LCWR Creates an Exhibit on the Contributions of
Catholic Sisters to US History
LCWR has mounted an exhibit on the rich history and contributions of Catholic sisters in the United States. Through photographs, artifacts and documentary material drawn from the archives of many congregations, this exhibit, entitled "Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America, tells how sisters played a vital role in shaping American life from before the earliest days of the republic and throughout its history.
The exhibit is currently booked at the following locations:
Smithsonian-International Gallery
in the Dillon Ripley Center
Washington, DC
January 15, 2010 - April 25, 2010
Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage Cleveland, Ohio
May 9, 2010 - August 28, 2010
Statue of Liberty National Monument/Ellis Island Immigration Museum
New York City
September 24, 2010 - January 22, 2011
Mississippi River Museum
Dubuque, Iowa
February - April 2011
Center for History
South Bend, Indiana
September 2, 2011 - December 31, 2011
Information on additional sites will be posted when available.
Scenes from Opening of Exhibit Cincinnati History Museum
Introductory panel welcoming visitors to
"Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in Amercia"
Visitors can watch a video that introduces them to the life of Catholic sisters and their historic contributions to the nation
"Women & Spirit" showcases numerous artifacts which have never before been on public display
Items assembled include traveling trunks, journals of immigration experiences, pioneering healthcare devices, diaries, samplers, musical instruments, student work, and ephemera associated with a number of saints.
The Foundling Home of the New York Sisters of Charity is among the many ministries of Catholic sisters featured in the exhibit
Visitors can learn more about the historic and contemporary contributions of Catholic sisters through seven videos provided throughout the exhibit
The exhibit is based on a modular system composed of rich content printed on birch walls and enhanced by interpretive media
Several donors attended the opening of the exhibit in Cincinnati, including Srs. Mary Caritas, SP and Kathleen Popko, SP shown here visiting the section sponsored by Catholic Health East
The "Signs of the Times" section is designed to help the public understand how religious helped shape the country and how the the country helped shape religious life
The exhibit tells how Catholic sisters established the nation's largest private school system, educating millions of young Americans
The contemporary works of women religious are featured throughout the exhibit
The exhibit features a listing of the names of all congregations that were in existence in the United States in 2008
LCWR president elect Marlene Weisenbeck, FSPA searches for her congregation on the listing of names
A committee of women religious from the Cincinnati region organized a section of the exhibit dedicated to the congregations of that area
LCWR president J Lora Dambroski, OSF led the visitors in prayer at the reception at the Cincinnati History Museum on May 15, 2009
Douglass W. McDonald, president and CEO of the Cincinnati Museum Center, spoke at the opening reception of the exhibit's pride in caring for these historic materials as the institution of record and exhibit registrar.
LCWR History Committee chair Helen Maher Garvey, BVM presented the story on the creation and mounting of the exhibit
Members of the LCWR History Committee tour the exhibit prior to its opening: Mary Dacey, SSJ; Jane Burke, SSND; Helen Maher Garvey, BVM; Karen Kennelly, CSJ; Barbara Hagedorn, SC (chair of the Cincinnati exhibit committee); Annmarie Sanders, IHM; Carole Shinnick, SSND; Barbara Cervenka, OP; Mary Charlotte Chandler, RSCJ; and Constance Phelps, SCL
