I am curious about where a certain order "went."

Their name was "The Dominican Sisters of Bethany"
Their apostolate was to visit women in prison and they also accepted women into community who had been in prison.
Their was a book written called, "Ten for Sorrow, Five for Joy." It gave some insight into the life.

I heard a rumor that they went back to France.

I would like to see them come back or someone else start a similar community (Hint, Gemma).

I also saw an ad in a Vision vocation magazine for the Dominican Brothers of Bethany.

Just wondering.

About 18 years ago they were all called back to France. They had about 7 in the novitiate in MA at the time. Two of the American sisters finally decided to come to the US and entered the Dominican Nuns in West Springfield, Ma. From what I hear they aren't doing too well in France.

Rumor Godden wrote a novel about them called "Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy"

I don't know about the Dominican Brothers of Bethany. There is a 3rd Order group out in CA that is for deaf vocations.

That was quick.

I love how I read the book and still managed to get the title wrong.

I wish they would come back, their apostolate was unique.
Well, maybe not unique...unique. But hopeful and needed.

Thank you Sister.

Gemma,Get the book Convent Life by Joan Lescaux.You can fid it on ebay if you go to books and type in nuns. They listed two communities I believe of that name.One from France,and one from Holland.Both did the same type of work. And both are no longer here.
There are several different orders listed in that book who either disbanded ,joined other communities,or returned to there home country.The Franciscan Sisters of Chicago,formerly called the Franciscan Sisters of Blessed Kugunda(she was a polish saint) were founded by Mother Mary Elizabeth Hilbert and a couple of her fellow companions.They Belonged to the Sisters of Charity of St.Charles Borromeo.When the sisters were recalled back to Poland,Mother Hilbert and her companions stayed and formed a new group.By the way the Sisters of Charity of St.Charles Borromeo are back in the US in Virginia i believe. There is also a Dutch order called the Ladies of Bethany in I think the Diocese of Pittsburgh,PA.
The Sisters of Our Lady of LaSalette joined with the Sisters of St.Martha of St.Hyacinth,Canada.They do domestic work in seminaries and otherwise assist priests.There were also listed in the book two communities in Canada dedicated to St.Joan of Arc.One was english speaking and the other french speaking. The Sisters of St.Joan of Arc are in the US and do work at a college or university in Mass.
The Society of Christ Our King in Danville,West Virgina? are no more.But the Sister Servants of Christ the King in Wisconsin are still here.Two Italina communities I wrote to years ago,The Oblate Sisters of the Church and the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Side or Sacred Wounds of Jesus are not here anymore.One was in Fort Worth,the other in Dallas.There was also an English community called the Vocationist Sister,who are mentioned in the book Nun,by Marcella Bernstein who where in your neck of the woods but i think went home to England.I'm not sure if the Sisters of Charity of the Holy Child Mary are still in California.

Gemma,do you know what ever happend to the Daughters of St.Rita of the Immaculate Heart of Mary? They were in Versailles Ky or Walton Ky,butcan't find them anymore.They were mentioned in the book Convent Life.I wonder if they joined with the Sisters of St.Joseph the Worker?
They were I understand founded by some Sisters of Charity of Nazareth,Ky an order my late cousin Sister John Edna belonged to in Little Rock,Ark.

I'm not sure what happened to the Daughters of St. Rita.

I know the Srs of St Joseph the Worker were founded by former SCNs.

If Cloister Outreach isn't informed of a community's status, we're not "in the know." I don't have the personnel or the resources to look these things up. I did in college and before marrying because classes and work didn't take 24/7.

Blessings,
Gemma

I have the email address for the Sisters of St.Joseph so may contact them out of curiosity.The Daughters of St.Rita may have joined with them or some other group possibly.

Hello,

I just read your post tonight and thought I would mention that two of the sisters who were members of the Dominican Sisters of Bethany began their own community in the early 1990s after the French Dominicans of Bethany closed the US houses. Sister Renata and Martin Dominic (who were in the Massachusetts house for 25 years) first briefly joined European communities after the US houses were closed, but then received permission to split off and form their own. Their order is the Community of the Resurrection ( http://w3.ime.net/~sisterop/ ).

I don't think their web page has been updated in a while, but I know their order is small but still active. In fact, I believe they just had two postulants join this spring. Sister Martin Dominic kept active in her prison apostolate until health issues prevented her continuing (she's in her mid-80s I believe).

Thanks for the reference. I remember coming across their website, which is very nice.

I hope that they can recruit and continue on. I am sorry that they were called back to France. Having 7 in formation is not bad...They all look much older now....

Gemma, what ever happend to the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Prairies in Powers Lake North Dakota? I seem to recall their vocational ad in Our Sunday Visitor some years ago.
I'm not sure if the sisters were associated with the controverisal Shrine of Our Lady of the Prairies.
Seems there was a problem with some priest running the place.There is info on it on the net.

But i can't find anything on the sisters.I think they were affiliated with the Franciscans like the Sisters Disciples of Jesus Our Lord in texas are. The Disciples are still around and keep growing.

I've come across their website before and noted how it seemed to be slightly outdated. But they have postulants?! Is their spirituality Dominican or something else? I too have read about the Dominicans of Bethany and have enjoyed this thread and would love to know more about this US "branch."

Yes, they have two postulants and, yes, their spirituality is Dominican. Their Easter 2007 newsletter had a paragraph about the postulants: "We have some great news to tell. On February 2nd we received two new members into the Community, Christine and Rizza. They started their formation with great zeal, and we hope and pray that they will persevere in their intent. Keep them and us in your prayers." So, please do remember them in your prayers!

I visited their convent once and it is a beautiful place. They live in an old farmhouse and have created a beautiful chapel on the first floor. The surrounding woods and mountains are absolutely wonderful -- but, then, I'm from the flat part of Illinois, so mountains are, for me, an awe inspiring thing to see. Sister Renata was a pro at splitting wood to warm the convent in winter -- she kept my friend and I busy stacking the wood pile!

Sure wish they would update their website...but perhaps they do not have access to someone with that skill, or perhaps time is taken up with other things. The Easter newsletter mentioned that Sister Rosalie made over 160 fruitcake orders this winter, and that Sister Ann had her hip replaced. The sisters have a variety of ways to support themselves, including a dog kennel business. Sister Martin presses flowers and makes note cards out of them. They have several apostolates. I think their primary one right now is an outreach to women in need, giving them guidance and a place to stay. They also have spiritual meetings for people who are interested. They hope to continue their prison apostoalte with new/younger members of the community.

I only know a little bit about them, and I hope I'm not mis-speaking about the community. If you are at all interested in finding out about them, please write Sister Renata. I know she would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

I've had an envelope addressed to her for a week now, and I finally wrote the card and am about to put it in the mail. I'll update this thread if I get anything exciting in the mail from her!

They disbanded in 1990 or there abouts. I visited them in 89. It was all before all the "Current' controversy.
They lived Franciscan poverty but I really disliked that they prayed the whole office in English (pre Vat II) recto tono!

I heard that many went to other Orders. I think some went to the Carmelites in CO

Thanks Gemma for the information.Do you know why they disbanded? I'm just curious.

The Sisters of Charity of Zams,Austria amalgameted with the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady,Mother of the Church in the 1970s.It was just their house in Wisconsin that did so.In fact I think that Wisconsin was their only convent here in America.
There was a community named the Catechist Missionary Sisters of St.John in the Austin,Texas diocese years ago,but don't recall seeing them listed on the diocese website.
Have to get downtown one of these days to the San Antonio Public Library and look at the Catholic Directory tocheck some things out.Some diocese websites I found don't always list the religious communities in the diocese.

First I'd heard of them.

Thanks, Sister, for answering for me!

Blessings,
Gemma

Since I deal mostly with the cloisters, I hadn't expended a lot of energy on the active orders--esp after all the discernment I did during college.

Perhaps Sr. Mary Catharine would know?

Blessings,
Gemma

I think it was a number of factors. Their school had closed and they had lost a number of sisters not too much before I visited. Fr. Nelson, who was their founder had died and I think they didn't have anyone to step in his shoes and continue to guide the community. Also, they had a small rest home: St Olav's and the government passed new laws and they didn't have the money to make their little place up to code.

At the time I visited they had about 12 sisters. I used to laugh at their advertisements: Blue Franciscans: that's our habit not our faces!

They were really out in the middle of no where and as this was pre-Internet they were quite isolated.

Sr. Pia Elisabeth OP is the current Prioress General of the Dominicaines de Bethanie; she is a German-speaking Catholic of Swiss origin, and her home convent of Bethanien in Sankt Niklausen, Obwalden, Switzerland, is still going. The foundations in Italy, Belgium, Austria, and Slovenia were closed. In France, the few foundations which remain active, include:
Montferrand-le-Chateau, in Franche-Comte. This is the all-important Maison Mere, or motherhouse, and was for a long time the generalate, as is traditional. Today this old foundation does two things: care for the infirm and most elderly of their sisters, and custodians of the chapel and cemetery in which the FOUNDERS' remains are interred.
To the end of opening his cause for sainthood, many years ago the Dominican friar founder, Pere Marie-Jean_Joseph Lataste had his remains removed from his tomb, the centerpiece of the outdoor cemetery. Thus exhumed, his remains went through the standard procedure, in which examination and some samples were taken for the canonization process. And rather than return the corpse to the tomb, it was interred underneath the chapel itself, with a plaque on the floorboards directly above, in the sanctuary. The tomb (presumably empty) remains, and is a place of prayer in its own right.
Saint-Sulpice-de-Favieres, Essonne, Ile-de-France, not far from the Orly airport south of Paris, was built from the ground up for the Sisters within the last fifty years. This is the current generalate, and Sr. Pia Elisabeth, the Prioress with her General Council, function from here during their terms of office.
They have their own website, en francais, can't put the link here.

Perhaps Sr. Mary Catharine would know?

Blessings,
Gemma
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I thought that SMC had left the forum around March, when I mentioned that "the emperor had no clothes", if you get my message.

She did. The post from Gemma that you are replying to was made on July 5 2007 - this is an old thread brought up from the archives.

Sr. Mary Catherine's post was written in 2007.