Last Christmas 1000 limited edition copies of our 175th
anniversary book Educating the Mind and Heart: Visitation Academy
1833-2008 by Sister Marie Therese Ruthman, V.H.M.and Fr. William
Faherty, S.J. were published. As of October 1, 2009 only 265
out of the 1000 copies of the book remain. If you have put off
your purchase of this unique book, you still have the opportunity to
own it.
Sr Marie Therese has actively participated in the events of the last
60 years that she writes about, and we know that you will enjoy this
celebration of the past the foretaste of the future.
To purchase:
Send a check tor $45. made out to the
Monastery of the Visitation to Sr. Marie Therese Ruthmann
3020 N. Ballas Rd. St
Louis, MO 63131 and your copy will be mailed to you.
Our Heavenly Visitation
Three of our Sisters have died during the 2008-2009 school
year.. Sr Roberta Huffman went home to God on September
11th, 2008. Sr Anne Madeleine Godefroy returned to God on
October 28, 2008. Sr Mary Josephine Reau entered eternal
life on March 12, 2009. We Sisters mourn their passing yet
rejoice that they have attained eternal life. Below are
their biographies.
Please also pray for vocations that our Sisters may continue to be actively involved in the future of the Visitation Academy in St. Louis.
Sister Mary Roberta Huffman V.H.M. R.I.P.
Sister Roberta went home to God on September 11, 2008 at the
age of 91. She had entered the Monastery of the Visitation
in Georgetown D.C. where she became head of school. In the
early 1970's the St Louis Visitation asked Sister to become the
principal during a difficult transition period. Later in
that same decade Sister transferred permanently to the St. Louis
Visitation where she served in many different areas. She
was a board member of the St. Jane Center. our outreach among the
disadvantaged. But in time Sister's ministry became
restricted to greeting the people who came to our chapel for the
Sunday Liturgies. She befriended everyone she met and all
who met her treasured her friendship.
Just a few months before her death, one of her
former students from 30 plus years ago in Georgetown came to
visit her. Her nephew, David, stopped to see her whenever
he was in the area. All who knew her mourn her
passing but rejoice that she has attained eternal life.
Sister Anne Madeleine Godefroy V.H.M. R.I.P.
Sister Anne Madeleine began as a boarding school
student here at St. Louis Visitation in the mid 1930's. She
entered the community after high school and was very successful
in teaching the little children. She opened the first
Montessori school in the St. Louis area in 1963. In 1971
she was elected superior of the community. Since then,
Sister had been in leadership roles until just months before her
death. In 1996 she was elected president of the Second
Federation of the Visitation in the U.S.A. She served in
that capacity until mid-June 2008. Meanwhile Sister
frequently was also the superior of the community and was
responsible for the founding of the ACF, an organization
entrusted with the future of the Academy, and of
the Associates program, a community of lay people
committed to the Visitation charism and to the spread of Salesian
spirituality in our world. Sister also supervised the
renovation of our monastery and initiated a realistic long range
plan for our Sisters. We miss Sister but are happy for her
to be with our saints in heaven. Fittingly her funeral Mass
was on November 1st, All Saints Day. Please pray for her
and for us.
Sister Mary Josephine Reau V.H.M. R.I.P.
Margaret Marie Reau was born March 18, 1016
in Duluth Minnesota, the youngest and only daughter in a
family of three children. During World Was II Margaret
joined the WACs on August 25, 1943 and served twenty months
in Italy. Her most memorable experiences there were
seeing Pope Pius XII and Padre Pio. Her connection with
her "WAC buddies" continued throughout her life. After
the death of her father and older brother she attended a
commercial art school in Chicago. She then worked in
advertising studios both in Chicago and in Milwaukee
Margaret was well into her 40's when she
entered our community on September 8, 1958.
She received the habit on April 25, 1959
with the name of Sr Mary Josephine. A year later she
was professed and three years later celebrated her final
profession. For ten years she taught art to the grade
school students. Her art is everywhere adding beauty to our
monastery. Then the slow loss of her sight curtailed her
activities and triggered again a tendency to depression which was
a real cross for her. Congestive heart failure also wore
her down and she was put on hospice care. On March 12, 2009
she went home to God, just six days shprt of her 93rd birthday.
We ask you to say a prayer for her and for us ..
