Committee on Finance City Council Meeting, July 6, 2011 Alderman Brendan Reilly, 42nd Ward
Resolution
Congratulations extended to the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago on their 150th Anniversary
Whereas, August 23, 2011, marks the anniversary of three shy and weary Sisters (32 year old Sister Frances Knapp, 20 year old Sister Antonia Herman, and Sister Gonzaga) on Lake Shore Michigan train on August 23, 1861; and
Whereas, Sister Frances Knapp, only in America for six years served as the little community's superior for a year; and
Whereas, Mother Nepomucene, recorded to be the first prioress of the community, arrived in 1862, inaugurated the novitiate, and established a well disciplined community modeled on the Eichstatt, Bavaria tradition; and
Whereas, with the help of the Benedictine Fathers from St. Vincent Abbey, the Sisters settled into St. Joseph school and one-room convent located in a small frame house behind the church at Chicago Avenue and Cass Street (now Wabash Avenu); and
Whereas, despite the poverty to be found everywhere in the growing city, they managed to do much for the Church and school in a short time; and
Whereas, the young community grew rapidly, having twelve members by 1866, and opened St. Joseph Academy for girls; and
Whereas, in March of 1870, at age 26, Sr. Theresa Krug became the first elected prioress; and
Whereas, in the great Chicago Fire on October 8, 1871, the uninsured Sisters lost their home, school and every article they possessed and were provided temporary refuge by Notre Dame Sisters and Madames of the Sacred Heart until they left Chicago to stay at Benedictine houses in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; and
Whereas, Mother Theresa after appealing for funds from communities across the country, soon returned with her Sisters to continue their ministry, and resumed teaching at the new parish school in September 1972; and
Whereas, on July 1, 1872, the Illinois State legislature approved the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago as a lawfully orga...
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