The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-07-22
SISTER MARIE IGAATIUs HERE
Woman Who Served as Daughter Of
Mary When Belgium Was Despoiled
by the Germans Tells Story of Awful
Suffering of People There.


mate story Of the havoc wrought by the
war in the Kingdom of Belgium as
Sister Marie Ignatius o 'Kavanagh and
Sister Mary Augusta, both members of
the order Daughters of Mary"
which rendered such loyal service to
the helpless on the fields in Belgium in
the early part of the European war,
have come to Kenosha with a view of
soliciting aid for the erection of an
institute for the care of absolutely
destitute women Of Belgium.
They come to Kenosha fresh from
experiences on the field of battle and
in the hospitals. They come bearing
the sanction of men high in the coun-
ellis Of several Of the churches and
while their work is entirely non
sectarian, they are enlisting the best
efforts of people Of all denominations
for what is declared to be work for
the relief Of women who have suffered
as no women have suffered in the his
tory of the world. Sister Marie
Ignatius is woman of high intellectu-
al attainments. She speaks English
fuently and for more than forty years
she has been connected with the work
of the order of the Daughters Of Mary
near Louvain in Belgium. She has
many interesting side lights on the war
which have never been given to the
public in the various reports that have
been sent out, During her stay Ia
Kenosha, Sister Marie Ignatius plans
to deliver a lecture at the Guild Hall,
the date of which will be announced
later. Both of the Sisters have found
a haven at the home of the Dominican
Sisters while they are engaged in their
work in Kenosha. When seen this
morning Sister Marie Ignatius said:
~ come from Louvain for the pur-
pose of getting help for one of the
saddest among the many sad cases re-
sulting from the European war. I
come to plead for the unfortunate
women who are absolutely incapable
of earning their bread after the war;
there are numbers Of them in Louvain,
Aerschot and the neighboring villages
Their hearths are desolate, their hus-
bands, sons, brothers, killed; their
former means of existence, business
houses, factories, valuables Of all kinds,
destroyed by fire, by plunder-in many
cases by wanton destruction. There
are many of these cases among our
former pupils. Some Of them are too
old to begin life again and they have
absolutely no means of earning their
bread. Others have been toilers since
their girlhood, but their nerves now
are hopelessly shattered; others again
have received wounds that will de-
prive them henceforth of the power to
work. In words Of an illustrious Ger
man, they have nothing left them but
their eyes to weep with.
eve, Daughters Of Mary, who have
four converts in Louvain, are keeping
as many as we can of these destitute
sufferers, but when the American food
supply stops we shall no longer be able
to keep them. However, just outside
Louvain, we own a piece of land that
would serve admirably as a site for the
proposed home, so sadly needed. We
ask for the funds to pay for the build
ing and sufficient endowment for
certain number of inmates during a
term of years long enough to let this
generation of victims die out. The
Americans have already been so
heroically generous that it is humiliat-
ing to have to ask them for more, yet
it is urgent that funds should be col
lected now so that the work can be
started as soon as ever Belgian soil
is either evacuated or annexed. IF /
wait until peace is signed, numbers Of
those sufferers viii certainly die of
starvation during the interval be-
tween the end Of the war and the
opening of the home.
Archbishop Messmer, has, at the
request of His Eminence Cardinal
Mercier authorized me to collect in his
archdiocese. !"