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Ten members of a group of forty-nine women who first came together to profess vows in the Society of the Sacred Heart in Rome gathered in St. Charles, Missouri, on July 30 for a 40th anniversary celebration. Participants – including RSCJ and four former RSCJ - came from Italy, Spain and Mexico as well from across the United States.

The 1967 group, pictured here in the religious habits they wore at the time, came from 21 countries. Thirty-four of the forty-nine have remained RSCJ throughout their lives, although six of those have died. Four of the fifteen former RSCJ joined in reunion events, and shared stories about their “alternative life journeys.”

Deanna Rose Von Bargen, RSCJ, the event’s organizer, described it as “a celebration of our lives’ journeys, wherever they have taken us, however divergent they may be, with all the richness that has been gathered and has stuck to us along the way.”

The women were asked to write short biographies, to be compiled for those who attended and sent to those who could not attend, along with a diary of reunion events. In addition to sharing stories and prayer, laughter and music, the group toured the U.S. provincial house and archives, the Shrine of St. Philippine Duchesne and schools she founded in the area.

Fredericka Cartwright Schrider, married and mother of three, said she had been “so deeply moved to be reconnected with these wonderful women, and to be praying with them. This is where my heart was opened, and I feel I am getting rooted again.”

Schrider has been involved in human rights work since leaving the order in 1971. She presently works with Rights Action in Washington D.C.

Sister Von Bargen of Lewiston, Idaho, said reuniting with the former RSCJ had been the highlight of the four-day event. “Ours are no longer different ways of life,” she said. “We are all woven together and we want to support one another.”

The other eight participants were Patricia Cannon Willis of Hamden, Connecticut; Suzanne Dale Wilcox of Danbury, Connecticut; Grace Robinson of Wellington, Colorado; Sister Maria Angeles Cabre of Barcelona, Spain; Sister Natalia Eugenia Campos Solis of Zapopan, Jal, Mexico; Sister Clare Pratt of Rome, Italy (where she serves as the first American superior general of the Society of the Sacred Heart) and Sisters Ann Conroy, Sofia Urreta-Wood of the United States.

THEN:

NOW:

Front Row: Grace Robinson, Mª Angeles Cabre, RSCJ, Natalia Campos, RSCJ
Middle row: Sofia Urreta-Wood, RSCJ; Clare Pratt, RSCJ; Deanna Rose von Bargen, RSCJ
Back Row: Suzanne Dale Wilcox, Fredericka Cartwright Schrider, Patricia Cannon Willis, Ann Conroy, RSCJ