Worldwide exhibit premieres at Cincinnati Museum Center

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One doesn’t immediately associate nuns with bravery, adventure and scientific breakthrough but a visit to the new exhibit Women and Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America may change the stereotypical ideas some of us have been exposed to of these women who have devoted their lives to helping others.

300 years ago, in the early 1700s, before George Washington was even born, Catholic Sisters began arriving in New Orleans, a French colony surrounded by colonies yet under English rule and where the Anglican Church was the official church, sometimes hostile to the Catholic faith. These colonies went to war with each other along with England and France. The Sisters prevailed, however, eventually building and leading schools, hospitals, orphanages, and colleges.

Since their early arrival, the sisters have been assisting and comforting people in many major historical periods of American history, including the Civil War, the Depression, natural disasters and epidemics as well as in the day-to-day personal trials of families and individuals across the country.

They have been influential in science with Sister Pulcheria Wuellner developing the first infant incubator and Sister Xavier Hebert, becoming America’s first woman pharmacist.
The exhibit follows the history of these women from their personal accounts of the early sea voyage where their bravery, eagerness and sense of adventure is overwhelmingly positive, to their hopes for the future and their determination to continue to serve God and their fellow man in areas of poverty, global climate change and human rights.

Displayed are many personal artifacts and writings that bring to life their selfless service. These fascinating items include the different types of dress worn in different time periods, correspondence from US Presidents, A nurse’s bag used to treat wounded soldiers of the Civil War, and Sister Wuellner’s infant incubator prototype made from a cigar humidor in 1938.
The worldwide tour premieres right here in Cincinnati at the Museum Center’s Cincinnati History Museum on Saturday, May 16th.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, May 15th with organizers from the,Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) members present to open the exhibit.

I spoke with Sister Barbara Hagedorn, Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati President and chairwoman of the local portion of the exhibit. I asked what the most special item in the collection was for her and she responded:

“There are a couple of things from Sisters of Charity but the thing most amazing to me is when I look at all the artifacts and the local story, when you see it in the composite, you realize how much all those communities together did to build the culture and the city infrastructure.. schools, hospitals.. and now still responding to whatever the needs are today. Those were the things that were needed when people first came…that’s why they were asked to come. But now we’re working with environment issues, immigrants, the newly poor. How can we respond to them? The Sisters may not have as many people as we had before but we have the same spirit and same energy and we find ways to make it happen. There are so many wonderful people who are with us, great lay people, and that’s how we do it.”

Hagedorn also noted all the people whom she says did a remarkable job on the project, including local archivists, Seruto (the exhibit producer), Cincinnati Museum Center and Amelia Riedel of Riedel Creative Group who designed the panels for the local portion of the exhibit.

Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America runs through August 30, 2009.

Sister Barbara Hagedorn