The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-08-02
OUR CONVENT SCHOOLS.

In the midst OF the poSCllenClal Ell
fuvia from the Tartarean regions
that has infested and permeated
the moral atmosphere for some
time, it is refreshing to turn to
the abodes of virtue and innocence
and refinement, and of education
in its broadcast, noblest, and most
elevating sense, that characterizes
our schools and academies and
colleges for females. Why is it
that Catholic institutions for the
education of girls are to be found
on every hand, and that they are
ever taxed to their capacity? It is
because the soul Of the girl is a
tender plant that needs careful,
expert rearing. 1t is because our
people recognize that the standard
Of womanhood is the ordinary
standard Of morality in a commun-
ity or in nation. Catholic
womanhood has ever stood high
above the level of the pagan and
the mont Catholic woman. Catholic
nations therefore, have stood head
and shoulders above non-Catholic
nations in the question of moral
ity; and Catholic Ireland has
rested upon the peak of moral
civilization while the great and
powerful nations of the world,
with their armies and ornaments,
their learning and their arts, have
stood about the base Of the noun
tain, or made feeble efforts to
scale it's heights, too dizzy for
their jaundiced vision to scan.
The answer to this problem of
Ireland s moral superiority has
been the purity and the virtue of
it's womanhood.
In the Catholic college for girls
the very atmosphere breathes
moral cleanliness. The noble
ideal of womanly power and
strength, resting upon the solid
foundation Of personal virtuous-
ness, is ever held up before the
gaze of the fortunate pupils whose
privilege it is to dwell in so re-
fined and exalted surroundings.
Education in it's highest sense
education Of soul and mind and
intellect and hearts there i'm
parted by teachers whose sole am
bition it is to ennoble and to ele-
vate the mind and the character
Of the girls entrusted to their
charge. Religion is there pre-
sented not with force or violence,
not with dry doctrines or abstract
theories, but with all the JUNCTION
and persuasion and compelling
power Of divine truth and the ire
mendous force Of example. Pu-
pills in such institutions listen to
the truths Of religion explained in
an intelligent manner, and then
they behold the living exemplifi-
cation Of those truths in the lives
Of the ladies who minister to the
moral and intellectual needs of
the young.
The convent-bred girl What
host Of memories, what halo of
benedictions clusters around the
name. Refinement in it's highest
sense, gentleness the most natural,
morality of the noblest and purest
quality, all are to be found in the
convent girl. She is distinguished
from her sisters in other schools
by a certain undefnable attrac-
tiveness that breathes purity and
candor, unselfshness and charm,
that are to be found in no other
place in the world. Little wonder
is it that our best and greatest
families among non-C Catholics send
their daughters to the Catholic
convent schools. These pupils
from non-Catholic homes are
never forced to become converts;
in many institutions it is forbid
den for the instructors to even
mention religion to them. They
are allowed to follow their own
inclinations in matters of religion,
provided those inclinations do not
lead them into ways that are Gull
pable.
The Archdiocese of st. Paul,
and especially the Twin Cities are
to be congratulated on possessing
in their midst so many institu-
lions Of this kind, institutions
that compare most favorably, even
from an educational standpoint,
with the best in the country. As
comparisons are odious we shall
not single out any one convent
school, but we say that the people
of the Northwest are deservedly
proud of these schools; they pat
ronize them, and they enjoy the
supreme satisfaction of knowing
that their daughters while In such
morally healthful Surroundings
are free and protected from the
communicating and mephitic at
mosphere that is even now spread
ing like a putrid pestilence
throughout the length and
breadth of the land. Catholic