A Night Honoring the Sisters of the Holy Cross

Every five years, representatives from the Sisters of the Holy Cross global community convene for two weeks for a series of meetings and gatherings known as the General Chapter. 

On Thursday, July 11, Chapter members were invited to Saint Mary’s College for a reception and dinner with the executive team and Board of Trustees of the College. Sisters, College staff, students, and lay persons all gathered in Le Mans Hall to share conversation and gratitude for this shared community of friendship and cooperation.

To honor the special relationship between the Sisters and the College, the Congregation gifted President Katie Conboy with a stained glass piece containing the French cross and the words Spes Unica. This phrase was chosen intentionally, as it is both the theme of the 2024 General Chapter and the motto of Saint Mary’s College. It means “one hope” and refers to the hope that lies in the cross.

The gesture carries on a long tradition of gifting stained glass that began with Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau, who gave the Congregation the beautiful stained glass window of the Annunciation situated at the entrance of the Church of Our Lady of Loretto.

“Tonight, we Sisters of the Holy Cross have found hope in a past that embraces Saint Mary’s College as our first institutional sponsored Ministry,” said Sister Veronique Wiedower ’70, CSC, president of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, in presenting the gift to President Conboy. “Founded in 1844, it has offered education to women and continues to do so today. It does so by continuing to find hope in the present where higher education, and especially education for women, is not a right enjoyed by all women around the world.”

In her remarks, President Conboy thanked the Sisters for their continued guidance and support of Saint Mary’s. “The presence of the Sisters of the Holy Cross on this campus is a blessing to all of us,” she said. “The Sisters have always focused on reading the signs of the times and responding to them. You have never hesitated to take on the big challenges that have presented themselves in every era.”

Conboy spoke about the role the College plays in furthering this charge. “We take pride in doing our part to awaken the passions and intellects of these students and to accompany them as they wrestle with the complexities of thinking, speaking, working, and serving."

Learn more here about the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

July 18, 2024