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| St. Joseph on the Prairie: First BVM Home |
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In 1866, 31-year old Sister Mary Chrysostom O'Reilly, suffering from consumption, a 19th century fatal disease, wrote to Father T.J. Donaghoe asking to return to “Sweet St. Joseph” to die. As the superior of the congregation, he responded, “I grant it most willingly—Mother Clarke is delighted and your little room opposite her own is prepared for you.” He concluded the letter, “Come, come my child.” “Sweet St. Joseph,” the BVMs' motherhouse, located ten miles southwest of Dubuque , was a stark, no-frills structure surrounded by untamed territory. The sweetness was to be found within the building. Because Mary Frances Clarke and the other founders of the congregation had experienced homelessness when they arrived in Philadelphia from Ireland , they securely established that the motherhouse would be a safe haven for all the members. When parents of the children the sisters taught in Dubuque were censuring them because they allowed the poor students to attend classes with students who paid tuition, Mary Frances wrote to Bishop Mathias Loras, “I have received the third application from Sister Mary Catherine begging me to take them home; she is not able to suffer much more and none of them are happy. Therefore, I have concluded in God's name, that they should come home.” Mary Frances, herself, sought the safety of St. Joseph 's after an unpleasant encounter in Dubuque with Archbishop John Hennessey. She immediately wrote of the incident to a friend and concluded, “I can say no more, I am going home.” The dormitory style of the motherhouse lent itself to creating a close community. Professed sisters, novices, family members, employees, students, all who at one time or other squeezed into the building, developed into a community that was based on friendship. As BVMs began opening schools away from the Dubuque area, Mary Frances sent the spirit of the motherhouse community to them through her letters. To the first group missioned in Iowa City , she wrote a long letter and in the final paragraph she said, “Now for giving you a little news from home.” The home “news” included a report on the motherhouse sisters' health and activities, some humorous comments about the place, a promise of prayers and a pledge of love. Mary Frances' “little news” revealed her definition of home—a place of care, light-heartedness, prayer and love. All her letters to the sisters during the 41 years she lived at St. Joseph 's reflected this definition of home. Her letter-template included encouragement, humor, prayer and love. When Mary Frances wrote, “My heart is with each and all no matter how distant from me,” she expressed her expectation that all the places where BVMs lived mirrored the community at the motherhouse. To the sisters opening St. Joseph School in Rock Island , she wrote, “You say truly I would be pleased and delighted to see my darling sisters arranging everything, and to see them so delighted with their work in their own home, even dear little busy body, Sister M. Sylvine. How I would love to see her fussing about.” When BVMs left the motherhouse to go to their missions, they left home to go home. St. Joseph on the prairie symbolized the bond Mary Frances forged with the sisters and the bond which they forged with one another. Within “Sweet St. Joseph” began the relationships that are confirmed today in the present BVM Constitutions, “The bond of union in the BVM Community life is love which flows from the personal relationship of each sister with the Triune God.” About the author: Kathryn Lawlor, BVM is the author of Your Affectionate: Commentary on Mary Frances Clarke's Writings and a BVM historian. Return to Table of Contents. |
