|
SAN ANTONIO • The Sisters of Divine Providence, a congregation of women religious founded in Texas in 1866, is celebrating the June 6 official grand opening of their Heritage Center, a miniature museum inside their motherhouse at Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU).
The Heritage Center contains extensive historical information which is conveyed by audio and visual displays explaining how the sisters came to settle in Texas in the 19th century to what the sisters are doing today. Visitors will find information about the congregation’s founders, including Blessed John Martin Moye, information about the sisters past and present ministries and information about the congregation’s leaders, beginning with their first superior general, Mother St. Andrew Feltin in 1866, to Sister Antoinette Billeaud, superior general in 2005. |
|
The sisters built the Heritage Center to demonstrate, educate and inform its constituency about the congregation’s history and life in Texas. This religious order, which celebrates its 139th year, is using 21st century technology to tell the sisters’ story; ranging from how the sisters migrated from France to Texas, to what the sisters are doing today to further the mission of Jesus in the United States and Mexico.
The sisters created the Heritage Center to give visitors insight as to who the sisters were in the 19th century and who they are in the new millennium. The Sisters of Divine Providence have achieved many successes in the ministry of education since their origin, and they have also accomplished major milestones in diocesan ministry, pastoral ministry and healthcare ministry in the past 50 years.
Sister Michael Rose Stanzel, CDP, who helped to create the center, said the museum highlights the impact the congregation has had across the world, with 3,700 sisters ministering in 23 countries on five continents. She added that visitors are awed when they hear the story of the order and see items from the archives. “People want to reconnect with their past, with their former teachers and parishes, and they want to know something about who we are.”
Ron Wright, a member of the committee which worked for two-and-a-half years to establish the museum, said the center, with its rotating themes, will help both young and old to see the heritage of the congregation. “In the big sweep of history, you don’t see the small details,” he explained. “This makes me bond more with them (the sisters). It is the mission of Father Moye carried through.”
The Heritage Center was also created to serve as a welcome center for convent visitors and guests. The Heritage Center is the starting point for convent visitors, where they are properly introduced to the congregation via exhibits and interactive DVD stations which will feature six different presentations, which will be shown on a rotating basis. Topics portrayed are the order’s founder, Blessed John Martin Moye; the 50th anniversary of his beatification; the congregation’s impact on the world; the congregation’s ministries; the ministries of the order’s sisters in Mexico; and an overview of the Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.
Lastly, the Heritage Center was created to demonstrate the sisters’ proud heritage. Like many people who migrated to America in the last century, the sisters, many from European countries, share their heritage by displaying artwork, handiwork and other cultural artifacts.
Photos in the exhibit highlight a variety of subjects, such as Sister Elizabeth McCullough, CDP, visiting Pope Paul VI in 1968; the establishment of the order’s region in Mexico in 1997; random photos from the OLLU library, Art Department, Campus Ministry; and candid moments from sisters teaching at the order’s school’s in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mexico and India.
Items on display include vases made by artisan Sister St. Claude Roberg, CDP, glass door knobs from St. Joseph Hall, a brick from the motherhouse’s old boiler room, and a large quilt containing squares sewn by sisters depicting their various ministries.
Guests can tour the facility at their leisure and can view the displays at their own pace.
Many religious orders have an archival room with pictures, books and journals, however the sisters have created a gallery of exhibits to showcase their life’s story in a way that is efficient, effective and attractive to its high-tech audience. Their story, which spans over two centuries, is communicated in a way that visitors can easily comprehend.
The Heritage Center visiting hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-4 p.m. Group tours and Saturday visits are available by appointment, and presentations can be given in a meeting room across from the center. Contact Sister Michael Rose Stanzel, CDP, at (210) 434-1866, ext. 2234 for details. |