Sunday, March 18, 2012

Influence of Stone Constitutions

English Dominicans
Archivists of other Dominican Congregations in the United States confirmed that their founders and foundresses consulted the Constitutions of the Dominican Sisters at Stone when writing constitutions for their congregations.  Lois Hoh of Sinsinawa wrote that Mother Emily Power traveled to Stone, England on several occasions, staying with the sisters there and collecting their wisdom regarding a Constitution to replace the one prepared by their founder, Father Samuel Mazzuchelli in 1847. The Sinsinawa constitutions approved by the Holy See in 1888 were based intentionally and largely on the wisdom of the Stone Sisters. Pat Corr of San Rafael wrote that Father Villarrasa guided the foundress of the San Rafael Dominicans, Mother Mary Goemare to the Constitutions of the English Dominican Sisters.  These were "brought over" and adopted on Feb. 2, 1859. Mary Erica Burkhardt of Amityville wrote that Mother Antonine Fischer was elected in 1895 under the Rule of the Second Order, but when the Holy Cross Congregation changed to the Third Order in 1888 they used Constitutions modeled on the Constitutions of the Dominican Sisters of Stone.  Marian Sartain reported that the Nashville Dominicans adopted the unabridged Constitutions of the Dominican Sisters of Stone from 1886-1889.  Later a version was published for use of Third Order Dominican sisters in the diocese of Nashville.  This version was identical in its first part to the Stone text but Part II clarified the status of the community as a diocesan institute.  Suzanne Noffke said that Fr. Jodocus Birkhaeuser wrote the 1892 Constitutions for the Dominican Sisters at Racine after consulting the Constitutions approved for Stone in 1877.  He wrote in 1893 that he hoped to go there before returning from a trip to Europe, but it isn’t known whether he did.  Columbus archivist, Rosalie Graham, reported that the Rule of the Congregation of St. Catherine of Sienna of Stone, England was in use by the St. Mary of the Springs Congregation for some years.  Esther Aherne said that when preparing to write their Constitutions their foundresses did read the Constitutions of the Dominican Sisters of Stone. They also consulted Mother Pia in San Francisco who gave Mother Thomasina her copy of their constitutions as a guide.  Carolyn Crebs of Elkins Park said that at the beginning of their foundation in 1882, the Dominican Rule according to the Constitutions of the Dominican Sisters of the Order of Penance of Langres, France was used, but when their constitutions were adapted for the Third Order in 1889 those of Stone, England were studied.  The final Constitutions borrowed parts from the Constitutions of Langres, France and Stone, England. The governance section was taken entirely from the Stone England Constitutions.