Sisters celebrate 100 years of ministry in Leipsic |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS BERTKE, Chronicle Writer
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Friday, 05 September 2008 01:00 |
LEIPSIC—Since 1909, generations of Leipsic Catholics have been influenced by the Sisters of Notre Dame who have served St. Mary parish and school.
The presence of the sisters continues today, and this rural Catholic community will celebrate 100 years of ministry from the congregation next spring.
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| Parishioner Lou Ann Noone looks on as Rose Schortgen, the third of five generations in her family to attend Leipsic St. Mary School, shows Notre Dame Sister Mary Ellen Schroeder a collection of holy cards her father received from the Sisters of Notre Dame who taught him in 1911. Handwritten notes on the holy cards, most of which are signed by “Sr. Saconda,” indicate he received them for helping with such tasks as “carrying in coal,” “picking grapes” and “winning the spelling match.” (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens Bertke) |
"It’s been a priority, I’d have to say, for our community to continue to bring sisters to serve here," says Notre Dame Sister Mary Ellen Schroeder, principal of St. Mary School. "The families here have been very welcoming of the sisters, very supportive of the sisters’ work."
The congregation initially sent three sisters to teach at St. Mary, but as many as nine sisters once staffed the elementary school, according to Sr. Schroeder.
Four sisters reside in the convent beside the school today: Sister Mary Frances Theresa Dorsey, director of religious education in the parish; Sister Judith Mary Frederick, the new fourth-grade teacher at St. Mary; Sister Mary Virginia Wenninger, a retired missionary and teacher; and Sr. Schroeder.
Lou Ann Noone, a parishioner who graduated from St. Mary in 1968 and sent her children to the school, says parents have always felt reassured knowing the Sisters of Notre Dame were overseeing the education of their children. They trusted the sisters to provide a quality education while fostering the moral and spiritual development of the children.
Sr. Schroeder says the sisters also allow the students to develop their own talents.
Parishioners Bob and Dorothy Nadler still appreciate the encouragement the sisters at St. Mary gave to their children, Karen and Dave, who were born with a type of dwarfism. When their son, Dave, a 1976 graduate, underwent an operation in the eighth grade, his teacher, Notre Dame Sister Mary Sartor, organized a class project to send him daily cards and letters as he recovered.
"This surely showed real Christian faith and spirit and helped Dave a lot," the Nadlers share in a written reflection.
St. Mary School is known for its strong academic foundation, but the principal cites faith formation as being their most important job.
"I think that we have good people graduating from our school who are a wonderful influence in our world," says Sr. Schroeder.
Some graduates have scattered across the county, but she says those who have stayed in Leipsic continue to "nurture the Catholic spirit among all of our families."
The seeds of faith sown at St. Mary have also yielded dozens of vocations over the years — including 25 religious sisters, six priests and three permanent deacons.
Notre Dame Sister Mary Dean Pfahler, a 1962 graduate of St. Mary, describes the sisters as being "omnipresent" throughout her childhood.
"They had one purpose, a single purpose to be present in our faith community in Leipsic and to be our educators," says Sr. Pfahler.
The calm and welcoming demeanor of her sixth-grade teacher, Notre Dame Sister Mary Virgin, is, in part, what led Sr. Pfahler to consider religious life.
"All of those qualities made me wonder, where did all of that come from? What was motivating her to do all of these things for us? Where did her inspiration come from?" she explains.
Sr. Pfahler also learned about the Notre Dame sisters from her aunt, Sister Mary Joques Ottenweller, another St. Mary alumna; and her sister, who joined the aspirant program at Notre Dame Academy two years before she did, Sister Diane Marie Pfahler.
Her uncle, retired Bishop Albert H. Ottenweller of Steubenville, is another prominent St. Mary graduate.
Notre Dame Sister Marilyn Marie Ellerbrock, a 1971 St. Mary grad, says she saw her teachers as "women of prayer and women of community."
She notes the school was blessed with many young sisters who enjoyed having fun. "They loved being together," says Sr. Ellerbrock, who came to know the sisters better as a child by attending daily Mass and helping them with errands and chores at the convent.
Mrs. Noone fondly recalls her teachers playing softball with their students, and she says one of the sisters had a "fantastic pitching arm."
She marvels at the control her first-grade teacher, Notre Dame Sister Mary Edward, had over a classroom with 72 students. The nun usually worked with one group of students at a time, but "she knew what was happening with everybody else in the class," says Mrs. Noone.
Father George Wenzinger, pastor of Leipsic St. Mary, says the mission of the sisters reflects the mission of the parish, which is a place for the formation of disciples of Jesus and for evangelization.
"I think we’re blessed to be one of those parishes that have had an unbroken, consistent lineage of Sisters of Notre Dame sharing their ministry with this parish," adds Fr. Wenzinger. "That’s a treasured thing."
Sr. Dorsey observes the sisters also live within a community of people who are strongly motivated by their faith.
"The sisters promote the faith that is here, and we try also to inform that faith through our education of the children," agrees Sr. Schroeder.
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Last Updated on Monday, 01 December 2008 10:10 |
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