Tag: old monastery

Celebrating Our 75th Jubilee!

 

Today marks the 75th anniversary of our monastery\’s establishment here in Lufkin! We had big plans for today: a Mass with numerous concelebrants, a reception, visits, souvenirs…but all that went by the wayside when COVID-19 came along. We hope to reschedule these events later, but for now our celebration has been scaled back a lot. Nevertheless, we are still celebrating! 

We published a long and informative article on the history of our monastery in the latest issue of our newsletter, \”Monastery Bells\”. If you don\’t receive the Bells, you can read it here.

 (By the way, if you\’re interested in receiving our newsletter in your snail mailbox, please go to the email address on our website and send us your name and address! It\’s free!) 

We also want to share just a few pictures that didn\’t appear in the Bells:

This is another view of the first incarnation of the Monastery of the Infant Jesus. Note the statue of the Infant Jesus in front! We still have this statue in our infirmary yard. In 1945, the Monastery was right on Lotus Lane, instead of up the hill as it is today.

 This photo was actually taken in the late 1940s, but it shows the growth the Monastery experienced in a short amount of time.

The sign on Lotus Lane directing visitors where to turn onto the access road to reach our Monastery today.

Part of the front of the Monastery today.

And finally–another version of our latest community picture!

We give joyful thanks to God for the past 75 years, and pray we will be here for many years to come!

 

Remembering Sister Mary Sybillina

Sister Mary Sybillina was a special person in so many ways. She was the last of our founding sisters who came to Lufkin from the Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in Detroit (now in Farmington Hills, MI). She was a hard worker and kept most of her jobs until she was around 90! She had a great sense of humor, often making us laugh with her dry witticisms and quirky jokes.

So, we present here a retrospective of Sr. Mary Sybillina in photographs. 

Sister as a postulant, 1945
Sister in a relaxed moment on the porch at the \”old house\” (first monastery building right on Lotus Lane–our present monastery is \”up the hill\” via an access road).       


Sister Mary Sybillina at work in the laundry. We still use this extractor! (They don\’t make them like the used to…)
Sister was a great reader! In addition to the local newspaper, she never missed reading L\’Osservatore Romano (news from the Vatican) and Origins (Church news and transcripts of talks by various people). She read all kinds of books, too.
Sister was an avid canasta player, almost right up until she died. No one who ever played canasta with Sister could accuse her of mental decline!    
Celebrating her Golden Jubilee of Profession
One of the last pictures of Sister Mary Sybillina, seen here relaxing on the infirmary deck with Sister Mary Veronica. 

Eternal rest grant to her, O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.