucky in 1912 accom-
panied by Miss Mary Rhodes, his
cousin. She stayed few weeks at his
house, where her sister, Miss Nancy
Rhodes, was living. She then went
to live with her brother, Bennett
Rhodes. Having been educated in
convent, Miss Rhodes took pleasure
in consecrating few hours every day
to the instruction of her nieces, who
were denied the advantages of Catho-
lie education, which she had enjoyed
in her Maryland home. Pleased with
her first efforts. she soon desired to
enlarge the field of her usefulness.
She applied to Father Nerinkx for
leave to impart religious education to
the little girls of the neighborhood.
Father Nerinkx gladly consented, and
the school was started in poor, dila-
pidated cabin. This wretched hut had
no floor but the bare ground, and
rough boards formed an equally poor
roof, through which rain and snow
poured freely down on it's humble in
mates.
The school succeeded beyond the
most sanguine expectations of both
pastor and teacher. Soon after Miss
Rhodes was joined in her pious work
by Miss Christina Stuart and Miss
Nancy Havern. They began to think
of asking the good father to permit
them to be organized into a religious
order. He candidly stated to them
that they would meet most assured1y
with many difficulties and hardships;
they would have to suffer real and
extreme poverty in this new settle
ment, and their inexperience in the
customs Of religious life would be the
source of many wearisome tempta-
ton. Like docile children they listen
ed with reverent attention, but SO far
from being discouraged, they begged
most earnestly to be allowed to begin
at once. Pleased with their spirit
of self-sacrifice, the pious priest wrote
down on slip of paper a few direc-
tions for their mode of life, and al
lowed then to try it for some days.
Father Nerinkx at once acquainted
Bishop Flaget with the step that had
been taken by his proteges. and the
Jealous prelate gave his full appro-
baton to the work.
On April 25, 1872, Father Nerinkx
performed the ceremony of religious
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