Evening with an Ursuline: August 7

Ursuline Sister Catherine Marie Lauterwasser led a “living history” on “The History of Mount Saint Joseph” on Aug. 7, 2018, during the monthly “Evening with an Ursuline” at the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center.

Sister Catherine Marie is a 1955 graduate of Mount Saint Joseph Academy and has been an Ursuline Sister for 63 years. She was the music teacher at the Academy from 1973-79, and its principal from 1980-83. She has long been interested in the community’s history and provided many pictures with her talk, which began with Ursuline founder Saint Angela Merici. Here are some photos from the evening.

Sister Catherine Marie Lauterwasser talks to a full house in the Brescia Conference Room while showing a photo of the first two additions to the Academy. She noted that the wing on the left was the room where they were meeting.
Libby Downs, left, and two of her guests, all of Hopkinsville, Ky., made the long trek to hear Sister Catherine Marie’s talk. At right is Sister Rose Jean Powers.
Ursuline Sisters Ruth Gehres, left, Lois Lindle, center, and Catherine Barber listen to Sister Catherine Marie say that the second wing of the Academy was built in 1882 by Henry Bloemer, father of Mother Augustine Bloemer. That wing now houses the museum.
Sister Catherine Marie, right, tells the audience that when she came to the Academy, the music room was in the first chapel on campus. From left are Lisa Sills, the new Retreat Center coordinator, Sister Ann Patrice Cecil and Sister George Mary Hagan.
From left, Ursuline Sisters Mary Henning, Luisa Bickett, Rebecca White and Mary McDermott follow Sister Catherine Marie’s talk. She informed them the room they were in was the choral room when she began teaching music at the Academy.
The first graduate of Mount Saint Joseph Academy in 1880 was Anna Johnson, Sister Catherine Marie said, noting that she was a relative of Sister Francis Louise Johnson, seated at right. (Anna was the sister of Sister Francis Louise’s grandfather.) The other Ursuline Sisters listening, from right, are Sisters Grace Swift, Alfreda Malone, Mary Gerald Payne and Mary Matthias Ward, director of the Retreat Center.