FROM THE HEAD& the Heart

Nat Wilburn, Head of Schools

INSIDE: From the 1800s to today, the RSCJ ensure that the mission of St. Madeleine Sophie lives on

Sacred Heart Schools

FROM THE HEADand the Heart

Nat WilburnHead of Schools

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I n 1805, just five years after the founding of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, the Sisters developed their first Plan of Studies. Along with the Sisters’ own religious formation, following the single uniform curricu-

lum of the Plan of Studies would provide consistency in the mission of Sacred Heart education as it grew and expanded across the globe. The Plan of Studies endured for more than 150 years, revised 10 times. In 1958, this core document of the Society was renamed the Spirit and Plan of Studies. This revision moved away from the approach of a syllabus and focused on “…a clear idea of the spirit…for every work of education.” And then in 1975, as the mission of Sacred Heart education continued to grow and develop, the Goals and Criteria were written as a framework to articulate a unifying mission for the newly formed Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States. The process of mission accountability that we know as the Sacred Heart Commission on Goals continues to structure our ongoing formation to mission and our accountability to the Provincial Team for being known as a Sacred Heart School. Religious of the Sacred Heart have committed their entire lives to pro-moting the vision of St. Madeleine Sophie. They have also been committed to forming others in the mission of Sacred Heart education. I am grateful to be the beneficiary of their commitment to formation to mission. While the formal processes of formation to mission and mission accountability like SHCOG* are amazing resources, there has been no greater resource to me than the women with whom I have worked and gotten to know. Women reli-gious have shaped many lives, including my own. While there are certainly aspects of the mission of Sacred Heart which need to be “taught,” there are others that can only be “caught.” In these pages you will read about the RSCJ who nourish our community with their com-mitment to the mission of Sacred Heart education. They are women who are helping others carry on the work of St. Madeleine Sophie. In doing so, like Sophie, they are transforming the world.

Nat Wilburn, Head of Schools

A tribute to the

RSCJ and their

enduring legacy

While there are certainly

aspects of the mission of

Sacred Heart which need to

be “taught,” there are others

that can only be “caught.” In

these pages you will read

about the RSCJ who nourish

our community with their

commitment to the mission of

Sacred Heart education.

FALL 2012

*The Reflection from the SHCOG team’s November 2012 visit can be read online at shschicago.org/missionandgoals.

The History of Society of the Sacred Heart in the Chicago Archdiocese

Long legacy of the RSCJ lives on...

Lake Forest/Woodlands BranchThe Society of the Sacred Heart first came to Chicago from St. Louis at the invitation of Bishop Anthony O’Regan in 1857. The sisters lived in a rented house on Wabash Av-enue and opened school with just two day pupils and five boarders. Before they knew it, enrollment increased and the school was moved to a larger house at the corner of Rush and Illinois Streets, where an additional large frame build-ing was erected to help provide for the growing numbers. In those days, the paying Academy students subsidized a much larger school of students who attended for free.The schoolhouse takes a river voyage…By 1860, a 22-acre permanent location on Taylor Street within the Holy Family Parish was obtained. With “waste not, want not” as their motto, the intrepid nuns moved their three-story, three-year-old school building to the new site. How? The frame structure was raised and rolled from

1947 – A rare photo of the RSCJ on the Sheridan Road Campus

It was loaded

on a flat

boat, floated

to Taylor St.,

and then

rolled to the

new site!

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Rush Street to the Chicago River, loaded on a flat boat, floated to Taylor Street, and then rolled to the new con-vent grounds! It opened with 36 pupils in the Academy and 300 in the parish school. “Taylor Street” prospered, with an enrollment of 450 students just four years later. With a new building now imperative, one of the last acts of Mother Madeleine Sophie Barat was to send funds for construction of a brick school building with a capacity for 1000 children. Finished in 1866, it was filled to capacity in a few years. By the turn of the century, an even larger campus was required, and in 1904 the Acade-my, with a boarding school, was transferred to a large Lake Forest tract. In 1918, Barat College of the Sacred Heart

T he storied history of the Society of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ) in Chicago is a tapestry of remarkable achievements, by remarkable women, all woven into a model of education for the ages. When St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, foundress of the Society, decided to send her message of love and learning

from France to the new world, she sent no faint of heart! Generations of RSCJ started and staffed schools that educated thousands, and, in the process built dozens of school buildings, one of which they even floated down the Chicago River. (see article below)

While the number of sisters in Sacred Heart schools has waned, Sheridan Road is fortunate to have retained three RSCJ on the Board of Trustees. And, Sacred Heart schools across the nation are fortunate to have retained the message, the mission, the “charism” of a Sacred Heart education, kept alive through the Goals and Criteria. The Goals were formalized in 1975 and then revised and updated in 1990 and 2005.

Circa 1870 - Reverend Mother Rose Gauthreaux with her Taylor Street Class

In Chicago, the history of the RSCJ formed two distinct branches – Lake Forest and Sheridan Road

Continued next page

was chartered and added to the mix. Barat College and the Academy shared the same campus until in 1961, when the Academy moved across the ravine on a separate section of the property and opened as Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls day and board-ing high school. In an interesting turn of events, just last year an anonymous donor purchased the vacant Barat College buildings and gave them to Woodlands Academy, thus rejoining, after more than 100 years, what had begun together in 1904. Barat had been purchased by DePaul Univer-sity in 2001, and shuttered in 2005. Its cemetery of RSCJ graves is now pre-served as part of Woodlands. (see inset on Sr. Curry’s book at right)

The Sheridan Road BranchIn 1876, five years after the Great Chicago Fire, and at the same time that the school on Taylor Street was prosper-ing, Bishop Thomas Foley invited the RSCJ to open a second school as part of the Cathedral Parish, in a small house on Dearborn Street. Mother Elizabeth Tucker and three other nuns, with no email, internet or phones, and pony carts for transportation, did just that. They were so successful that, in two years, the bishop moved them to an impressive building at the corner of State Street and Chicago Avenue, adjacent to Holy Name Cathedral. There, they opened with 200 children, but before the end of the year, atten-dance had reached 665! Hundreds of other children were prepared there for First Holy Communion and Confirmation – a ministry which predated today’s CCD

programs. Sodalities with up to 500 lay women carried on various good works throughout the parish. These “Sodalities” were formed by the Religious in 1881 in order to enlist lay people as helpers, because the rule of cloister prevented them from being present at certain assemblies and ceremo-nies. This philosophy of lay involvement continues today and is formalized in the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart education. In 1904, the same year that Taylor Street moved to Lake Forest, the RSCJ on State decided to move to a larger property on Pine Grove Avenue. The twin-mansion complex was adapted to the Academy’s needs in 1907. It was only blocks away from Lake Michigan and walking distance of Wrigley Field. The school thrived there for the next 22 years. By 1927, Pine Grove was also experiencing burgeoning enrollment, so

Sacred Heart Schools continues the vision and mission of St. Madeleine Sophie

From the House Journal, July 13, 1876:At 7:30 AM we arrived in Chicago for the founding of the day school. Not having announced our arrival, we discovered the house closed up and locked. The devout old Irish housekeeper, not expecting us until later in the week, had determined to attend all of the Masses which were being said at the Cathedral. Mr. Byrne, who had come to meet us at the train station, attempted to no avail to break into the future home of Sacred Heart. Noticing our difficulty, Mrs. Taylor, our neighbor, pointed out to Mr. Byrne a partially closed window through which it would be possible to enter the building, and in this manner to open a first floor door for us. We began unpacking with Mr. Byrne on the lookout, wanting to be the first to welcome the old housekeeper and to enjoy her embarrassment. In fact, so great was the terror of Brigid upon seeing the house invaded that she was just about ready to come to blows with the person, she called, “Thief!” when, drawn by the tremendous laughter of Mr. Byrne, our sisters stepped forward into view. Brigid, throwing herself on her knees at the feet of these reverend sisters, asked first for their blessing and then begged their pardon for having abandoned the household, but, she added, it was only in order to attend Mass. She was quickly pardoned and we soon became good friends so that she never wished to be separated from us such that we begged her to petition for admission into the Order.

Second RSCJ group arrives in Chicago-1876

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The Society’s rich heritage is alive and well today

Oct. 7, 1953 Reverend Mother Celeste Thompson, superior of Sheridan Road, leans in to greet Theresede Lescure, Superior General from Rome, in route to Lake Forest.

The RSCJ may have changed their habits, but not the

‘habits of the Heart.’

Continued from previous page

A small hinged, wooden box, the ‘Signal’ was used by

the Religious to call the chil-

dren to order. A simple ‘click-

clack’ was all that was

needed to quiet a class.

the RSCJ orchestrated the construc-tion of a landmark building at 6250 North Sheridan Road, directly across from Lake Michigan. It has been said the RSCJ had an eye for real estate. The several Network schools gracing city tourism books across the country would agree! Sacred Heart Schools included an all-girls elementary and high school from its founding until 1993. Back in 1929, a few boys had been allowed to join the girls in the elementary school,

but many parents lobbied for the estab-lishment of a separate boy’s school. At that time in the United States, the only other Sacred Heart boy’s school was Barat Hall in St. Louis. In 1935, Mother Rosalie Hill established Hardey Prepara-tory for boys, named in honor of Mother Aloysia Hardey, one of the first and most

influential American-born RSCJ. In the early 1960s, the Second Vatican Council asked the Society to choose whether to remain cloistered or to become an apostolic order. The RSCJ chose the latter. This change paved the way for Chicago RSCJ to engage in other social ministries and live in smaller communities, one of which was housed in the current Driehaus Center, where the nuns lived for 30 years.

The JosephinumAs years progressed, in 1996, the Chica-go RSCJ became involved at Josephinum Academy, an all-girl’s Catholic, inner-city, college preparatory high school in the Wicker Park neighborhood, founded in 1890 by the Sisters of Christian Char-ity. Under the leadership and guidance of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, Josephinum Academy became a full member of the Sacred Heart Network of Schools in 2011. The Network of Sacred Heart Schools, now comprised of 22 schools in the U.S., was officially incorporated in 1991. It has articulated the Society’s edu-cational Goals and Criteria as the RSCJ foresaw the need to work with lay col-leagues in a new shared sense of mission. The Society of the Sacred Heart in Chicago, like the Society around the world, has been connecting people through prayer and education. Sharing

the vision and mission of St. Madeleine Sophie, their principle ministries remain education – in Network schools, univer-sities, in work with the poor and margin-alized – and through spiritual ministry and retreats. During all the progress in this rich history, the RSCJ may have changed their habits, but not their “habits of the Heart.”

Some information adapted from “The Society of the Sacred Heart in North America” by Sr. Louise Callan, RSCJ, New York, 1937, and from the U.S. Province Archives in St. Louis, MO.

Sacred Heart Schools continues the vision and mission of St. Madeleine Sophie

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1878 - State Street School 1907- Pine Grove Avenue School

The Society’s rich heritage is alive and well today

1980, RSCJ in Chicago Community: Rosemary Dewey (seated m) clockwise: Marina Hernandez, Rosemary Bearss, Mary Bernstein and Sally Brennan

The RSCJ may have changed their habits, but not the

‘habits of the Heart.’

Sr. Martha Curry, RSCJ, Barat alumna, former faculty and Barat board of trustee member, published a book Barat College: A Legacy, A Spirit and a Name, featuring an extensive history of the college. Sister Curry determined that Barat’s story had to be told. The legacy and spirit of its namesake, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, permeated many aspects of the college and also Sister Curry’s book.

FROM THE HEAD& the Heart

Nat Wilburn, Head of Schools

Three RSCJ on SHS Board laud Schools’ leadership

Three members of the Society of the Sacred Heart serve on the SHS Board of Trustees. They are Srs. Sally Brennan, Mary Bernstein and Frances Gim-

ber. Each brings a very different set of experiences and insights to the Board.Sally Brennan, RSCJ, has a long history with Sheridan Road (1968-1994). She served as a teacher for four years before becoming Principal of the Academy for 22 years. During her tenure, she started the Schools’ first Kindergar-ten. She has been a Board member since 2009. Sr. Bren-nan has given invaluable continuity to the traditions and values of Sacred Heart education. “St. Madeleine Sophie’s love of children and her com-mitment to their spiritual, intellectual and personal forma-tion are still growing and deepening each year at SHS,” Sr. Brennan affirms. “The living spirit at SHS continues to be a reflection of her gifts and vision.”Mary Bernstein RSCJ, ASH’60 is an alum of Sheridan Road who attended Duchesne College in Omaha, NE. After entering the Society of the Sacred Heart, she received an MBA and ministered in several Sacred Heart schools as Business Manager. Most recently, she spent some years involved in faith-based community organizing. She also joined the Sheridan Road Board in 2009. From her perspective, the Schools’ mission is in good hands with the current lay leadership.

“Going forward into this still new century, Sacred Heart Schools has been blessed with Nat Wilburn’s leader-ship as Head of Schools,” she says. “Listening to Nat speak about the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart Schools, it is clear that he has reflected deeply on the mission of educating each student grounded in the values of faith and family.” She concludes, “Nat’s quiet energy propels the whole school. His availability to students, parents and faculty models the type of community which reaches out beyond ourselves.”

Frances Gimber, RSCJ, is the most recent of the RSCJ to join the Board. She is not new to SHS, as last year, she gave an entertaining talk on the Life of Mother Hardey as part of the 75th Anniversary celebration. She currently splits her time between the Sacred Heart archives in St. Louis, where she is an archivist, and New York, where she does translating and editing for the Society. She attended Sacred Heart schools on both coasts. “I was deeply inspired by Philippine’s and Madeleine Sophie’s stories and by the wonderful RSCJ who educat-ed me both at Menlo in CA, and at Manhattanville in NY,” she said. “To serve God and my neighbor seemed a good thing to do with my life.”

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RSCJ presents the ‘Life of St. Philippine’This publication is emailed and posted online, saving trees and following Goal 3, Criterion 5: The school teaches respect for creation and prepares students to be stewards of the earth’s resources.

Editor: Diane Fallon

6250 N. Sheridan Rd, Chicago, IL www.shschicago.org

Sr. Muriel Cameron, RSCJ, currently teaching at Josephinum Academy, spoke to Sheridan Road faculty and staff about St. Rose Philippine Duch-esne on Oct. 30. She gave an extensive history of Philippine’s life and showed pictures from her home in Grenoble, France, and the Shrine in St. Charles, MO, where her remains are housed in a marble sarcophagus. The Potawatomi Indians in Kansas named her Quahkahkanumad, which stood for the “Woman Who Prays Always.” Mother Duchesne died at the age of 82 and was canonized in 1988.

Sr. Brennan (l), Sr. Bernstein (r) and former Board member Sr. Carol Haggarty meet with Nat Wilburn.

Sr. Gimber shares the story of Mother Hardey with the Middle School students in Dec. 2010 for the Hardey 75th Anniversary celebration.

Muriel Cameron, RSCJ