Sisters of Loretto formed Webster's foundation
By: Stephanie Kiszczak
Issue date: 4/20/06 Section: LifeStyle
While a religious congregation no longer runs the university, Webster still has ties to its founding mothers, the Sisters of Loretto. Several sisters continue to work at Webster, while others are scattered across the globe.
But who are the Sisters of Loretto and why did they found a university in the first place? In the early 1800s, Father Charles Nerinckx was spreading the word of God and helping others. His work attracted admirers Mary Rhodes, Christina Stuart and Nancy Havern, who approached Nerinckx and asked for his help in professing their vows and becoming sisters. Thus, the Sisters of Loretto were founded in Kentucky in 1812.
The Sisters wanted to educate youth, so they left Kentucky and headed westward as pioneers, establishing schools as they traveled. They found themselves in Webster Groves, where the Sisters began groundwork for a Catholic women's college. The Sisters of Loretto founded Loretto College in 1915, which later became Webster College.
Joining the sisterhood
The Sisters didn't limit themselves to teaching - they took their work with them all over the country helping others.
Sister Rosalie Marie Phillips said the idea of "join the convent, see the world," was what perked her interest in the Sisters of Loretto. She became a sister in 1931 and has since been in the sisterhood for 75 years. Phillips is also a 1954 graduate of Webster College.
Phillips, along with Sisters Barbara Ann Barbato and Carina Vetter, all share a similar view of what it takes to be a sister of Loretto.
"Mostly an American woman who wishes to give herself to bringing knowledge to the needy wherever she finds them," Phillips said on behalf of the three sisters. "Knowledge about God, his love and care of each and every person, and his wish to have all persons share his love for eternity."
Sister Barbato, who graduated from Webster College in 1952, said she knew at a young age that she was destined to be a Sister of Loretto.
"I knew I was going to be a sister from around somewhere in the fourth grade," Barbato said.
Upon graduating from Webster, Barbato joined the convent in Nerinx, Ky., often referred to as the "motherhouse" by the Sisters of Loretto, and began her mission to become a sister. After she was accepted into the sisterhood, Barbato spent time teaching in Missouri and Mobile, Ala. She eventually settled in St. Louis, where she taught three years at Nerinx Hall High School and then at Webster, where she spent 35 years teaching in various departments, including business, education, behavioral sciences and history, politics and international relations. However, Barbato never bid farewell to Webster - she is currently a professor emeritus and has been finding time to help out with senior overviews.
Jacqueline Grennan Wexler, then Sister Jacqueline, who graduated from Webster College in 1948, also grew up with strong ties to the Sisters of Loretto.
"I've been educated by the Sisters of Loretto since I was six years old," Grennan Wexler said.
After graduation, Grennan Wexler went on to the novitiate for two and a half years to become a Sister of Loretto. If aspiring nuns had not yet gone to college when they entered the knavish, they were educated at the undergraduate level there, Grennan Wexler said. Once a sister, Grennan Wexler's first assignment was to teach at Loretto Academy in El Paso, Texas. After three and half years in El Paso, Grennan Wexler transferred to Nerinx Hall High School in Webster Groves, Mo., where she taught for five years.
It wasn't long, however, before Grennan Wexler became the assistant to Sister Francetta Barberis, then-president of Webster College. After Sister Francetta retired in 1965 and went to work for the Job Corp in Washington, Grennan Wexler took over as
president.
Handing over Webster College
In her role as president of Webster College, Grennan Wexler, along with other Sisters of Loretto who served as faculty, advocated for the school to be transferred to a lay board of directors and be released from operation of the Sisters of Loretto.
A chapter in "More Than A Renewal: Loretto Before and After Vatican II (1952-1977)" by Sister Helen Sanders, former academic dean of Webster College, outlined three main reasons for the transfer of ownership of the college. The Sisters of Loretto were having difficulty financing a college as higher education was becoming more expensive. The sisters proposed the idea of transferring Webster College to a lay board of directors, which would have complete control of the college.
The lay board was a "mixed board," which consisted of members outside of the congregation as well as a couple of sisters, but control of the college was completely separate from the Catholic church. Another reason for the Sisters of Loretto handing over the college in 1967 was the growing need for college faculty and personnel. Sisters served as administrators and faculty, but there were not enough sisters to staff a growing college.
Grennan Wexler finished her term as president in 1969 and asked to be dispensed of her vows.
"I never regretted the decision," Grennan Wexler said. "I knew I had to make it."
From there, Grennan Wexler married and took a job at Hunter College in New York, where she stayed for 10 years. She now lives in Florida with her husband, Paul.
Comparing past to present
Times have changed since Barbato, Phillips and Vetter attended Webster. The Winifred Moore was once a chapel and plays were held outdoors by the music building.
"I cleaned many a pew there in the morning," Barbato said.
Vetter also said she was impressed with Emerson Library.
"Quite different than the library I worked in when I was there that year," Vetter said.
Despite the many changes the university has seen over the years, some things have stayed the same. Barbato said Webster College began as a working class school with a solid academic reputation.
"There weren't all that many rich kids," Vetter said.
Anna Barbara Sakurai remembers what Webster was like when the school first opened. A former Sister of Loretto for 22 years, Sakurai began teaching at Webster in the 1970s. Sakurai is one of many co-members in the Sisters of Loretto. Co-membership is granted to those who left the sisterhood but still want to be a part of the Sisters of Loretto or for those who follow the same morals as the sisters, but do not profess vows.
"I'm associated with the congregation of the Sisters of Loretto, but I do not have vows," said Sakurai, a professor in the math and computer science department at Webster.
Currently, the Sisters of Loretto's main focus is not restricted to education. Sisters volunteer at battered women's shelters and help young children in the inner city, in addition to other projects.
"Today, a Sister of Loretto can do anything that in her conscious she feels is the right thing to do," Sakurai said. "They do anything and everything."
Grennan Wexler feels that although few sisters remain at Webster, the Sisters of Loretto will always be an important part of the university.
"The Sisters of Loretto were a very pioneering group and I think that spirit is still alive in the college," Grennan Wexler said.
But who are the Sisters of Loretto and why did they found a university in the first place? In the early 1800s, Father Charles Nerinckx was spreading the word of God and helping others. His work attracted admirers Mary Rhodes, Christina Stuart and Nancy Havern, who approached Nerinckx and asked for his help in professing their vows and becoming sisters. Thus, the Sisters of Loretto were founded in Kentucky in 1812.
The Sisters wanted to educate youth, so they left Kentucky and headed westward as pioneers, establishing schools as they traveled. They found themselves in Webster Groves, where the Sisters began groundwork for a Catholic women's college. The Sisters of Loretto founded Loretto College in 1915, which later became Webster College.
Joining the sisterhood
The Sisters didn't limit themselves to teaching - they took their work with them all over the country helping others.
Sister Rosalie Marie Phillips said the idea of "join the convent, see the world," was what perked her interest in the Sisters of Loretto. She became a sister in 1931 and has since been in the sisterhood for 75 years. Phillips is also a 1954 graduate of Webster College.
Phillips, along with Sisters Barbara Ann Barbato and Carina Vetter, all share a similar view of what it takes to be a sister of Loretto.
"Mostly an American woman who wishes to give herself to bringing knowledge to the needy wherever she finds them," Phillips said on behalf of the three sisters. "Knowledge about God, his love and care of each and every person, and his wish to have all persons share his love for eternity."
Sister Barbato, who graduated from Webster College in 1952, said she knew at a young age that she was destined to be a Sister of Loretto.
"I knew I was going to be a sister from around somewhere in the fourth grade," Barbato said.
Upon graduating from Webster, Barbato joined the convent in Nerinx, Ky., often referred to as the "motherhouse" by the Sisters of Loretto, and began her mission to become a sister. After she was accepted into the sisterhood, Barbato spent time teaching in Missouri and Mobile, Ala. She eventually settled in St. Louis, where she taught three years at Nerinx Hall High School and then at Webster, where she spent 35 years teaching in various departments, including business, education, behavioral sciences and history, politics and international relations. However, Barbato never bid farewell to Webster - she is currently a professor emeritus and has been finding time to help out with senior overviews.
Jacqueline Grennan Wexler, then Sister Jacqueline, who graduated from Webster College in 1948, also grew up with strong ties to the Sisters of Loretto.
"I've been educated by the Sisters of Loretto since I was six years old," Grennan Wexler said.
After graduation, Grennan Wexler went on to the novitiate for two and a half years to become a Sister of Loretto. If aspiring nuns had not yet gone to college when they entered the knavish, they were educated at the undergraduate level there, Grennan Wexler said. Once a sister, Grennan Wexler's first assignment was to teach at Loretto Academy in El Paso, Texas. After three and half years in El Paso, Grennan Wexler transferred to Nerinx Hall High School in Webster Groves, Mo., where she taught for five years.
It wasn't long, however, before Grennan Wexler became the assistant to Sister Francetta Barberis, then-president of Webster College. After Sister Francetta retired in 1965 and went to work for the Job Corp in Washington, Grennan Wexler took over as
president.
Handing over Webster College
In her role as president of Webster College, Grennan Wexler, along with other Sisters of Loretto who served as faculty, advocated for the school to be transferred to a lay board of directors and be released from operation of the Sisters of Loretto.
A chapter in "More Than A Renewal: Loretto Before and After Vatican II (1952-1977)" by Sister Helen Sanders, former academic dean of Webster College, outlined three main reasons for the transfer of ownership of the college. The Sisters of Loretto were having difficulty financing a college as higher education was becoming more expensive. The sisters proposed the idea of transferring Webster College to a lay board of directors, which would have complete control of the college.
The lay board was a "mixed board," which consisted of members outside of the congregation as well as a couple of sisters, but control of the college was completely separate from the Catholic church. Another reason for the Sisters of Loretto handing over the college in 1967 was the growing need for college faculty and personnel. Sisters served as administrators and faculty, but there were not enough sisters to staff a growing college.
Grennan Wexler finished her term as president in 1969 and asked to be dispensed of her vows.
"I never regretted the decision," Grennan Wexler said. "I knew I had to make it."
From there, Grennan Wexler married and took a job at Hunter College in New York, where she stayed for 10 years. She now lives in Florida with her husband, Paul.
Comparing past to present
Times have changed since Barbato, Phillips and Vetter attended Webster. The Winifred Moore was once a chapel and plays were held outdoors by the music building.
"I cleaned many a pew there in the morning," Barbato said.
Vetter also said she was impressed with Emerson Library.
"Quite different than the library I worked in when I was there that year," Vetter said.
Despite the many changes the university has seen over the years, some things have stayed the same. Barbato said Webster College began as a working class school with a solid academic reputation.
"There weren't all that many rich kids," Vetter said.
Anna Barbara Sakurai remembers what Webster was like when the school first opened. A former Sister of Loretto for 22 years, Sakurai began teaching at Webster in the 1970s. Sakurai is one of many co-members in the Sisters of Loretto. Co-membership is granted to those who left the sisterhood but still want to be a part of the Sisters of Loretto or for those who follow the same morals as the sisters, but do not profess vows.
"I'm associated with the congregation of the Sisters of Loretto, but I do not have vows," said Sakurai, a professor in the math and computer science department at Webster.
Currently, the Sisters of Loretto's main focus is not restricted to education. Sisters volunteer at battered women's shelters and help young children in the inner city, in addition to other projects.
"Today, a Sister of Loretto can do anything that in her conscious she feels is the right thing to do," Sakurai said. "They do anything and everything."
Grennan Wexler feels that although few sisters remain at Webster, the Sisters of Loretto will always be an important part of the university.
"The Sisters of Loretto were a very pioneering group and I think that spirit is still alive in the college," Grennan Wexler said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Marilyn Markey
posted 3/25/07 @ 1:31 AM CST
Enjoyed this informative article very much. Had read the TIME MAGAZINE articles about Jacequeline Grennan, now Wexler years ago. Researched her name on "Google". (Continued…)
Erin Cavanaugh
posted 3/30/07 @ 8:58 AM CST
NUNS OF THE WORLD:
Hello. I really am skeptical about what I wanted to do when I get older. Than I thought, Hey, I LOVE GOD. I pray 24-7 and am quite the giving person. (Continued…)
Frank Galmish
posted 10/11/09 @ 1:21 PM CST
So typical of recent years from the Sisters of Loretto was the letter published in The Denver Post of 10/11/09 by Sisters Mary Ann Doyle and Mary Ann Cunningham. (Continued…)
Post a Comment