The purpose of the congregation as laid
out in the Bishop’s letter of approval was to be two-fold, the cloistered
Sisters would devote themselves to the spiritual works of the retreat and home
for homeless or unemployed girls, and the “out Sisters” would attend to business
outside the convent, such as visiting the dying and caring for the poor, “when
called upon.” Mother Catherine de’ Ricci, continued to
suffer from the illness for which she was sent to Europe to recuperate. Sadly only a short time after founding the
congregation, she died on January 1, 1894.
On the Feast of Our Lady’s Nativity, September 8th, 1894, Mother
Catherine de Ricci’s sister Lillie, called Mother Mary Loyola of Jesus in
religious life, was elected to succeed her as Mother General. The end of Spanish-American War in
1898 opened up new possibilities for missionaries in the Caribbean and Latin
American. The newly appointed Bishop of Havana, Monsignor Donato Raffaele Sbarretti Tazza invited
Mother Mary Loyola to send a few Dominican Sisters to Cuba to set up an
orphanage for black and mestizo children without families to care for them. In
response to this invitation Mother Loyola visited Havana in 1900 to investigate
further and see what would be needed for this endeavor. With the help of a letter of introduction
written by President Theodore Roosevelt, in 1901 Mother Loyola opened a school
for the orphans placing it under the patronage of Our Lady of the Rosary. She brought with her four Dominican Sisters
from New York: Sister Sibyllina, Sister Imelda Teresa, Sister Henry and Sister
Rose. Our Lady of the Rosary was a free
orphanage and school for black and mestizo children orphaned by the
Spanish-American war. Also in that same
year Mother Loyola opened an academy for the English speaking daughters of
upper class families placing that under the patronage of Our Lady Help of
Christians. Mother Loyola’s hope was to
call upon the local devotion to Our Lady of Charity to instill a spirit of
charity in the wealthy families of the area so that they would use their own
resources to help to care for the poor in their midst and support the
orphanage. At the time of their arrival Cuba was the largest island in the Caribbean
and only 110 miles from the shores of the United States in Key West.
