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February 1, 2022What was your family doing 299 years ago? Our Religious Family was being founded in a small town outside of Salzburg, Austria in 1723. 299 years is unbelievable! How many Religious Communities do you know that have existed for 299 years or more?! Ours has!
Where to start? Our Mother Foundress, Mother Maria Hyacintha Zechner, was a miracle. First, most Religious Congregations of women before the early 1700’s were cloistered (closed away from the outside world), Mother Hyacintha was in the forefront of “active” Religious. She was amazing – she first became a member of the 3rd Order of St. Francis as a lay person living the beautiful Franciscan spirit and life. After noticing some local problems in the town, her heart went out to the neglected children of her little town, and she did something about it. We’ve been "doing something about it” now for almost 300 years!
Second, in the early 1700’s, most of the education energy was spent on boys. According to one source, the girls that were educated during this time in history were primarily educated so that they could carry on a good conversation with the young men of the aristocratic society. Our foundress, again with foresight and a compassionate / wise heart knew that the girls were equally important to educate, not for conversation, but for their dignity and ability to help support a family or herself when necessary.
Our history is full of tumultuous times in those early years – a lot of misunderstandings, persecutions, and the like. For 299 years, the School Sisters have trusted in God’s Providence and persevered, thankfully.
What blows my mind is the years and years and thousands of souls that have been touched by this instrument of goodness and grace. We currently have 14 Sisters in the Texas Region. Altogether, we have 429 years of vows under our belts (our cinctures). IMAGINE the total number of Sisters and souls touched over 299 years!!! It’s really unbelievable. Only in Heaven will we know the magnitude of God’s goodness to us all.
Stay tuned to see how Our Religious Family celebrates this amazing tercentennial in the coming months and in 2023. God bless you all!