Ursuline Sisterhood saying goodbye

By Brian McCauley, bmccauley@miconews.com

A statue of Saint Angela Merici, who founded the Order of the Ursulines in 1535, tending to a child stands prominently in front of the motherhouse in Paola. (Photo by Brian McCauley)

The sound of footsteps echoing throughout the majestic motherhouse still can be heard, but not as loud. Sisters still can be seen walking around the perfectly manicured campus, but not as often. And women still call the boarding rooms home, but not nearly as many.

The Ursuline Sisters of Paola are slowly fading, and Superior Sister Kathleen Condry knows it.

“There are simply too few of us to continue to maintain this large facility,” Condry said in a recent news release. “We have chosen the most life-giving option.”

That option is to merge the Paola sisterhood with an Ursuline community in Maple Mount, Kentucky, which, like Paola’s sisters, branched off from the Louisville Ursuline community more than 125 years ago.

The decision did not come easily for Condry or her fellow sisters, who have watched the convent lose about half its sisters over the past decade with few new recruits. Today, the Ursuline Sisters are down to 24, with only 18 living in the large convent in the heart of Paola.

“Our median age is 78, and the youngest of us is 54,” Condry said in a letter mailed last week to selected community members. “Increasingly, our energies and resources are directed towards sustaining a facility rather than our active ministries.”

Sisters from both convents already have been making trips back and forth to create a relationship, but the decision to merge has not officially been made. Condry said the Ursuline Sisters in Paola already have unanimously voted to merge, but the Maple Mount Ursulines will vote in July. If their vote also is to merge, the matter would then be presented to the Vatican in Rome for formal approval.

The merger is anticipated to be formally announced in January 2009, and the Ursuline Sisters’ goal is to close the motherhouse by May 2010, Condry said.

Although using the Paola convent as a satellite facility was briefly discussed, the sisters quickly realized that it would not be feasible to maintain it. Condry said the sisters are in the process of looking for a buyer for the convent and 36.5-acre grounds fronting Wea and Miami streets.

“It is our hope that the convent and grounds, as well as our tradition of spirituality and hospitality, will be used by others in new and vital ways,” Condry said.

Improvements to the motherhouse in 2000, such as the addition of private bathrooms to the rooms and making the building compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, could make it more appealing to potential buyers.

But the sale brings up a number of questions, including what will happen to the K-State Research and Extension Office, which recently moved into Monica Hall on the campus, as well as the Master Gardeners, who currently tend to the grounds on the campus.

Condry said maintaining stability of current services will be a priority, but many of the questions cannot be answered for sure until a potential buyer is found for the property.

Regardless of who the new owner is, the sale would mark the end of an Ursuline community that has been a staple in Paola for 113 years. In 1896, Ursuline Academy opened its doors to children as well as becoming a boarding school for high-school-level girls. It operated for more than 70 years before closing its doors in 1971.

The Ursuline Sisters have remained a part of the Paola community, though, teaching people with disabilities at Lakemary Center, a school they helped create. Some sisters also have taught at other Catholic schools in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

The sisters are now hoping that their talents can be utilized in Kentucky, where they also will have access to an infirmary as the group ages.

“We have prayerfully considered this matter,” Condry said. “We hope that you will continue to stand beside us as we become part of a larger and more active ministry.”