NOVITIATE FIELD TRIP

The novitiate sisters always love the chance for a field trip...in the monastery that is!

Yesterday, Sr. Maria Agnes took the novitiate on a tour of the archives. Sr. Maria Agnes has been our archivist for over 12 years and brought the archives from shoe boxes to organized files, using an archival program to record all the data and important artifacts. From local archivists she learned how to treat newspapers so that they don't fall apart in a 10 years!

The morning was too short to show the Sisters all the treasures so hopefully there will be another visit in the future!

Sr. Maria Teresa peers through the grille that is still in place as part of the extern sisters' parlor. The archives room is now housed in what was for a short time the extern sisters' community room. Attached to it was a parlor for visiting with the prioress.


Sr. Maria Teresa's reaction says it all as she looks at a penitential chain that was worn by one of the Sisters of long ago.


Some of the Sisters had disciplines with sharp points. No, we do NOT use these anymore!

Sr. Diana Marie shows off a "standard issue" discipline that was used by each Sister while praying the Miserere Psalm. The knotes are similar to those for rosaries. Sr. Mary Martin informed them that, "it hurt like a wet noodle!"


Sr. Mary Alphonsus' little typewriter! It still works!

Sr. Maria Agnes shows off the zucchetto of Pius XII worn in 1958.


These nails are exact replicas of the ones used to hang our Lord on the Cross. They were touched to the ones at S. Croce in Rome. These were given to us by our Nuns in Monte Mario, Rome during the first years of our foundation.


Mother Imelda's garters! Someone found them a few years ago in a box and well, since Mother Imelda was the foundress, they had to go to the archives!