by Sr. Regina Siegfried, ASC
Were the moves of the martyrs’ statue and the Ruma archive the end of an era or a new beginning?
They were both.
On October 17, the statue of the martyrs was relocated from the front of the building to the cemetery. The Lager Monument Company carefully, respectfully, and slowly lifted the heavy statue, loaded it on a flatbed, drove it to the cemetery, and lowered it to its new pedestal in the circle where the fountain had been. It looks like it’s always been there, comfortable in its new home.
On October 24, three employees of Flawless Moving Company, a moving company from East St. Louis who had moved the sisters to Benedictine Living Community, joined our staff of Tracy Malley, Justin Eggemeyer, Bill Allan, and Scott Brothers to load heavy boxes of archival documents onto a truck for their journey to the Wichita Center where they arrived around 10:00 p.m. with Dakota Heard, Bri Southworth, Sr. Angela Laquet, Butch Payne, and Ishmael Paes waiting to welcome them.
Dakota, Justin, and Tracy’s good and meticulous planning had made this an efficient and safe trip. As I watched the boxes being loaded into the truck, I knew that my job was to worry, feel very sad, and pray to Clementine for a safe trip for items that had come from Germany along with a lot of what we had accumulated since 1876.
Other artifacts are also in new homes. The statues of Mary and Joseph, formerly in the back of the chapel, are now in the cathedral in Belleville. Three staff members from the Illinois History Museum in Springfield visited recently and acquired some artifacts, long hidden in the attics. Erika Holst, curator of the museum, wrote, “It’s an honor to steward the Adorers’ items and to help share their story with the people of Illinois.”
The Adorer’s Convent was so special. A beautiful site of peace and faith. I loved visiting ASC friends there!
God Bless all the ASC’s!
Thank you! I’ve been wondering about the statue in honor of our martyrs🙏. Sr M Joel was a former teacher & dear friend❤️🙏. Prayers for all of the community🙏🙏🙏
Sister Mary Joel was my first grade teacher at Holy Family School, Cahokia,IL. So glad the statue was placed in the cemetery there. Ruma was gorgeous and I spent many hours there with my second grade teacher, Sister Rose Anthony Mathews, who now resides in the Benedictine home at Our Lady of the Snows. It was heartbreaking seeing them move from a home in Ruma.
I was blessed to have made 3 retreats with the sisters at the Ruma convent. I found so much love all around me, and so much peace when I explored and spent time on the grounds. what a beautiful place, what a beautiful blessing. Thank you Adorers. I was sad to see the convent close, but am happy that so many precious artifacts are finding good homes. May God bless you in new ways as the future becomes the now.