A Special Year

Each new school year offers us new ways to “live Jesus,” the motto and mission of our dear Sisters. This year we celebrate an awe-inspiring milestone: the 400th anniversary of the Visitation Order. Rather than hosting one super event, we are infusing an anniversary spirit into every special event held during the 2009-2010 school year. We’ll recognize it at our Sept. 25 opening Mass and Flag Raising. Alumnae will toast to it that evening during a cocktail reception at the James J. Hill house. Our benefactors will celebrate it at their Sed Vitae Dinner in October. And our senior class will graduate on June 6, 2010 – 400 years to the day that Saint Jane de Chantal and two other women opened the first Visitation Monastery in Annecy, France.

The work we do here in Mendota Heights is part of something much bigger, a community that stretches across the globe and spans the centuries. I encourage you to get involved in this special celebration and share the joy and graces of the year. Please join us at one of our anniversary events that will be promoted throughout the year. We also encourage you to purchase and read one of the many books that have been recently published as part of our commemorative Salesian literature:

1.) The Visitation: A monastic way of life in the Church – This colorful coffee table book lays out the backbone of the Visitation Order and its beloved Salesian Spirituality, highlighting the 12 monasteries in the U.S. It features some great snapshots of our Sisters, including Sr. Marie Therese on the organ and Sr. Katherine Mullin smiling with a young North Minneapolis resident and so on. The $20 book can be purchased at the Portress or ordered for an additional $4 of shipping and handling. Just email visitationbooks@yahoo.com or call 703-451-7786. Learn more at www.thevisitationorder.blogspot.com.

2.) Gentle Fidelity – Sr. Peronne Marie’s book reflects the wisdom and poetry of Salesian Spirituality. Every time I read it, Sister Peronne’s insights feel delicate and fresh. To order your limited edition copy of these poems for $15, swing by the Portress, call the Development Office at 651-683-1704 or email Gina Carlson at gcarlson@vischool.org

3.) Extraordinary Ordinary Lives – Retired administrator and Vis alumna Elsa Thompson Hofmeister ’56 chronicles the vocational call of 14 women who responded “yes” to God’s invitation and joined our Visitation Monastery. She describes their joys and fears, trials and triumphs with detail, clarity and respect. The stories are fascinating! They renewed my appreciation for these women who quietly, joyfully “live Jesus.” The $20 book is available at the Portress or online at www.visbooks.org. Learn more at http://visnuns.blogspot.com/.