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A Brief History of the Dominican
Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs
Founded in 1822, the first congregation of Dominican Sisters started
in Kentucky where Mother Angela Sansbury, along with eight other women,
responded to a call from Dominican Fr. Wilson for women to respond to
the needs of the frontier church and teach and form an "Order
of Preachers" (OP).
In 1830, at the request of Bishop Fenwick, OP, of Cincinnati, four
members of the Kentucky Dominicans left for Somerset,
Ohio, to found St. Mary’s Academy, one of the first Catholic
schools in Ohio. The sisters arrived at Somerset on February 5, 1830.
This Academy offered education to pioneer children of Catholics and non-Catholics.
Mother Angela Gillespie, first Mother General of the Holy Cross Sisters
in America, was educated here, as was her cousin Ellen Ewing, wife of
General William Tecumseh Sherman, and General Phil Sheridan’s sister.
From 1830, when they arrived in Ohio, until 1864, the Dominican Sisters
were under the direction of the Dominican Father Provincial who resided
at St. Joseph’s in Somerset. That priest is referred to in the annals
of the time, where he is mentioned as requesting additional teachers.
From 1864 until 1868, they were under the direction of the Bishop of Cincinnati,
whose Diocese included all of Ohio. In 1868, the Diocese of Columbus was
formed and they were under the direction of that Bishop until 1895. In
1895, Mother Vincentia Erskine exercised the ancient Dominican privilege
of requesting a pontifical designation for the community, rather than
being under the direction of the local Bishop, and the congregation became
a Pontifical Institute.
In 1866, a devastating fire consumed the St. Mary’s Academy buildings,
leaving the sisters with nothing but spared lives. The sisters occupied
borrowed space for two years until Theodore Leonard, a Columbus businessman
who had five daughters to educate, offered the sisters land and bricks
on his old brickyard if they would build an academy in Columbus. The sisters
traveled by covered wagon to found St. Mary’s Academy in Columbus
in 1868. Bishop Watterson suggested the name change to St. Mary of the
Springs to reflect the preponderance of natural springs on the property.
The Academy operated in its new Columbus location until its closing in
1966.
In addition to the Academy, the Dominican Sisters founded and ran two
colleges and administered and staffed eleven other schools in Columbus,
18 other schools in Ohio,
seven schools in New
York, six schools in Connecticut,
eleven schools in Pittsburgh,
three in New
Mexico and one in Michigan,
and Texas
(for a complete list of schools served, click here).
They ran missions in China
and Peru,
and the St. Francis/ St. George Hospital in Cincinnati. They continue
to operate a licensed
nursing center, run two literacy
centers, practice pastoral,
spiritual
life, and prayer
ministries, and continue to teach
in high schools and colleges.
The Dominican roots are deep in the American soil. The Springs Dominicans
were one of the first congregations in America, and their members were
American born women of pioneer stock. Columbus was the "mother"
community for the Houston
Dominicans and the Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor.
There are currently 288 sisters in the Congregation. Sr. Anne Kilbride,
OP, is the Prioress. They continue to occupy the land given to them over
a century ago and to "Preach the Just Word." The "OP"
after their names signifies they are a member of the Order of Preachers,
founded by Saint Dominic
in the 13th century. As a vibrant community of women, they have found
that there are many pulpits for the Order of Preachers – classrooms,
nursing homes, parishes, and retreat centers. They are part of a long
history of women who influenced the world through prayer and service.
The Sisters served in parishes
and schools in the United States and other countries, and continue
to serve throughout the country and in Honduras, Peru and Italy.
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