Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon
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The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon (SSMO) is a Roman Catholic religious community founded in 1886 in the U.S. state of Oregon.[1] The sisters' convent is located in Beaverton.[1] The Sisters provide lifelong learning opportunities through Bethany Center, which offers programs and lectures.[citation needed] The Sisters also offer GED and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes.[citation needed]
The Sisters are a U.S. legal corporation separate from the Archdiocese of Portland.[citation needed] The Sisters' sponsored ministries include Valley Catholic School and Maryville Nursing Home and Memory Care. The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Ministries Corporation and the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Foundation provide administrative and developmental support to the sponsored ministries.[citation needed]
History
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In 1885, several young women in Jordan, Oregon, who were members of a German schismatic religious colony from Minnesota began to doubt the beliefs of the group and sent to the Benedictines of Mount Angel Abbey for advice.[1][2] Archbishop William Hickley Gross visited the colony and laid out a plan for reconciliation with the Roman Catholic Church.[1][2] The group's elders rejected the plan, but the women asked to come along with the bishop, who wanted them to become a formal religious community.[1][2] Nine women secretly escaped and moved to Mt. Angel.[1][2] After several months of living with the Catholic institute of the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel at the Queen of Angels Monastery, the sisters moved to Sublimity and began their new life as the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood.[1] They changed their name to Sisters of St. Mary in 1905.[1]
References
Further reading
- Schoenberg, Wilfred P., S. J. These Valiant Women: History of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon 1886-1986. Portland, Oregon: Western Lithograph, 1986.
External links
Media related to Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon at Wikimedia Commons
- "Timeline: 125 years for the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon". Catholic Sentinel. December 15, 2011.
- German-American culture in Oregon
- Catholic Church in Oregon
- Roman Catholic female orders and societies
- Beaverton, Oregon
- Religious organizations established in 1886
- Roman Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century
- Swiss-American history
- 1886 establishments in Oregon
- Oregon organization stubs