Tuesday, July 15, 2014
VILLA MARIA, PA.
As the Sisters of the Humility of Mary mark 150 years in America, they “celebrate the legacy, pursue the vision” in a host of ministries and activities.
Villa Maria Community Center is in Lawrence County, Pa., but the sisters are involved in ministries in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Florida and Haiti.
A spirit that takes them where the need presents itself is the legacy of the small group of nuns who left their home in France to come to America.
Sisters Joanne Gardner, archivist, and Barbara Wincik, a member of the leadership team, recently discussed the HM community and its ministries.
Sister Joanne researched and is posting on the website – www.humilityofmary.org – a day-by-day account of the nuns’ journey from France to America, where they built a new life. The trek began May 25, 1864, when 11 nuns, the Rev. John Joseph Begel and four orphans left the village of Dommartin-sous-Amance, France. There, Marie-Antoinette Potier devoted her life to God and helping poor children.
Read more about the order in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.