2 10 108 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/c6c935d1f15c7b0de82ea85c6347922f.jpg 35aa788c13a68e2f3da03c17f4461a05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Caritas Residence Subject The topic of the resource Convents Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (Halifax, N.S.) Description An account of the resource Image of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Halifax Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (Halifax, N.S.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (Halifax, N.S.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (Halifax, N.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource ca. 2020 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource N/A Relation A related resource N/A Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Still image Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context N/A Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights, reproduction, and use requests or more information, please contact the Sisters of Charity – Halifax Congregational Archivist. https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/75ea8cd3acde9d9084acf59d46a2f79c.jpg 1e2d2ca492c614be6b1e846bea325bb9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Celtic cross Subject The topic of the resource Celtic cross Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception, St. John, New Brunswick Description An account of the resource The Celtic cross was gifted to each Sister of Charity of the Immaculate Conception when the 150th Anniversary of the Community was celebrated in 2004. The back of the cross indicates the dates 1874, 2004. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Unknown Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived N/A Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available N/A Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource N/A Relation A related resource N/A Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource metal cross Type The nature or genre of the resource Physical object Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context N/A https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/fe6c884c9d2a8c4f495be024491aa008.jpg 77437214b1d7af7571b42475eb497a74 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/5447b48e7a3b48bce3d6ab0463c404df.pdf 5488a1323ac9ed918c979cc6bfd6438b PDF Text Text Sister Charlotte Gambol June, 2016 (Sister is referred to by both her baptismal name ‘Leona’ and her religious name ‘Charlotte’ in this story.) Sister Charlotte Gambol feels close to Mother Catherine Spalding because they share a very similar childhood. Like Mother Catherine, Charlotte lost her mother at a young age and her father was not able to care for her. Charlotte was only five years old. Shortly before her mother’s passing, the restaurant Charlotte's father owned was robbed and he suffered a blow to the head which triggered early Parkinson's disease. He was in his early thirties. Baptized Leona Gambol, Sister was an only child. She was born in January, 1930 in Cleveland, Ohio to Andrew Gambol and Mary Vavrek. Due to her mother’s death and her father’s poor health, Leona was raised by her extended family and lived with her grandparents, aunts and uncles at different times. Leona had many cousins on her father's side of the family with whom to grow up. On her mother's side, she had only one cousin, Charlotte, and the two were close friends. Even today they remain close and Cousin Charlotte is occasionally able to come from Cleveland, Ohio to visit Sister. In 1945, Leona first came into contact with the Vincentian Sisters of Charity when she enrolled in their boarding school, Vincentian Sisters High School, as a sophomore. Not particularly fond of school, Leona focused on completing her education and moving on to new things. Early in her senior year of high school, in 1946, Leona's father passed away at the age of forty-two. She remembers that he was a very good man. At this time, her Uncle Frank became her legal guardian. Having no family obligations, she made the decision to enter the Vincentian community soon after graduating. She joined the community September 14, 1947 and entered the novitiate on August fifteenth of the following year. She took the name Charlotte in honor of her cousin. While in the novitiate, Charlotte's guardian, Uncle Frank, kept in touch and was good to her, sending her packages with candy and other treats. As a novice, Charlotte attended classes at Duquesne University on Saturdays where she took courses in Ethics, Philosophy, and Theology. She was also enrolled for summer art classes at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. At the time, Duquesne didn't have a fine arts program and Sisters were discouraged from attending secular colleges. She went on to earn both undergraduate credits and a Master of Fine Arts degree at Catholic University. Sister Jerome Nosal, novice mistress, assigned a lot of hard work scrubbing floors, doing laundry, painting, and other useful tasks. Charlotte recalls that her artistic ability occasionally got her out 1 �of some of the work because she was asked to do some other task requiring at least a little artistic ability. After spending two years in the novitiate, Charlotte made her first vows on August 13, 1950 and spent the first year of her vowed life as a nurse's aide at Villa de Marillac Nursing Home. Nursing wasn't her forte so her teaching career was initiated the following year. Over the next five years, Sister taught grades second through sixth in three different schools in Pennsylvania. Her first teaching mission was a combined fifth and sixth grade class at St. Mary School in Brownsville, PA. Later, while teaching at St. Ursula School in Allison Park, PA, Sister had a unique challenge. At that time, the playground hadn't been built at the school so the children could not go outside to play. Despite the children not being able to go outside after lunch, Sister didn't have any real problems with the class but recalled that there were three lively boys, all named Billy, who she called her “billy goats”. After lunch, before Sister Charlotte returned to her classroom, the three would run about the classroom and jump over desks. One day, Sister wasn't feeling well and decided to skip lunch. When her billy goats returned to the classroom after their lunch to find Sister resting her head on her desk, the ringleader of the three took it upon himself to take control of the classroom. He greeted every one of his classmates at the door with the instructions, "Shh! Sister's sleeping." Charlotte, of course, was not sleeping but Billy couldn't tell because her veil hid her face. Amused and touched by his caring, she let him continue to manage the classroom for a few more minutes. When she lifted her head, he had every student working quietly at their desk. She saw a different side of him that day; he was her troublemaker with heart. From elementary grades she went on to teach high school English, Art, and Religion. She did this before receiving her Bachelors in Education from Duquesne University and her MFA from C.U. Her time as a high school teacher spanned forty-three years and three different high schools. Charlotte enjoyed the whole ministry of teaching, both the ups and downs, and having good school principals with which to work made the missions go smoothly. At age seventy, she retired from teaching but didn't abandon the classroom. She went back to school; this time she was the student. Entering a field that she knew nothing about but that she wisely perceived would be beneficial to the community, Charlotte studied cosmetology. After eight months she graduated and became a licensed cosmetologist. She remembers that it was quite an experience, mingling with young adults whose ideas were so different from her own. They were chiefly concerned with their social life and who was dating whom. Sister Charlotte listened to all their talk on these matters and when a feast day came along, she got her turn to share topics which interested her. Every feast day she 2 �would give the young people in her class a lecture on the occasion and why the feast day was celebrated. Working through such a foreign field of study with individuals whose interests were so different was worth it. Charlotte opened a small beauty parlor on the basement floor of Marian Hall. The Sisters were very grateful for what she did for them, especially the older Sisters who had difficulty getting around. She was always sure to remind them that she just knew the basics of hair styling and they should not expect miracles. In addition to hair styling, Charlotte spent time shopping at the area thrift stores. It was like a treasure hunt and sometimes like a mission, especially when Sisters requested she look for a particular object or piece of clothing. She was often able to find exactly what someone was looking for. After thirteen years, Charlotte retired from cosmetology. Today she continues to make Christmas carolers that she first crafted while teaching an art class in 1975 at Quigley High School. Some students wanted to make a gift to take home for Christmas so Charlotte designed the carolers out of bottles and foam balls which are then painted and decorated to look like Christmas carolers. She also decorates some as Pittsburgh Steelers fans cheering on their team. She gets many orders for her carolers every year and stays busy working on them. Charlotte enjoys working with many different mediums ranging from paint to silver to crocheting. Sister also crochets mats for the homeless out of recycled plastic grocery bags and cares for a beautiful young maple tree that she has raised from a sapling. While Sister Charlotte enjoyed the habit while the Sisters had it, she wasn't opposed to the gradual change from habit to a shorter, modified habit; to black suits; and finally to secular clothes. In the end she believes, "it's not what you look like, it's what you are". Charlotte feels blessed in many ways and owes Almighty God a heart-felt thank you for having chosen her out of so many others who she believes are holier and more qualified. Despite the changes in the lives of women religious over the years and the decrease in vocations, Sister has hope for the future. She feels that the work done by women religious in the past is gradually being done on a broader basis by lay people. No matter what, "God does not abandon us". Interviewed by Kelly McDaniels, Archivist 3 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Kelly McDaniels, SCNA Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Charlotte Gambol, SCN Location The location of the interview Pittsburgh, PA, USA Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Charlotte Gambol, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Gambol, Charlotte, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 6/1/2016 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-CarlotteGambol Sisters of Charity of Nazareth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/e71fb774c76324acfbfb46a01fedd631.jpg 4cd881a0679734a6fa0a433967ef78f4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Children of Mary and Sisters, painting Subject The topic of the resource Children of Mary, Daughters of Charity Sister Ann Gillen,D.C., Sister Mary Scholastica Logsden, D.C., California Los Angeles, Orphanage, City of Angels Amat, Bishop Thaddeus, C.M., Spanish Revolution, Institucion Caritativa, Charitable Institution, Los Angeles Orphan Asylum, Sisters’ Hospital, St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Maryvale, Rosemead, La Placita Description An account of the resource This early painting on tin depicts the Sisters leading the Children of Mary procession in Los Angeles, California. The work was presented to the Seton Provincial Archives by Sister Elizabeth Hurley of Maryvale, Rosemead. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Unknown Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available N/A Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource ca. 1860-1870 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource N/A Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The use of records taken from our collection (quotations, photographs, etc.), must be obtained through written permission from the Provincial Archivist (26000 Altamont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022-4317). If permission is given to reproduce such records, the researcher is required to use our credit line which is as follows: Courtesy of the The Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Relation A related resource N/A Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Painting on tin; 8" x 15" Language A language of the resource N/A Type The nature or genre of the resource Physical Object Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context N/A Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Los Angeles, California Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/8f0f987bb4b48eedb12dd632aaba6e6f.PNG a542caf60e53538cd79da73e2f091ebb https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/8a0c87accb30f6ef10acd95d9fc41b40.pdf 722d40c293da9a54fde8996d6956592a PDF Text Text Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 1 of 32 JK: Sister Mary Carlo, we're very happy to have you here today, and thank you for agreeing to join in the oral history project. This interview is with Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro, and the interviewer is Jane Kenamore. And we are at the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Mother House in Leavenworth, Kansas. The date is June 27, 2017. Sister Mary Carlo, where were you born? [00:00:33] MCC: I was born in Casper, Wyoming. My mother and father had come over from Italy in the '20s. My mother is from the Adriatic side of Italy, up in the mountains, and my father is from southern Italy which was very, very poor. They came at different times of course. And the reason they came, my father came because it was very poor in Italy at that time, and he had had brothers who had gone, come to the United States, and they settled in Chicago. So, my father—and I think he lied about his age—came over and fought on our side in World War I. JK: He did. MCC: Yes, he did, and I think he lied about his age. But, anyway, he was short and he was a runner, and the only injury he had was a thumb that was out of joint. JK: Was he a runner as in a military runner? [00:01:42] MCC: I don't know how they did it in World War I, but they sent messages by runners apparently because he was one of the runners. And he didn't talk a whole lot about it, but he was kind of proud that he had fought on our side. And he always would dress up when they'd have parades in his VFW with uniform, you know, and a parade. So, he's very proud to have done that. My mother came over at a different time because those were the days when you had to be sponsored to come to the United States. And my mother is from a large family of 11. There were two boys, and the rest were all girls. So, the oldest girl was married in Italy, and they came over way early like in the '20s and went to Denver and bought a saloon and made lots of money in those days. And then she began to sponsor all of her sisters. And Mama was not the second one but the third one. So, the first one came over and she went to Denver, and then she decided to go up to Wyoming, Casper, Wyoming, and visit some friends. And when my mother came over, she was sponsored next, and she came over and went to Denver. And then she wanted to go up to Casper to see this sister, and she did and met my father, and I don't think she ever went back to Denver. So, that's how we all happened to be born in Casper, Wyoming. And Mother and Daddy had three children. I have two brothers, one older and one younger. I was born in 1926, and Father Dan was born in 1922, and Father Phil was born in 1930. So, I �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 2 of 32 have two brothers or I did; they died recently, but my two brothers… There were just three in the family. JK: All of you went into religious. [00:04:00] MCC: Father Phil, who is the youngest of the three of us, always knew he wanted to be a priest. We said he knew it right out of the womb. And so he told the priest at home, and so Father Phil is the only one who went to Maur Hill in Atchison, and he became a priesthood student. They had priesthood students there. But Father Dan and I, we graduated from our high school in Casper, and then we went on to college at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. And Father Dan, he wasn't a priest then, but he was a senior when I was a freshman, and, of course, freshmen are always crying. So, I would go over to Father Dan's place and cry my heart out 'cause I was homesick. But we made it through. Father Dan majored in mechanical engineering and I majored in business because those were the days when we didn't have a lot of money. We never went to Catholic school, none of us. JK: You didn't. [00:05:06] MCC: No. JK: Oh, my goodness. MCC: We didn't have the money to attend because it was tuition. So we went to grade school, high school and college all in public schools. There was only Father Phil later on that finally went to Maur Hill in Atchison. JK: Was church still the center of your life? [00:05:28] MCC: No. Not really because Mama and Daddy couldn't talk English, couldn't speak English, and so we didn't go to church and they didn't go to church. However, we had a wonderful… well, she's our godmother now, a block away and I think it was she who was… She and hers were from Ireland right off the old… right from the old sod. And I think she took Mama under her wing and eventually all of us were baptized. Mrs. Goggin made sure we were baptized. And little by little we started going to Our Lady of Perpetual Devotions and this and that and this and that, and eventually we all came in the… I was baptized, of course, in the church. Mrs. Goggin made sure that that happened, and we all were but we didn't go to church. JK: As infants? [00:06:25] MCC: As infants, yes. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 3 of 32 JK: Ok. MCC: So, that's how that happened, and it's interesting, isn't it, that we just didn't go to Catholic school though. The first time I stepped into a Catholic college was when I taught over her at the University of St. Mary. JK: Really? [00:06:43] MCC: Yes. The first time ever. I was going to Denver University to get my master's degree, because I majored in typing and shorthand and bookkeeping. That's a long time ago. Those things don't even exist now. JK: Right. MCC: And so I went to the University of Denver to get my master's degree, and I worked for the dean of graduate school. And the secretary there was a little Quaker girl, and she and I became very well-acquainted. And she knew that there were other Sisters attending the U. to get their master's and she introduced me to them. And so, these Sisters lived at St. Joseph Hospital at that time and would just come by bus or streetcar to school, and they would bring their lunch, and I would always eat with the littlest one, and her name was Sister Xavier. And so we'd eat together sitting on the steps somewhere. And then she'd always give me her Oreo cookies out of her lunch. So, I always tell people my vocation was generated by three Oreo cookies. JK: (Laughs) So, you were not a Sister at that time. [00:08:09] MCC: No, no, no. JK: You were just getting your master's degree. MCC: Yes, that's right. That's right. JK: What were your plans? [00:08:15] MCC: Then I went back and I said would teach. I taught one year in Gillette, Wyoming when it was not the big boom town that it is now. And then I got a better job at Cody, Wyoming, and I was making pretty good money. In fact, I was making 2600 dollars a year. (Laughs) JK: Wow. And when was that? [00:08:46] �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 4 of 32 MCC: Oh, gosh, let's see. I graduated from the University in 1947, and then I got my master's, so that would be '48. JK: So, sometime after that. I was going to ask you if you knew anything about the JapaneseAmerican internment camp which was just outside of Cody. [00:09:07] MCC: Oh, that's right. They had them there. However, in Casper we had a Japanese family there. JK: Oh, you did? [00:09:13] MCC: Down in north Casper. And the oldest boy was Father Dan's age. And one of the girls was my age, so I went to school with them. JK: Oh, you did. MCC: High school, yes. JK: Oh, that's interesting. MCC: And I remember when we had our 50th reunion she came back. JK: She did. MCC: She was a pianist. She was wonderful. She went… I forgot where that is where you studied to be in piano. But, anyway, she was very good, excellent. But she came back on our 50th anniversary and it was just nice to see her. JK: Yes. Now, did she ever talk about her time in the internment camp? [00:09:55] MCC: No, and I didn't ask her. JK: Right. It's not something you would ask. MCC: We didn't talk about those things. JK: Right. So, your original career goals were to go… MCC: Was to teach. JK: …to teach. [00:10:10] MCC: That's right. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 5 of 32 MCC: And I taught, I think, for 27 years and didn't like any of it. JK: Oh, no. MCC: This is what happened. I did teach for 27 years as a Sister… JK: As a Sister. [00:10:25] MCC: …in Butte, in Topeka, and I can't remember where else. Anyway, one time… my two brothers and I are very close. So, one time when they were together they thought that I wasn't happy and for some reason maybe… well, maybe it was because, you know, you try to get the students to type correctly and make corrections, and they never did. They didn't think that was important. They didn't think hyphenation was important. They didn't think that proofreading was important. I think I was getting a little discouraged. And I guess I showed that in my voice or they heard that in my voice. So, they called me up one day. It was after Easter. And they said we think that you should go to the mother general and ask her if you can have a sabbatical. I didn't know what a sabbatical was in those days. But I went and I said I just think I need to get away, maybe to learn more theology. That's what I asked for. So, she said, "Where would you like to go?" And I said, "I understand there's something out in San Francisco, a Jesuit place out there." Well, she said, "we'll see." And so it was all set. She said that I could finally go there and get some theology. And I was all packed and ready to go and the phone rang, and she said, the mother general said, "We think you should go to Denver, because that's closer to home, and your mother is still living." So, you do what you're told. So, I went to Denver, and I took theology at the seminary. I went out to the seminary and took theology classes. It was very difficult for me because I had never been in a Catholic school. So, I'd be on the phone talking to Father Dan most of the time. But, anyway, he encouraged me. And so then I went on retreat, and I met our Sister who was on retreat too, and I asked her at that time if I could be transferred from the teaching ministry to the hospital ministry. And she said yes. And so I did. And so I was sent... And I remember that so well. I went down to St. Joseph and I got there and in six weeks I was having major surgery. I'd never been sick in my life before, never been in a hospital before. And it was on the gynecology floor. And when I was recuperating I would walk around and visit all the other ladies that were recuperating. And I found out I was very much like my father who could get a lamppost to talk. JK: (Laughs) �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 6 of 32 MCC: So, after a year, after I recuperated from my surgery and everything I finally decided to… Here's what I said. I'm divorcing all of my machines. I don't want any more of that in my life— typing or shorthand or anything—and I want to go into pastoral ministry. JK: Oh, ok. Let's back up and talk a little more about your teaching career since you spent 27 years doing this. So, did you start out in grade school? [00:14:02] MCC: No. No. JK: No, you didn't. MCC: I taught in the high school. I taught in Gillette when it was just a little dot on the… Right now it's a booming town with all the minerals up there. From my typing room you could look down the street and there was nothing there. JK: Really. MCC: Yes, it was just nothing. JK: Yes. MCC: And so I started going out with a young man who was the principal of the grade school. JK: This was before you were a Sister. [00:14:34] MCC: It was before I was a Sister. And at the EBFW every Friday night they had dancing. And so we would go every Friday night. There's nothing else to do. JK: Right. MCC: So, we'd do that. And so, then I went home for, I can't remember, after that year, I think. And it happened that that young man came to Casper, and I invited him to dinner at our home. And we had dinner and when he left my older brother, Father Dan, said, "Keep looking." (Laughter) MCC: So, I did. JK: So, you did. MCC: That's when I went to Denver and started working on my master's degree. JK: Ok, and so it was there that you met… �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 7 of 32 MCC: The Sisters. JK: … the Sister with the Oreo cookies. [00:15:32] MCC: That's right. That's right. JK: Ok, ok. And then when did you join? [00:15:37] MCC: Ok. So, when Sister Xavier, the one that shared her cookies with me, came back that summer, they found out they needed a business teacher at the college. It wasn't a university yet. It was a college. And so they called me up. And she said, "Would you like to come?" And I didn't want to because Kansas was halfway across the world for me in those days. And I said, "I just don't know." She said, "Why don't you come for an interview?" And so it was around Easter time. So, I remember walking up the lane with my little tin suitcase, and I went to visit with Sister; Sister Mary Paul was the vice president at the time. There was a president, but he was a… Dr. Murphy was the president, but she ran the school; it was a college. And all the Sisters taught there, and it was only Sisters. So, we were talking and she said, "Let's talk about money." And I said, "All right." She said, "How much were you making at your last place?" And I said, "I think I was getting 2400 a year." And remember this is way back. JK: Right, I understand, yes. [00:16:57] MCC: And so she said, "What about 2600?" And since I really didn't want to go there I kind of wrinkled up my nose, I guess. And I said, "Well…" And she said, "Three thousand?" I said, "I'll take it." JK: (Laughs) MCC: That was a hundred dollars a month. So, I went home and I told Mom and Dad and they were very pleased. And so that year I went. And then I taught. And there were about five of us lay teachers and they had a place for us to stay, and it was at the end of the building. We all had our own room and everything. So, we had a good time. We made our own order. We were the Order of Perpetual Recreation. JK: (Laughs) MCC: And the Sisters were so good to us. Every one of us had a feast day, and my name was Sister Mary Candelabra. And when we had a feast day Sister would send up a nice cake, 'cause the lay teachers all sat in one dining room, and we had a lot of fun together. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 8 of 32 So, then that was when I got used to the Sisters and working with them and everything, and after that, then, I didn't know whether I had a vocation or not. And there was a priest on campus, Father Dennis Mary, (phonetic) a Dominican, and I used to go every month and talk to him. And I'd say, "Do you think I have a vocation? How does one know if you have it?" I felt like I did but I didn't know how. And so I went every month and finally he said, "In May, Sister, what you have to do is decide once and for all. It's like going swimming. If you stick your big toe in you'll never get in. What you have to do is just hold your nose and jump in." So, after that talk, that's what I did. I jumped in. So, then I went home and told Mom and Daddy. It was May. I told Mom and Daddy that I wanted to go to the convent. JK: What was their reaction? [00:19:17] MCC: They were happy. JK: Oh, ok. Good. MCC: They were both happy. Daddy said to me, "So you want to be a "mornica," (phonetic) which is Italian for Sister. And I said, "Yes, Daddy." "Be a good one." So, I was to come here, I think, about August the 15th or something like that. And didn't my father up and die on July 24th, 1953, and that's why I have his name. Carlo was his name. JK: Oh, really? MCC: Yes. And so I chose that. No, we had to submit three names that we'd like, and I submitted Mama's name and then Daddy's name second. And then when you were getting your constitution, a little black book with a little small envelope in it, and you were to in silence go to the big chapel and open up the little envelope. And I opened it up and it was Sister Mary Carlo. JK: Oh, nice. MCC: And I thought that's a good way to remember my Daddy. So I always kept the name. When the Sisters went back to their baptismal name, and mine was Rose, I never did. JK: Mary Carlo is a beautiful name. [00:20:35] MCC: It is. It is. And so that's how I got my name, and that's how I entered in… JK: And then when you entered then you went back into teaching, right? [00:20:47] MCC: Yes, I did. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 9 of 32 JK: And, so, did you continue to teach at… MCC: I taught at the college. JK: …at St Mary? [00:20:52] MCC: I taught at the college. It was a college, not a university yet. And some of our Sisters sent me off to school, Notre Dame. I went to Notre Dame once and went someplace else another time. I can't remember. But I never had a desire to get a PhD. In those days you just didn't. JK: They were rare. MCC: That's right. And, so, I taught at the college and I really did like it a lot, and I liked being around the Sisters. No, this was when I was not in the Sisterhood yet. We were the Order of Perpetual Recreation, remember. (Laughter) MCC: But then when I went home and then I came back and that, and then my father died just in July and I entered in August. And then I was—what should I do? Because my brothers were in the seminary, and they couldn't be with Mama. Am I going to leave my mother all alone? It was very difficult. But this Father Dennis Mary (phonetic) that I had been in counseling with said, "Do whatever your mother says." And Mama said, "You have to go." JK: Really. MCC: She said, "You have your whole life ahead of you and I have to be alone," and she did for 40 years. JK: Wow. She was a very strong woman. MCC: She was. JK: And a very unselfish woman. [00:22:31] MCC: But our community has been very, very good to us. And when Mama got older I asked if I could go home and take care of her, and I did. I did for almost eight years which was wonderful to be able to do that and wonderful of our community to allow me to do that. JK: It really was. MCC: It was. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 10 of 32 JK: Did you also do some work in…? [00:23:01] MCC: That's when I started my caring ministry, because my brother, Father Dan, at that time was pastor at our church which was just two blocks from our home, Our Lady of Fatima. I looked for a job, but nobody would hire a nun. So, he said, "I'll tell you what we'll do if it's ok with your community. You work for our church here, Our Lady of Fatima. You work for our church, and I'll pay you a salary and you start this caring ministry and go out and visit." So, that's what I did. It was just wonderful. And I realized then, you know, that I just really enjoyed people and talking to them. So I started it. And what I did is I made a list of all the things that you could sign up for. You could go visit at the hospital or send cards to the hospital or make cards to send to the hospital. Or you could take communion to the hospital or to the people that are home bound. You could cook for people that come back from the hospital who couldn't cook. You could give somebody a ride to go to church who didn't have a ride. You could write letters. You could do… I had a whole 8 ½ by 11, no, by 14 page. JK: Of things that you could do. [00:24:29] MCC: Oh, all these things, and we called it the caring ministry. And people signed up for it. The first time, the first year, there were 20 people, and when I left later to come home there are120. JK: Really. MCC: And they did everything, and they loved it. They loved it. JK: What was your favorite part of the caring ministry? [00:24:52] MCC: First of all just directing it, making sure everybody… And then every year they signed up. I didn't want them to think that once that they started doing something they had to do it for the rest of their life. So, I'm a good typist, which is out-of-date now, but I typed up a list every year and they signed up for what they wanted every year so that I knew that what they signed up for they wanted to do. So, then, I did that. I forgot how many… Well, Mama died. That was it. Mama finally died. Not finally, but, you know. JK: I know. MCC: Mama died and then a Sister Sue, who was the mother general at the time, said I think you should go home. "Come home," she said, because the mother general always makes a visit to every house where a Sister is every year in her term. So, it was that time, and she came. I cooked a nice breakfast for her. I remember that. And then she said, "We think you need to come home." �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 11 of 32 And my brothers agreed. We think you should go back there. And so that's when I finally, not finally, but I was called home, and I came and I'm not sorry. So, I came back and I was at the Mother House for 20 years and I loved every minute of it, yes. JK: And what did you do here? [00:26:16] MCC: Then when I came here I said, well, let's start a caring ministry among the Sisters. So, I did. And they signed up for it. But after a while it kind of dwindled out. The Sisters weren't as persevering as the people were. But that was ok. It was time to close that chapter. Also, at that time when I first came back I realized there's a military base here. Then one day we had no chaplain at our place, and we had to go out every morning for Mass if we wanted it. So, we went to this church, Immaculate Conception, and there were five of us Sisters and we all in the, you know, square hat, all in habit and everything. And when we came out I got a tap on the shoulder and this lady said, "I want to tell you what my little girl said." And so she said, "Mommy, there are five saints back there." JK: (Laughs) MCC: She said, "If they would like to write some questions and ask about Sisters, would you be willing to answer them?" JK: "Oh," I said, "Yes." "You know," I said, "I'd be even happy to come in your home sometime and talk to you about it." "Oh," she said, "that's fine. Let me talk to my husband." So, she talked to her husband and called me up, and she said, "Could you come for Sunday brunch? And we've invited two other families over. One family has two children, a boy and girl, and the other one has five boys and a girl." I said, "That’s ok, 'cause I have brothers and I can answer questions about priests too." And so we ran over there and that was the beginning of our friendship and that's the one who… They were just married out of West Point, and so we went on base and answered their questions and then we became good friends because they ended up having one boy and eight girls. And now… JK: My gosh. MCC: That's the young man. This young man is very, very generous. They were very good Catholics, but he was very generous. And if there were other officers on the base who wanted to have a date night he'd babysit their children. JK: Really? [00:29:03] �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 12 of 32 MCC: Yes. Now, what kind of a person was that? JK: A good person. MCC: That's my Brigadier General now. JK: Really? And what is his name? [00:29:12] MCC: David Francis. JK: David Francis. MCC: They spent a lot of time here at the Mother House. I'd have them over for supper. We'd go out on a picnic. We'd put a penny on the railroad track. We just had a lot of fun. And Jody, the wife, was very… wanted her children to do for others, so they made pillows for all the Sisters in Ross Hall. JK: Oh, how nice. MCC: When we had the old Ross Hall. And we brought them out. And then the oldest boy, who was just in fifth grade at that time, had a magic show. So, we brought the magic show over. JK: That's cute. MCC: And the Sisters loved it. And, of course, they were thrilled to death. And then they got older and they got older. So, it was just last year. No, one time they came for dinner, just the two, the couple, and that's when I said to him, "David," I said, "I'm going to make a prediction. One of these days, I don't know when, you're going to be a four-star general." No, then I found out there were five-star generals so I changed the prediction. I said, "You're going to be a five-star general." And I had to find out what the five stars… who they were. But I did and I wrote them down. But, anyway, that's when one of their daughters decided to go to Benedictine school in Atchison. And so she would call me up and she'd come down and bring some friends and we'd have a lot of fun. So, one day… And, see, I followed this family. They went from Leavenworth to Hawaii, to Erie, Pennsylvania, down at Rutgers, then to Korea and then back. So, now he is a Brigadier General down there. JK: That's amazing. MCC: And every time he gets commissioned higher they send me an invitation and I write back and I say, "I would have come, but the Sisters wouldn't loan me their visas." �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 13 of 32 JK: (Laughs). MCC: And so on Mother's Day, just this year, they called me from Korea. They were down in… JK: Oh, really. MCC: They called me from Korea and they said, "We're calling you to wish you a happy Mother's Day because you've always been a mother to our children. But we want you to know now that we are going to be grandparents." And I said, "Oh, good, then I'm going to be a grandmother." [31:56] JK: (Laughs) MCC: So, anyway, one time when David came with his daughter and we were sitting in this room having lunch or supper or whatever it was, and at the very end David said to me, "Sister, you've always prayed for us, and I want you to have this." And that's when he handed me the gold star. JK: How nice. [00:32:19] MCC: No, it's a silver star. JK: Right. MCC: And he pinned it on my… I think. So, I wrote a letter to all the Sisters and I said, "Now," I said, "you have to call me General Colibraro, but you don't have to salute." JK: (Laughs) MCC: Oh, we've had fun on that. But he's only now at a Brigadier General, and he's down at Rutgers now, commissioned. He's back from Seoul. He's only like 52 years old. JK: Is that right? [00:32:52] MCC: Yes. He's going to really go up high, I think. JK: Yes. MCC: But, anyway, that's that stuff. JK: So, do Brigadier Generals wear a star? One star? [00:33:01] MCC: One star. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 14 of 32 JK: Ok. MCC: And so do I. (Laughs) JK: Right, and so do you. Right. (Laughter) MCC: That family has brought me more joy… JK: Oh, I can imagine. MCC: …than any others. I've love many of the people that I still keep in touch with. But every time David would get a promotion they have to come here to Leavenworth. I guess they get information they need to know. And he'd always call me up and say, "I'll be there about 8:30 in the morning out in front. I won't be here long, but could you just come?" And I'd be out there waiting, and then he'd say, "I have to leave now." They're sending a plane for him. JK: (Laughs) MCC: So, we really had a nice relationship. JK: Oh, it sounds like it. Yes. [00:33:19] MCC: It was just very nice. JK: Let's see. When you joined Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth that was prior to Vatican II, wasn't it? [00:34:08] MCC: Uh-huh. JK: Yes. And so while you were in the community Vatican II happened, so you've experienced the old ways and the new ways. Can you tell about some of the changes that you liked? [00:34:21] MCC: Oh, whatever the community said was ok with me. When we changed to no veils, however, the community always said that those who want to could wear their veil. I chose what I wanted and that was to wear my veil. When we went to something else, you could wear slacks, you know, or you don't have to wear slacks. I chose not to. And so the community has been very gracious and open to what we want �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 15 of 32 as Sisters, and so we make the decision. So that's why I made this decision—I still wear my veil and my, what we call, nun boots. (Laughter) MCC: And I'm very happy. JK: And why do you like to wear the veil? [00:35:15] MCC: It's how I came, and I want them to learn to recognize me when I get out there. (Laughter) MCC: But several things have happened. And people would say… I would go out to the lunch. I had a very, very good Lutheran friend—her husband was a Lutheran minister—and we were very good friends, and we'd go out to different places. And one time, and this is just kind of an incidental, but one time we were at IHOP and when they brought the tickets I said, "Where is mine?" And she gave Virginia hers but I didn't get one. She said, "That man over there paid for yours." JK: Oh, my goodness. MCC: And I said, "Oh, well, ok." So that was kind of surprising. But, anyway, afterwards I ran over to him and I said, "Thank you, sir. You didn't need to that." And he said, "I wanted to. You've given your whole life to God." So, I thought, well, I didn't do it for that. JK: For a free lunch. [00:36:33] MCC: No, no, right. (Laughter) MCC: And then when I would go home I had to go through Denver, and I'd have to walk through DIA. And, I don't know, three or four times, because I went home often in those days—I was younger—and a man would stop me, mostly men, not women necessarily, but men just stopped me, and he said, "Sister, thank you for wearing your habit." And thank you for doing this. "I appreciate your keeping the veil," or something. But I didn't do it for that reason. But people did notice. And, I don't know, I didn't like the idea of having to take care of my hair. (Laughter) JK: That's a point. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 16 of 32 MCC: But that was minor, you know. JK: Yes. You were involved with the AIDS epidemic. [00:37:26] MCC: Oh, yes. JK: When did you become involved with that? [00:37:30] MCC: When I was in Denver working at the hospital. One time I went to visit this young man, and I always sit on the bed. I used to sit on the bed when I visit. And I went in and I said… He was a Catholic. It was marked on the sheet Catholic, 'cause we're a Catholic hospital in Denver, and he was marked as a Catholic, so I went into visit him. He had a sarcoma, yes, the purple where…. JK: Kaposi sarcoma. [00:38:07] MCC: Kaposi, yes. And then I said, "What's wrong? Why are you here?" And then he says, "Well, they don't know. They're contacting," what is it, "the CDC in Atlanta, and they'll find out what I've got." Well, it came back. What is it called, sarcoma…? JK: K-A-P-O-S-I... MCC: That's right, sarcoma. JK: …apostrophe S. [00:38:34] MCC: And then I said, "What is that?" And he said, "I don't know, but I probably won't make it." And here he was a Catholic. And so I went down and notified Father to come anoint him 'cause, you know, if he's going to die. Well, then I found out he refused the anointing, and when I went into his room and he told me that I started to cry, 'cause I thought, ooh. But, anyway, he called me back into his room. He said, "Sister," he said, "I can take it. I'm ready. If that's what the Lord wants I can go." And I just didn't know what to say. I just never had experienced that before. I didn't have a lot of training before I went into pastoral work but I did later on. But I just sort of winged it. And so I said, "I'll be here for you. If you need me, call me." And he never did. He died without being anointed. And that bothered me a lot. However, since then I realized the Lord makes the decisions and He knows what goes on in people's hearts, and I didn't have to worry. Later on, up on that same floor, because they were all private rooms, a lady came to visit. This was on the other unit, but it was up on the tenth floor where there were all private rooms. And �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 17 of 32 she said, I'm his mother… no his grandmother."I'm his grandmother." And it's May. "And here's 120 dollars, and I want you to go home and visit your mother for Mother's Day. JK: Oh, my goodness. [00:40:20] MCC: That was his grandmother. So, you see, when you have your grandmother rooting for you you don't have to worry. So, I tried to let that go that I didn't fail him. But after that then I was more prepared for the AIDS patients, and you had to gown up because they didn't realize then that, though they didn't have all the answers—I'll put it that way—and you had to gown up. You had to put something on your head and your shoes. You had to wear the gown. You had to wear gloves. You'd just make sure you couldn't touch any of their fluids or anything like that. But I went in. You know that was my… and I met some wonderful, wonderful young men. They all died. JK: Yes. MCC: All of those in that day and age died. And now they have medicine that they can take, but in those days they all died. And one summer when one of our Sisters who's from Montana who worked with the AIDS patients came home told about what she did with them. She'd take them here, do this or do that. And then when she finished she asked if there are any questions, and I got up and said, "Sister, you're lucky. All of yours have lived. All the ones that I met early on in those days died." Yes, they did. And when I worked at the hospital if ever I had a patient who died I always wrote a letter to the family, and I wrote a letter to this one young man, and the family wrote back and they said he wanted to be a writer, and he was writing a book and here are two copies for you. JK: Oh, how nice. [00:42:00] MCC: And another one wrote back, the ones from Maine wrote back and said, "You were so good to our son. We want to pay your way to come see us in Maine." And they sent the money, and I went and I met them. They're from York, Maine which is a resort town up there. And a lot of them were gay up there. And they knew it. But the father was the chief of police and so at Christmastime they invited all of the people that had AIDS to their home and, yes… which was wonderful, wasn't it? JK: Yes. MCC: And when their son finally died, 'cause she was a nurse, and he nursed him, they bought a room in the hospital and called it his room and named it. And then his partner was in San Francisco, and he died a year later almost to the day. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 18 of 32 JK: Really. MCC: So, those were hard days for families and for the people that have it, but I met some wonderful, wonderful people. One was a university professor from the University of Wyoming. And one was also a husband of a good friend of mine that we used to visit real often, but he would every once in a while take a trip to Las Vegas and then… yes, see, so. JK: Yes. MCC: And she kind of whispered it to me. She said, "Really, he died of AIDS." JK: I'm sorry, what was that? [00:43:47] MCC: The wife said to me when he died, "He really died of AIDS." JK: Really. MCC: But, anyway, that was my connection with AIDS patients. I still write to the families to this day. I do, yes. JK: Oh, that's good. How many years were you involved with it actually? [00:44:10] MCC: I worked in the hospital 11 years, and it was the happiest years of my religious life. JK: Oh, that's good. MCC: 'Cause I met so many people. I became a grandmother. This young lady came to the hospital and she had an anencephalic baby. And so none of us knew what that was at the time, but I used to go visit this little child in the intensive care nursery every day, every day, every day, and I'd bring him a rose. So, when he died… They usually died the first day or within 24 hours, but this one went on and on. And I used to go every day and bring him a rose. And I would keep track of it, so when he finally died I typed everything up in a booklet and handed it to the mother and, of course, she was thrilled and invited me to the funeral in their back yard. And so I've been friends with Patty for I don't know how many years now, and we still keep in touch. And this Christmas when she wrote me she said, "Merry Christmas. A babe brought us together, and now we celebrate the Babe." I'm sorry but… JK: No, I know. It's affecting all of us. (Laughs) MCC: But you know what I do in Ross Hall now? �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 19 of 32 JK: What? [00:45:40] MCC: I have a chair by the window. Both of my brothers have died, one last year and one just this year, and they were eight years apart, but they were close. We lived together sometimes. And I sit in my window, my chair by the window, with my two brothers' pictures there, and it brings me great peace. But I also thank God, for all the wonderful people that he's brought in my life. And I cried then too. (Laughter) MCC: But anyway, yes. JK: What else did you do at St. Joseph's Hospital? [00:46:25] MCC: One time, I don't know how it all came about, but I said, "Oh, my gosh, you know, I've been with a lot of deaths at the hospital." I kept track. There were about 265 all together. JK: Oh, my goodness. MCC: And that was the time when Elisabeth Kubler-Ross came out with her, you know, at first you're angry and then you're this and then you're this and finally… JK: Right. Right, right. Yes. MCC: And so I read her book and I realized that I had examples for every one of those steps. And so I started giving talks on… and then I could illustrate them. This person that came in... Like one time there was an AIDS patient on the fourth floor. It was in the wing, and he had brought a cake for his friend. But when he got there the friend had died. JK: Oh, how awful. [00:47:15] MCC: And I remember him taking that cake and throwing it in a garbage can and going to the elevator and poking… He was angry, you know. JK: Right. MCC: But examples like that that were true. Then I started giving talks around Denver in the hospital first to some of the doctors that I thought maybe would benefit by it or they asked me to talk. Let me put it that way. And little by little then somebody would ask me to go here or go here. One time they invited me up to Vail and I got to ride on the whatever… JK: Oh, did you? �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 20 of 32 MCC: And then I gave a talk, you know. And I remember sitting out there on the edge of a cliff and looking out at all the mountains and everything in one… yes. And we were involved with a Jewish wedding at that time, but that's beside the point. But, yes, I've had a lot of wonderful experiences, and that's why sometimes when I think about them I do have to cry. They're beautiful. JK: You said you gave talks, and I know that you were involved in hospice which is not new but it has become more known in the past 20, 25 years. [00:48:45] MCC: In those days if you were in hospice you knew you were going to die, so you didn't make any bones about it. And I remember going to visit someone that was in the hospice and you had to gown all up of course. But I was used to doing that in the hospital so I did that and made some very nice friends and always wrote to their families, and so I have friends all over from some of that. But I did keep track of all of my deaths so that I could use the examples to help other people. And I remember I had never been around a death before even though my father died. He just had a massive heart attack and that was it. But I remember the first time in the hospital that I hadn't experienced a death. So, Sister Marilyn, who was a Benedictine from up here, was chaplain down there. So, one day she said to me, "This man is a Catholic man, and he's on his last breath. Would you like to come and see what I do?" And I said, "Oh, yes, I'll be happy to. So, we went in and I remember she prayed for him and she said some Hail Marys for him and some other things and just was quiet and everything. And then he did die. And then after the family left and everything, Sister said me, "Should we go into the dining room and just kind of process this and see?" So, we went in and Sister said, "How do you feel?" And I said, "I think I'm going to throw up." JK: Oh, gosh. (Laughs) [00:50:56] MCC: That's how I felt, 'cause I had never experienced a death. JK: Right. MCC: And it was good experience because then when I was home with Mama that helped a lot. JK: What do you say about people who support physician-assisted suicide? [00:50:53] MCC: See, I'm against that. But it's a person's own right to do that, and so I'm not against it, but God makes the decision. And I think that suffering is very redemptive. That's what Jesus did on the cross. He suffered. So, whatever suffering you go through is redemptive if you offer it up. Now, some Catholics and non-Catholics don't maybe appreciate that or know about it. And that's ok, because in my mind God loves every person he ever created, and he's not going to send to �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 21 of 32 hell somebody who just because at the last moment made a different decision. So, it's ok. If you want to do that ok. Now, I don't know if I'm right or wrong on that, but that's how I feel about it. JK: That's kind of the way I feel too. [00:52:01] MCC: Because God knows, and this is what I say about suicides. God knows what went on in that heart and what suffering, inner suffering they've gone through that maybe they weren't able to verbalize. And so who am I to judge? JK: Right. MCC: And so when there's a suicide, God knows. And He knows and He loves us, and so I don't know what God does but I think He'd love them always. Does that make sense? JK: It makes perfect sense. [00:52:44] MCC: Ok. JK: It does. MCC: That's the gospel according to Carlo. (Laughter) JK: It makes a lot of sense. Did you initiate the prayer ministry at Ross Hall? [00:52:59] MCC: I don't have a prayer ministry at Ross. I did that when I was at the Mother House. JK: Oh, when you were at the Mother House. MCC: Yes. I noticed that on those slips. I didn't do it at Ross Hall, because when I came here I want everybody praying for me. JK: (Laughs) MCC: In fact, I'll have to tell you this. You know my older brother, Father Dan, made a lot of money and he's given scholarships to the university, endowed and scholarships and to different colleges and everything. And then when my brother was in the nursing home before he died in March everything was paid for by Father Dan's money. And then I said to the CPA, 'cause I taught Father Dan everything he knew about that. So, I called the CPA and said, "You know, I'm in a nursing home." (Laughter) �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 22 of 32 MCC: So, we found out just yesterday that we are getting a good amount of money… JK: Oh, good. MCC: …for my care here in the nursing home, because it's a new one. It's just been opened. It's beautiful. It's just lovely, and so I was just very… Yesterday I got the letter. JK: Oh, good. MCC: And I sent it Sister, and she's very excited because there's a lot of money coming. JK: Good. MCC: You know, we went back and how many years have I been…? And I don't mean to tout anything, but, you know, it paid for Father Phil, and I kept saying, "Why isn't it paying for me?" JK: Yes, right. MCC: I couldn't talk to the CPA so I said to her, "You talk to him." I gave her the number and she talked to him. And he said, "Ok. Make out a list of what you think it would cost if…" Ok. We're getting it. JK: Very good. [00:54:55] MCC: So, I figure, gosh, I taught him how to do bookkeeping, this brother of mine that didn't know what he was doing. He did fine with the bookkeeping, and every time I'd go home if his trial balance didn't mount (phonetic) I'd help him find it. But then when they started splitting stocks and doing all that he lost me, because I didn't study that. And so my younger brother who was living there at the time with him, he said, if you pardon the expression, he said, "We had to take the damn red book to Leo." (Laughter) MCC: But Leo straightened it all out. I figure he had it and he had always said that in his… Father Dan always said in his will I want to make sure that Father Phil and Sister are well taken care of, and so we are. JK: Oh, that's good. MCC: Very well taken care of. JK: So, you've lived in a community now for how many years? [00:56:00] �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 23 of 32 MCC: Let's see. I think it's 65 next… I entered in '53 and that's when they started counting, so you figure it out. (Laughs) I need my machine. I think it's either 64… yes, I think it's 64 years. JK: Yes, that would be when it… MCC: But I came late. I was 27 when I entered. JK: Right. MCC: Because I had taught all those years. JK: Because you had taught before, right. And what has living in the community meant to you? [00:56:33] MCC: My community, our community, has been so good to us. I've never been refused a request—never. They provide for it even without my asking for it. JK: Oh, how nice. MCC: So, I've been very happy here. And, as I said, now in Ross Hall all I do is count my blessings. And this beautiful room that I have, it's on the inner court but I don't face the wall or the outside, and I like it because it's very conducive to prayer and contemplation, and it's beautiful. And they had these big, overstuffed chairs and my feet wouldn't touch the rug (phonetic) so they brought me a good straight-back chair. And then I have a reading machine. Thank God for that. JK: Oh, good. MCC: One of the Sisters, no, a woman at the university, her mother had macular degeneration, and so it's on loan from her. I've had it for a year-and-a-half. So, that's how I say my prayers. I put my book under… My brothers bought me a Breviary, a real Breviary that the priests say. So, I say my prayers on the machine in the morning and at night, and if I get a letter I put that under there. And when I got the letter from the CPA it was… (Laughs) JK: Oh, that's good. Right. MCC: Call Sister immediately. (Laughs) So thank God for that. So, see the blessings there are. Oh, yes. So, I do enjoy Ross Hall. JK: Does Kansas City have a radio station where they read Time magazine, The New York Times and all that kind of stuff? [00:58:23] �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 24 of 32 MCC: I'm sure they might, but I have those, I don't know, books for the blind and things like that. You know I don't use those anymore. They sent me mystery books. JK: Oh, did they? MCC: Yes, at the beginning. We went through this great process of what do you like and all that, so I got mystery books. There's a knock on your door every whip-stitch and I'm forgetting who killed who. So, I thought no more mysteries. And so they sent me another one, which was very good—I enjoyed that—about dogs. There's a different story every day about dogs and that you could put it on silent for just a minute and then you would start it again. But you could go on with the dogs that way. And so more are coming in, and if I feel like I can use them I do it. But, you know, I enjoy more just sitting in my window looking out. JK: My mother had macular degeneration, and in St. Louis there is an order called Our Lady of the Snows, I think. [00:59:33] MCC: Probably, yes, uh-huh. JK: And so they have this service that you can sign up for and it's also very easy. It's just an onoff button. MCC: Oh, that's wonderful. JK: Yes, it is wonderful. And so they read the newspaper. I guess they read books. But mostly it's newspapers and magazines. MCC: Well, now, just this last weekend two friends came. He had written a book, and I did my best to advertise it for him in the churches and in the libraries, and I sent out letters and all kinds of things. And we didn't have an overwhelming response. But he's very pleased. And so today I got the… our communications person was there. She took a picture, because he donated a gorgeous tile plaque of Our Lady of Guadalupe. JK: Oh my goodness. MCC: And right after lunch today I went with Sister Lucy, our superior, and we decided where to put it. And it's so heavy that they're going to put a… I forgot. There's a word that they have to put it in. And they'll find the stud and everything, but it's going to be hung tomorrow. JK: Oh, great. MCC: It's beautiful. It's a tile. Yes, it's beautiful. But, anyway, that was very, very nice. And I'm glad that weekend is over 'cause I did a lot of work. And I had wanted more people to attend, but Pierre, who wrote the book said, "Sister, I would have been satisfied with 15." �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 25 of 32 JK: Oh, good. That's good. So, the community has changed so much over the years and one way it's changed is that people have left and not as many people are joining. What do you think is the future of the SCL? [01:01:28] MCC: Now it's my chance to tell you about Sister Rejane. When I was in the Mother House they called over from the vocation office and they said there are three young women here who want to enter as candidates. Would you be willing to take one of them and not mentor her, but just be a companion? Take her down to the dining room, and, you know, when you walk in there are 300 Sisters sitting there. And so, I said, "Oh, sure. I'd be glad to." Sister Rejane came over, and she came over every Thursday, every Thursday, every Thursday, every Thursday without fail. At the end of the year we were very good friends. And then she went to Denver and she emailed me, and those were the days when at least I could do a little email. And so then she came back to teach at the school. It's diagonally across the street. And she'd come over to see me every Thursday. But now, and this is what's interesting, and this answers your question, I think. Rejane is in Wisconsin, Racine, Wisconsin, working on a farm which has been what she's always wanted to do. And she sent me… well, there's a picture of her in one of our magazines with her arms around an alpaca and smiling. She's just so happy. And she calls me every Sunday night, so I have the picture on my desk. It's in here some place. And so then when she came to see me she brought me a little alpaca made with the actual fur of the alpaca. JK: Oh, how cute. [01:03:10] MCC: I think I have it in there somewhere. JK: Here it is. MCC: Yes, it is. And they have one white alpaca, and he's very unusual. His name is Leo, but this one's name, well, the real alpaca in the picture is Gaylord. So, I named this Pietro. That's Peter in Italian, Peter, and it's standing up there, and look how happy she is. Now that's the answer. Ted Dunn in that LWCR magazine that they put out periodically, the last article in the latest issue he interviewed a number of different orders where the Sisters were all young all over the country and found out what do the Sisters want. Are they happy with the…? He found out a lot of the younger Sisters were angry because when they entered, you know, the old people were angry too. And they didn't like that. And what did they want then he asked. We want to do what we feel the Lord is calling us to do as His mission, and that's exactly what Rejane is doing up in Racine, Wisconsin. JK: That's wonderful. [01:04:26] �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 26 of 32 MCC: And her parents have been up there and her family. She has a brother and his family has been up there, but look how happy she is. JK: Yes. MCC: How can you not… And then we have another Sister Melissa. She came to see me. She entered quite a while ago, so she's a little older than Rejane, but she came and I hadn't seen her for a long, long time. You know what she's doing? She's in New York working with trafficked women. JK: Oh, my goodness. MCC: Now, that's where our community is going now. And the help that they're getting is through the confederation of Sisters of Charity because they meet together. And when all these young Sisters get together... Someone asked Rejane how could you find out about that? She said, "One of the Sisters in the federation told me that…" See. JK: Interesting, right. [01:05:21] MCC: And so that's how our community is going to go on by the young Sisters doing these various unusual things. Like Sister Vicki is building that down in Leavenworth where the poor people can come and get food. JK: Oh, food pantry. MCC: Yes, that's right. See, they're doing things that people... that they feel in the heart, their heart, that the Lord is asking them to do. JK: Right. [01:05:47] MCC: Not sit around and pray like we used to do. And that's where it's going. And so, if it dies out, if our community dies out, we'll have the confederation. Young Sisters get together and they can help one another and spread the word. JK: Right. MCC: Isn't that beautiful? JK: So, they have their community… MCC: Yes, that's right. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 27 of 32 JK: …even though they might be geographically separated. [01:06:11] MCC: That's right. That's exactly right. And now Rejane is coming home on the 9th of July, 'cause that's when our big meeting starts here when they decide and all that kind of thing. And she'll come in and see me and I'll hug her and cry and cry when she leaves, but that's ok. JK: So, you wanted to tell about some of the things that you brought. [01:06:33] MCC: All right. You know that book right there is the book that I tried to help my friend sell. Over the weekend he was here. And this is true. I didn't know this part of his life, because we knew him in Casper. He was very helpful to Mama in helping her... When I went home to take care of her my brother bought us a microwave, but there's no room in our small kitchen which is our home right here. You see that. There's a picture of our home. See how tiny it is and the front and the back. JK: That's so cute. MCC: And it's just really tiny. But he came in and built a shelf for us and fixed the TV. Mama had the TV over here so she didn't use this half of the room. He came in, put up wire and put the TV over here, opened up… So, he's just done a wonderful… our family in every way. He's very artistic. But this is the story of his life. And he had been at this boy's ranch in New Mexico when the priest was abusing the boys. JK: Oh, that's awful. MCC: But he didn't know it at the time. JK: It's called Secrets of the Blue Door. [01:07:46] MCC: And the blue door is where the boys… Nobody, nobody but this priest would go through that door and the boys that he allowed to. And little by little Pierre kept track, and that was his saving grace. He wrote it down, everything. And then one of the boys ran away and froze that night, and Pierre had to go out and find him and he dug a grave and buried the boy. So, Pierre started keeping track of everything that went on. And he finally realized that the boys were being abused. So, even on the QT he would… He was on the staff there. He'd take the boys fishing and they'd go for a walk. And he'd ask little questions and pretty soon things began to appear that were not good. And so this is the story that we never knew of Pierre. And he wrote it and I tried to help him sell his book. JK: And this is Pierre Nichols. [01:08:58] MCC: Nichols. And he was here just over the weekend. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 28 of 32 JK: Oh, he was? MCC: Yes. Yes. And I had sent pictures and posters out and sent letters to 52 people. You can get it on Amazon.com. But it's wonderful. But it ended up good because three of the boys when they grew to be men found Pierre's name on the internet, and they called him up. And they said, "Can we come see you?" He was thrilled to have them come. They said would you help us testify? We're going to sue the State of New Mexico, and he said yes. So, he did. He had a seven-hour deposition in front of all these lawyers and his saving grace was he had documented every single thing that happened. And my brother, Father Phil, is in the book sort of. When this one boy died in the snow when Pierre left the rancho, the boys house way down in New Mexico, and he went up to Wyoming and he met my brother. And he didn't know my brother but my brother said, "Have you eaten anything?" And he said, "No." So, he said, "Come on. Let's go to the Village Inn." And he told him about the boy that died. Father Phil went out and he bought a piece of granite, a nice stone, and had the boy's name and everything put in it. And then Pierre went back to New Mexico and buried the boy and built a fence around it. And so, the boys did sue, and they did win because they were men at that time. They were like 30 and 40 years old. And Pierre didn't get anything, but he said I didn't want anything. So, that's the Secret of the Blue Door and that's Pierre, and that's the young… well, he's not young anymore. He's in his seventies. And I didn't know that part of his life. And it's hard, isn't it? And a lot of people didn't want to read it because who wants to talk about that? JK: I know. MCC: But this happens and it's still happening in many instances. So, that's what I did over the weekend. JK: Ok, and then you told the story of the… MCC: That's my general. JK: That's your Brigadier General star. [01:11:37] MCC: Oh, I didn't tell you about this. When I worked at the hospital, I was on the 10th floor which is all private rooms, but I was also on the 9th floor which is Urology. And there was a young man who was a doctor and he was just an ace in everything he did, just right on target. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 29 of 32 My mother had her kidney removed. I went to him one day and I said, "Doctor, my Mama is going to have a kidney… would you come and talk to me about it? What do I expect…?" He said, "I'll meet you in the doctor's office." So, we came to the doctor's office and for almost an hour he wrote down all the things. If it were cancer, if it was this, you'd use (phonetic) this. So, we became kind of friends. And then I left the hospital to come here, and so I would write to him, and I'd say, "Oh, gosh, our campus is beautiful," and it is, isn't it? Beautiful I said. And then I'd talk about something else. So, one day he said, "How about I come and do a picture book on your Mother House?" JK: Oh, how nice. [01:12:43] MCC: So, he came and he did a picture book on all… yes. If you want to look at it... He wouldn't publish it until every Sister okayed her picture, and one of the complaints was Sister Mary Carlo's picture is in it too often. JK: (Laughs) MCC: But I was the one that showed him around, you know. Some of these Sisters have died, but this is the book. And it's on the internet now, so, if you know how to get it. It's Dr. William Pelander. Turn to the very end. FD: What year did it come out? [01:13:19] MCC: It says back here. I think it's '56. See, that was the doctor at that time. He is a little bit older now. Does it say here when it came out? Oh, here it does in the front. Oh, here. See, that's his name. William Pelander, M.D. FD: 2010, so pretty recently. MCC: It is, yes, it is. And so I was visiting at that time so I took him to the V.A. and I took him to the river. I took him to wherever I went and there's a picture of me when I took… you know, I visit the little black lady down here at the apartments right on this street, and he came with me. There's a picture of me giving her communion, although you can just see her and my hand in community. Like I said, he wouldn't publish any picture until the Sisters okayed it. And the first complaint was we all look so old. (Laughter) MCC: I said, "We are old." JK: (Laughs) �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 30 of 32 MCC: Well, anyway, God love him. He went back to Denver. He's from Denver. And he, what do you call it, brush-stroked all those pictures. JK: Did he really? (Laughs) [01:14:34] MCC: He did. He did. You can't see our wrinkles real good. He did. It was months. JK: That's hilarious. MCC: And then finally it came out and it got the ok. Isn't that something? We were so old. JK: That's very funny. MCC: But anyway, that was important. That was an important thing in my… when I met Dr. Pelander. Then after Mama had her surgery and the kidney came out, my brother looked after her because he was at the church there. And then so I'd say, "How's Mama doing?" And then I'd catch doctor and I'd say… we'd be joking and laughing about something and I'd say, "Can I ask you something about Mama?" Doctor mode. JK: Oh, funny. MCC: He went right into doctor mode. And so that was a nice relationship that we had. And this is not me. This is Sister Katherine (phonetic) (inaudible) and she was… That was her right in front of the Blessed Sacraments. That's where she prayed in the big chapel. But that's the Mother House book. JK: Thank you. [01:15:41] MCC: And every time people would come, my guests or anything, I'd put it out, and so when you go to the library check it out. It's Sister Mary Carlo, Sister Mary Carlo, Sister Mary Carlo. (Laughter) MCC: Anyway, I thought, well, I'll bring that because that's part of my show and tell. And the little vases that Pierre made. Pierre is a grand master three times in New Mexico in making pottery, beautiful gourds this big. He studied that Indian Mimbres and he learned. This little thing, guess how much. This is a gourd. How much do you think this would sell for? I asked him when he was here. JK: I don't know. [01:16:30] MCC: Sixty-five dollars. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 31 of 32 JK: Really? MCC: Yes, really. 'Cause you'd have to go in, you'd have to dry it. You have to (inaudible). And he has to wear a mask. JK: Oh, my gosh. MCC: But he builds great big ones. And so he won grand master, not master. That's one step. But he's grand master three times. So, he stopped that. Now he's writing books. (Laughs) JK: Well, thank you so much. We appreciate this so much. MCC: I'm glad I brought out my show and tell because… JK: I'm so glad you did. MCC: Thank you. Thank you for listening, both of you. FD: It was a great story, great life. JK: It was really wonderful. MCC: Ok. That's fine. JK: Thank you so much. MCC: I enjoyed doing it too. And I hope it wasn't too long. JK: No. FD: No, we have plenty of time. MCC: Ok. All right. JK: This is perfect. [01:17:21] MCC: All right, thank you. FD: Thank you very much. JK: Thank you. �Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, Kansas Transcription of Sister Mary Carlo Colibraro Interviewed by Jane Kenamore, June 27, 2017 Transcribed by Jessie Lehman, August 13, 2017 Page 32 of 32 MCC: All right. Thank you very much. ### � https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/226d2e95839dc23e9786a0862a4aafae.mp3 501fa6f8de712ebcf352d3ede49ad873 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Colibraro, S. Mary Carlo Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Kenamore, Jane Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MPEG Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 1:07:10 Location The location of the interview Digital Sisters Files Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Colibraro, S. Mary Carlo, Oral History, 6/27/2017 Subject The topic of the resource Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth; Family; Italy; Teaching; AIDS Ministry; Pastoral Ministry Description An account of the resource Sister Mary Carlo speaks quite a bit about her family history as both parents were immigrants from Italy. She also talks about how she encountered the SCLs and joined the Community. She discusses her 27 years teaching but how it was the creation of the Caring Ministry and her work with AIDS patients in the 1980's which were really meaningful. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Colibraro, S. Mary Carlo; Kenamore, Jane Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 6/27/2017 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP3 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Colibraro, S. Mary Carlo; Kenamore, Jane Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1926-2017 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Audios Education Healthcare Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/3e96b751029822658e45a49afc6c765b.jpg aa8f243b3395971ac97e065001399187 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Pin Subject The topic of the resource Community pin Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception, St. John, New Brunswick Description An account of the resource The Community Pin of the Sisters of the Charity of the Immaculate Conception, St. John, New Brunswick, was presented to the Community in 1975. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Unknown Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived N/A Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available N/A Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource N/A Relation A related resource N/A Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource metal Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Physical object Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context N/A https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/ce5970b6f7296a2a67e11eb0087eca78.jpg f85ea593e7c63eca78c54043f99f1626 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Conference of Mother Seton's Daughters 1953 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of New York Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1953 Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/1be67ddade34ad89c3391cda67932839.jpeg 952b04d5decbd93cef871fa446e3ab25 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Physical Object An inanimate, three-dimensional object or substance. Note that digital representations of, or surrogates for, these objects should use Moving Image, Still Image, Text or one of the other types. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Convent Kitchen Subject The topic of the resource Women religious Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Sister Mary Francis Irvin, SC Religious life and customs Description An account of the resource Sister Mary Francis Irvin, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill, was a dedicated religious, inspiring teacher, and gifted artist. While attending the Carnegie Institute of Technology during World War II, Sr. Mary Francis completed a precisionist-style painting entitled “Convent Kitchen.” The piece would go on to win second place in the 1943 Pittsburgh Associated Artists exhibition. “Convent Kitchen” not only reveals the hard work and comradery of women religious, but the painting’s style and perspective reinforce the subject’s simplicity in life and the idea of subjection of the individual identity for the good of the whole in community life. Conversely, the subject of women religious shelling peas is a juxtaposition to the more industrial precisionist paintings of the 1920s and 30s. In a continuation of the story, “Convent Kitchen” inspired a great benefactor of Sr. Mary Francis, helping to further her career as an artist. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sister Mary Francis Irvin Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available N/A Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource N/A Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Courtesy of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. For permission for use or reproduction, please contact the Archivist at cbowser@scsh.org. Relation A related resource N/A Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Oil on canvas Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Painting Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SMF_Irvin_01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant N/A https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/8d183e0c01426d380bb346c6cecc502e.tif 18ada4b75d43afa775980fbe89693e00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cornerstone, the House of Our Lady of Mercy Subject The topic of the resource Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy, Motherhouse Corner stones Our Lady of Mercy Girls' Orphanage Our Lady of Mercy Academy Description An account of the resource Engraved on Cornerstone: This corner stone of the House of our Lady of Mercy in the City of Charleston So. Ca. laid on the Feast of the Annunciation March 25th 1840 by the Right Rev. John England, D.D, Bishop of Charleston. Building Committee: Alexander McDonald: Charles Kanapaux & John Hunter; Patrick O'Donnell, Contractor; Patrick Noble; Governor of South Carolina; Henry L. Pinckney, Mayor of Charleson; Gregory XVI. Being Pope; Martin Van Buren, President, U.S.A. Built by charitable contributions The building served as a Motherhouse for the Congregation and an orphanage. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available N/A Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1840-03-25 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy Relation A related resource N/A Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Granite Type The nature or genre of the resource Physical Object Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Unknown Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Charleston (S. Carolina) Language A language of the resource English Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/ab76f29bc899b3a91b5da0d652b26ec1.jpg caae724956d9a8dd69098604ea1bbc02 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/49f799a682a8b90ecd138eed4331e3a6.jpg c65bfe77d4e14ded10be44b6f1a99522 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/74945eb0952e23d9aa11b003a68b79eb.pdf 7cb13f180e22e3d321c3591f139353cb PDF Text Text Around 1937, Sister Raphael Creagh wrote her memories of Virginia City. I received the Holy Habit for St. Theresa’s day, October 15, 1889. When I went to see Mother Marianna, I was told I would leave the following week with her and Sister Mathilde Comstock. They were going to New Orleans and I was to go with them to within a few hours of St. Louis where they would change cars, but Sister Magdalene Malone had received word to meet me in St. Louis. I was to remain there in the old insane asylum in the downtown district from Thursday until Sunday evening when sister would see me off for St. Mary’s School, Virginia City, Nevada. The following Sunday Sister Magdalene took me to the station where two very fine gentlemen, railroad officials, met her. After much formality and diplomacy, they bid us adieu -- but here is where my troubles began. I was given an interminable number of railroad tickets with all kinds of fine print on the back, which I thought was not necessary for me to read since I had received verbal orders from the two railroad officials. I was told the first change would take place at Denver, Colorado and not to worry until I got there, but it was at Kansas City the next morning that the trials began. On our way out from Kansas City the conductor came around for my ticket accompanied by a brakeman. The conductor must have been an A. P. A. [American Protestant Association] who were in great power in those days. He seemed to ignore me for what I was and said, “Why didn’t you have your ticket exchanged in Kansas City?” I told him that I was not instructed to that effect. “Well, I’ll have to put you off if we do not hear by the time we reach Topeka as to whether or not you can continue,” he said coldly. I said, “Couldn’t I pay until we reach Denver since the officials in St. Louis said the first change would be made there?” Then he said angrily, “We’ll see!” We reached Topeka in time and waited there twenty minutes. When the train started again I felt relieved for I thought then that they had heard I could continue, but much to my surprise when we were three miles out of Topeka, he came to say that I must get off and wait for the next train which would arrive there at midnight. It was then twelve noon! I was forthwith put off the train and found myself in the middle of a Kansas prairieland. Nothing could be seen but the barren earth, the clear sky and the railroad ties on which I was to walk to get back to Topeka. My heart stood still when the brakeman got off with me. He was the same man who had accompanied the conductor. I had visions of being killed by this man on this lonely waste of land and thought how awful it would be -wearing the habit of the Sisters of Charity. The community was in no way to blame for my presumption in traveling alone, for Mother had asked me if I thought I was equal to the trip. Being too smart in those days, I boldly said, “I can travel anywhere while I can talk.” But God took care of me even if I was bold. The brakeman proved to be more of a gentleman than the conductor, for he left the car evidently just to care for me. He began by saying, “Don’t be afraid of me, I’ll go back to Topeka with you. I have a sister who went to school to the Sisters of St. Joseph at Kansas City and my mother and she helped the church and sisters whenever they had a bazaar.” I was so full of fear that I wasn’t even polite and when I got normal again I 1 �thought of his great kindness and have often wondered if any good fortune came his way from my poor prayers that only God knows I said for him. We finally reached Topeka. My heart was in my mouth. The brakeman took my long list of tickets to the ticket window which was in an old room in the shamble that seemed to be used for every kind of purpose. When he told the ticket agent what had happened he glared at me and said, “Couldn’t the d - fool read?” The man in the hotel office treated me more kindly and took me to the reception room on the second floor. I don’t remember seeing the brakeman again to even say “thank you” to him. Another episode happened here. I think all the people in Topeka had been notified that a one-man circus had come to town and to come and see the great curiosity at the hotel. These good people walked around me and seemed to view me from every angle. They brought me some supper about six o’clock, but I was too heart-sick to eat. I doubt whether I thanked them. About eight p.m. I had some real wild west experience. In one of the adjoining rooms, some men began to play cards. I could hear their talking through the transom, and, believe me, I never heard the like language before or since. At eleven fortyfive I heard the train whistle and the nice man in the office came to tell me that the train was coming. When I got downstairs, I said, “How much do I owe you?” He said, “Nothing!” I am sorry this has happened.” Another episode. When I boarded the train, I saw a porter and when he saw me, I know he thought I came from another world. I said to him, “Where is my berth?” He had to get over his fright before he could answer. He pointed to a berth that a man was just getting out of and said, “Get right in thar.” I said very coldly, “After you have changed the linen.” There was no sleep for me that night, but when I got settled for the day, I found the conductor quite different from the one who put me off at Topeka. The next stop really was Denver. This was the first time I had breathed freely for days. We changed there to the Rio Grande Route which went to San Francisco. I just got seated when a lovely young woman about forty came in and said, “Oh, you darling sister, I went to school to your sisters in San Francisco. My two little girls are going there now.” She asked me where I was going and in order to be friendly, I related my experiences. She was more than indignant. After telling me that her father was chief-ofpolice of San Francisco, Captain Douglas, he happened in. They had attended a police convention in Chicago. When he heard what had happened in my regard he said, “Sister, you’ll have no more such experiences if I have to take you to Virginia City myself.” The Captain visited around in the train and after a while came to me with a young man, Mr. Ferguson, who was said to be an assayer in the mines and was just returning with his bride from Boston. I became acquainted with the young bride and discovered that she had gone to school with some girls in Boston who were friends of mine. They had gone to the school of Notre Dame Namur. This, of course, brought up a new interest and the couple assured Captain Douglas that they would take care of me until they landed me at St. Mary’s School, Virginia City. I had to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson in Reno over night until the next day when the train left at noon. We reached Virginia City at three p.m. It seems that I had been promised, or some sister, three months before. As the arrival of the only train that came to the city was always an event, all the senior girls would go down to meet the anticipated sister; 2 �but after three months had passed and no sister came, there were but three girls about seventeen years old at the station the day I arrived. They seemed wild with delight and one of them joyously remarked -- “Oh, welcome Sister Expectation.” I didn’t make them any wiser to my name. The fact is, I didn’t have one. The girls took me from the Fergusons and brought me to St. Mary’s. The sisters were also delighted for they had been expecting me for months. “What is your name,” they asked. I told them Mother said I would get a name when I reached my mission and that if anyone asked me my name while I was on the train, I was to say, “Sister Mary.” It was a worthwhile thought, for if I had had to give my family name, I would be spelling it yet. Having arrived on November second, I nearly got Most Honored Father’s name whose feast is nearest to November second, but the sisters said not to give me Charles Borromeo because the children would be calling me all kinds of names. They looked back in the prayer-book to October twenty-fourth and said that I should be called Raphael in honor of the guide of travelers for he surely got me there. When the sisters heard how I got there, Sister Angelica O’Hallaron considered me a special charge and said, “If you are not all you should be some punishment will come to you for I told Sister Phillipe Berry (an old sister who had gone to Emmitsburg to end her days) to follow the Seminary Sisters every time they went out and tell the Lord to send [us] the one destined for Virginia City. From then on when a reprimand was in order, I was reminded of Sister Phillipe. As I look back on the first few years spent in Virginia City I remember when I went to bed at night the food I had for serious reflections -- often thinking, “This is the way I’ll be when dead!” All the work was done in the bowels of the earth and when the children were dismissed from school everything was as still as death -- absolutely nothing doing above ground. After rising at four and attending to little duties, we climbed the mountain side to go to Mass -- no paved roads as we enjoy in these days! We had to go out to Mass every day in the week with the exception of one or two days when we had Mass in our Chapel. For about six months in the year we ploughed through snow up to our waists. When we reached the church, we would shake our clothes which were perfectly dry owing to the dryness of the climate. It never rained in summer for we lived above the clouds the second highest point in the United States, I believe -- eight thousand feet above sea level. When we returned from Mass which was usually said about seven, we ate breakfast sometimes in the shadows in order to see the sunrise over hundreds of mountain peaks -- the like of which I have never seen elsewhere. The school was one of the finest we had in those days. The children had very bright minds, being the sons and daughters of university and college graduates who came west to seek their fortunes -- real adventurers! While I didn’t reach Virginia City in Hey Dey, the slogan was even in my time, “Go west, young man, go west.” Many had made and many had lost their fortunes. We had three girls at the school whose mother was matron at the poor house, and she told us they had thirty-three multi-millionaires who all boasted of great wealth in their day. ‘Twill be always so where money is concerned. 3 �I was appointed to teach the seventh and eighth grade boys and as I said before, they had such fine minds and were of such sterling character. I have not met the like anywhere else. It was my duty to answer the doorbell after three p.m. when school was out. On one occasion Sister Baptista Lynch (R.I.P.) who was Sister Servant at the time said to me, “There will be a gentleman here today -- a Mr. Mackey who is a great friend of the Community and to whom we are much indebted for what the Sisters of Charity have here in Virginia City.” Anyone who knew Sister Baptista can imagine just how I was instructed. I was told to be most cordial and if he offered to shake hands with me not to refuse. I was to invite him in and say, “I shall get the sisters here right away. I’m sure they will be so glad to see you.” John arrived about three-thirty and while he was polished and cordial, I would never have taken him for a millionaire, although I had never come in contact with one until I met Mr. Mackey. He was well dressed of course, a man of about sixty-five years old -- had gray hair then but it must have been somewhat sandy in his early days. His face was well freckled, but as I said, he was polished for all of that. I ushered him into our little parlor and went to get the sisters. Most of them had never met him before like myself, but as a matter of courtesy inquired about “Madame” Mackey and the Princess… The hospital in Virginia City, which was one of the finest, as well as the school were gifts of all the miners, but especially the successful ones who made their money there. The hospital had an eight or ten acre lot with a fine iron fence all around it. It was a four story brick building. The school was a two-story building with a basement. The sisters lived in a frame cottage on the same grounds as the school. It was said that many of the finest minds were developed out of St. Mary’s School and its financial backing helped many poor when sickness or death overtook the families. Mr. Mackey paid for all the drinking water used in the hospital and school. The water used in operating the mines was obtained from the melting snows of winter and conducted through flumes over the hundreds of mountain peaks to the mines. The drinking water was brought by pipe from Lake Tahoe on the border of California and Nevada and seemed in those days as valuable as diamonds. Indeed ‘twas said that God never intended that man should live there, for it never rained. It was no place for man to live and God threw in the silver in order to give him some reward for ever attempting it. There was absolutely no vegetation except the sage brush. A few Chinese who made an attempt at gardening had to do so by irrigation. If it didn’t snow, and that copiously, there would be no work for the miners when summer came. I can recall when the boys would rush in and say, “Sister, Mr. Coleman asked for the sisters and children to pray for snow.” He was the Editor of the Virginia City Chronicle. On one occasion I remember our prayers were more than answered, for it snowed so much the children could not get near the school for days. Mark Twain was the first editor of the paper, but this Mr. Coleman was not far behind him in intelligence. I recall the last verse of a poem he wrote after being snowed in. It read thus: “The snow on the roof is six feet high, And that in the yard is ten, And now, O Lord, if you’ll only let up, We’ll never say “snow again!” Our dear Sister Gertrude Dooling, who died here at St. Mary’s a few months ago, immigrated with her family in the early fifties from Albany, New York, to seek their fortune 4 �also. She came to the Community when sixteen years of age while Virginia City was making its history. Her family figured in the making of it. Her brother, Maurice Dooling, I read recently, was the greatest Supreme Court Judge San Francisco ever had -- so much so, that his son, Sister’s nephew, was appointed to replace his father when he died. An uncle, her mother’s brother, Rt. Rev. Patrick Manogue figured in the history of Virginia City, too. He arrived there when sixteen years of age, and since, as I have said before, no law or order existed in his day, ‘twas said that whenever he came on the scene, his dignity and personality accounted for so much that all disputes, whatever they may have been, ceased. He dug the earth as the other miners did, but the engineers wanted him with them, so they made him one of them in short order since he had such a good mind. This brought him seven dollars a day. Then the assayers wanted him to join them and they taught him their line of work. This paid him ten dollars a day. He made some investments as well, and one day he surprised all his friends by telling them he was going to study for the priesthood. He spent his money in studying at Paris, Innsbruck, Louvain and finally went to Rome where he was ordained and returned to America for the San Francisco Diocese. He was sent to Virginia City later while many of the miners were still there. Through the genuine love these miners bore him, they erected a church, St. Mary’s of the Mountains, which equaled any of its kind in Europe. After twelve years, the San Francisco Diocese had attained such proportions that it was considered well to make a new diocese to be called the Sacramento Diocese and he was appointed the first Bishop. He was ever after called the “Miner Bishop” and he seemed to glory in that title. He came to see us here at St. Mary’s on one occasion. I found him to be all I had heard of him -- the personification of dignity and a genuine priest. I remember he said, “My sisters are the nearest to heaven in America, and I’m sure will some day merit their reward.” There were others among the multi-millionaires who figured in the history of these days, the Fairs whose two daughters went to school at St. Mary’s and later married and played their part in New York society, the Sutros, Floods, and O’Briens who lived in California. Another rich man was “Sandy Bowers of Washoe Valley” who is said on one occasion, when celebrating some gala feast, to have thrown green-backs from the second floor piazza of the International Hotel into a mob of people in the street below who scrambled fiercely for them. He built a residence for himself and wife in Washoe Valley a few miles from Virginia City and was said to have had so much money that the doorknobs of the house were made of gold. It was related too, that an interior decorator accompanied him and his wife to select the furniture for the new house. I do not know whether any of the gold knobs and fine furniture still remains but I do know that Sandy lost his great fortune; and after God took him to Himself his wife was telling fortunes for a living and was advertised in San Francisco as “The Seer of the Washoe Valley.” By degrees the mines were being worked out. Day and night men were employed in working them. Even on Sunday the work went on and some priest remarked, “There will come a time when they’ll have no work Sunday or Monday.” That time came a few years after I was sent to Santa Barbara. Whole families of six or eight children would take their departure for Montana or Colorado where they were working lead and copper mines. Finally, the hospital and school were closed. I never heard what use was made of them, if any, after the sisters left. 5 �This wouldn’t be a tale of the past unless some of the pupils, those grand characters, intelligent lads, figured in it too. Every Saturday, the school holiday, they’d take their burros and start out “prospecting.” I had to listen to each one in turn Monday morning before the opening of classes and seem intensely interested in the veins in the mountain peaks and their great value which they could determine as well as any assayer. When our school closed in the latter part of June, we had classes every morning during the summer for the public-school children to instruct them for their First Holy Communion. The first morning some boys ran in breathless to tell me that [Cory] was outside. Everybody seemed afraid of him, myself included, and I had to do some fast thinking on disciplining before he came in. Among other things, they told me that he shot at the teacher in the public school the week before but struck the clock over her head and sent the teacher and pupils flying out of the room. I decided to put [Cory] in the front row of seats right in front of my desk in order that he couldn’t see what was going on in back of him. When it came to reciting [Cory], of course, had never studied Catechism, but by the time he finished, which occupied the two months of school vacation, he knew more that when he began. I had him repeat the answers after I had said them first, then he would look around at the boys as much as to say, “Didn’t I do well?” All the time I was teaching that first day, I was trying to think out what to do with him when school was dismissed. A bright thought came to me, and before I dismissed the class, I said, “[Cory], these children are a perfect nuisance the way they stay around and annoy the sisters nearly all day instead of going home. Will you please see they do not loiter around and that the grounds are cleared as soon as they are dismissed?” The venture proved a great success. [Cory] saw to it that there were no loiterers around the school until the instruction school closed for that summer. I told him too that if he would chop some wood for the sisters, we would give him his dinner. We burnt no coal - it was too expensive. From then on, he chopped all the wood. True to his reputation, however, he still had the “wild west” in his make-up. On one occasion when two sisters went to do some shopping and the street was blockaded. [Cory] was attacking a driver of a big mule wagon, but when they saw the two sisters they said, “Cheese it, [Cory], the sisters.” When he heard this, he flew and the poor driver jumped up on his seat and drove away not from fear of the sisters, but with fear and dread of [Cory]…. I have often reverted in memory to those days and know from experience that the boys were the soul of honor. They had no such dissipations as the boys who lived in cities. The school was visited daily by a Priest who possessed every quality of a model priest. He volunteered when ordained in Ireland to come to the “wild west.” I can recall the time when he would come into the room and say, “[Lawrence], what were you doing on your way to school this morning?” Lawrence would answer, “I was ‘rocking’ Jimmie McMurchey’s cabin.” Even in my time, old miners lived in old shambles on the mountain side, for there were no women they could marry in mining days and preferred to remain bachelors till the Lord called them to Himself. “Why were you ‘rocking’ the cabin”, the Priest would say. “I’ll tell you, Father. When he sees us coming, he comes out and curses and swears at us.” Father would turn his back on the class and face my desk and with a suppressed smile would say, “Don’t forget Lawrence, you’ll be old yourself some day.” 6 �And again, [Pat], whose forebears came from the land of saints and scholars, was absent one morning from school, much to my surprise, for he was a regular attendant. When he finally came, he said, “Sister, I was sick this morning”. I took it for granted he was telling the truth, but later he came to tell me that he had told me a lie. Instead of coming to school in the morning he had gone into the tunnel to enjoy a smoke and fell asleep. When he woke up it was too late for school. I commended him highly for telling the truth, but added, “Do your parents know that you smoke?” He said, “No”. “Well,” said I, “God was good to you for you might have been brought home to them mangled to pieces when they supposed you were in school”. The tunnels had but one track used for dumping the earth after the ore was extracted. I’m sure he believed me and never tried it again. I took care of my own classroom but was never permitted to sweep it when any of the boys were around. On one occasion I complained of papers on the floor and appointed a monitor to make a list of the delinquents. One day my own name headed the list. I called the class to order, made a most humble apology and told them I hoped it would never happen again. “Them days have gone forever.” I know there were many sisters who preceded me who, if they were still living, could write more than I ever could of those days spent in Virginia City, Nevada. While I was never down in a mine, I think I knew quite as much as if I had been for I had to listen to everything that interested the boys. May those days ever be a lesson to me in many ways, those days when I lived so near to God and my duty. [Editor’s Note: On page 4, Sister Raphael writes that Mark Twain was the first editor of the Virginia City Chronicle which seems inaccurate; but he was definitely a writer for the Territorial Enterprise. On page 5, she indicates that Father Manogue had been a miner in Viriginia City; he had been miner in California.] 7 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Creagh, Sister Raphael D.C., "Memories of Virginia City", Memoir Subject The topic of the resource "Creagh, Sister Raphael, D.C. Virginia City, NV Silver mining St. Mary’s School and Orphan Asylum Manogue, Reverend Patrick St. Marie Louise Hospital Silver kings Mackey, John Description An account of the resource In October of 1864, three sisters left San Francisco and journeyed by steamer, train and stage to Virginia City, Nevada Territory where they founded St. Mary’s School & Asylum and later St. Marie Louise Hospital in 1875. After more than three decades, the sisters withdrew from these works in Virginia City and left Nevada only to return in the 1950s to found St. Theresa’s School in Carson City. In her 1937 memoir, Sister Raphael Creagh shares her memories of Virginia City. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Creagh, Sister Raphael, D.C. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Daughters of Charity, Province of the West Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1937 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gainey, Sister Margaret Ann (Editor) Marca, Nicole (Editor) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource "Copyright 2020 Daughters of Charity Seton Provincialate Los Altos Hills, CA" Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Paper PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Document Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DCLosAltos_Memories of Virginia City by Sister Raphael Creagh.pdf Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Virginia City, Nevada 1891-1897 Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul Education