Historical Homes
 From
pioneer roots the first home of the Dominican Sisters in 1822 was in St.
Catherine, Kentucky near Bardstown.
Five of the Dominican Sisters were sent to Somerset, Ohio and arrived
in February 1830.  They
built a convent with a chapel, and St. Mary’s Academy.
They moved to Columbus, Ohio in July, 1868 after a fire had consumed
the Somerset property. Here they built St. Mary’s Academy, a convent
and a chapel, and eventually, the College of St. Mary of the Springs,
on land donated them by Theodore Leonard. The Academy opened on September
7, 1868 .
The Academy flourished, as did the congregation of the St. Mary of the
Springs, and new floors were added to the original building to accommodate
living quarters and classrooms.
 In
1954, Mohun Hall was constructed
as an infirmary for the sick and infirm members of the Congregation. It
was named after Mother Stephanie Mohun, OP who had served as the Mother
General of the Congregation for 24 years. The infirmary had been a long
standing dream of hers. In 1995 a major renovation of the facility was
undertaken and a reorganization of its governing structure took place.
Renamed the Mohun Health Care Center, it functions now as an independent
ministry of the Congregation under the guidance of a board of directors.
It is a licensed nursing home facility with a restricted certificate of
need.
 In
1969 a high-rise building was constructed to maximize living space and
minimize the impact on the land, much of which was in flood plain. The
wood structure that had served them for a hundred years was deemed a fire
hazard and was torn down in 1975.
This 14-story high rise building, which was designed as a “house
of studies” increasingly became home to aging and retired sisters.
After more than thirty years it ceased to meet the changing needs of the
sisters. It was torn down in 2002 when retrofitting the building proved
to more costly than building a new facility.
Construction of the new motherhouse for the  Congregation
began in 2000. Designed by Nagle Hartray, Danker Kagan McKay and constructed
by the Sherman R. Smoot Company it encompasses elements that make assisted
living integral to its functioning. The centrality of community prayer
in the life of the congregation can be seen in the construction of the
chapel and the integration of the contemplative nature of the grounds.
The sisters held the blessing and dedication of their new home on June
23, 2002.
|
