Sheila Hammond, rscj, assists Cokie Roberts during book signing at the U.S. Province Archives. Click here to view a collection of photos from this event

Six hundred fans of Cokie Roberts, journalist, author and Sacred Heart alum, turned out on the evening December 13 in St. Louis to hear her speak about her most recent book at a public event sponsored by the Religious of the Sacred Heart, Associated Alumnae/i of the Sacred Heart, the Missouri Historical Society, and Left Bank Books, an independent bookstore in St. Louis. The talk, on Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation, which Roberts dedicated to the Religious of the Sacred Heart, was held at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park, followed by a book signing.

Roberts, political commentator for ABC News and senior news analyst for National Public Radio, attended Academy of the Sacred Heart (“The Rosary”) in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is a graduate of Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland.

Earlier on December 13, more than 200 local Sacred Heart alums attended an open house and book signing with Roberts at the U.S. Province Archives. A large poster noted that December 13, 1804, exactly 200 years ago, was the date of the first meeting of the “founding mothers” of the Society of the Sacred Heart, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat and St. Philippine Duchesne.

The following morning, Roberts attended a prayer service at the Shrine of St. Philippine Duchesne in St. Charles, Missouri, and toured the shrine and school, the Academy of the Sacred Heart, which Philippine founded in 1818. The tour was led by Margaret Munch, RSCJ, an expert on Philippine’s life.

Roberts, a graduate of Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland, and daughter of Hale and Lindy Boggs, both former representatives to the U.S. Congress from Louisiana, wrote in her dedication: “To my own founding mothers, particularly my mother, who told the stories we call history. And especially to the religious of the Society of the Sacred Heart, the RSCJs, who take girls seriously – a radical notion in the 1950s.”

Kathleen Hughes, RSCJ, provincial of the U.S. Province, introduced Cokie Roberts at the public event.

While in St. Louis, Roberts was interviewed on KMOX, St. Louis’s largest radio station, and by the St. Louis Review, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The event was highlighted by several St. Louis media outlets, including four announcements the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Shirley  Miller, RSCJ, director of mission advancement for the U.S. Province
said, "We wanted Cokie's presence to be a gift from the RSCJ in St. Louis to
the St. Louis/St. Charles alums who have been so supportive of the Society
and to provide a chance for RSCJ, Associates and alums to gather together
in celebration of our tradition and our friendships.  Cokie lifted the
hearts of all with her reflections on her Sacred Heart experience and what
it has meant and continues to mean in her life, by her warmth, humor and
thoughtfulness.  She indeed was a great gift to all of us.  Cokie was
equally appreciated by those who attended the public lecture at the
Missouri History Museum.  Her presence among us exceeded our deepest
hopes."

The U.S. Province, formed in a merger of five regional provinces, established its headquarters in St. Louis since 1982.