We just celebrated June 3. Why is June 3 a day of celebration for us? It is Founders Day, our birthday. The day that the sisters arrived in Covington, Kentucky was June 3, 1859. So, this is our 166th birthday. It is always a joyful day for us.
Who is St. Walburg? Actually, she is Walburga. St. Walburga was the abbess of Eichstӓtt in Bavaria. We came to Covington by way of Eichstӓtt, Germany, New York, and.Pennsylvania. During the years when the bishops of the USA asked for help from Europe to send sisters to teach German language, three of them began work in Covington. After many hardships, they established themselves on 12th Street near the present-day cathedral.
In the main entrance to the monastery is a large painting that portrays the relation of the monastery in Europe to our monastery. Sister Emmanuel used her talents to create this beautiful, colorful and thoughtful composition for our 150th birthday. St. Walburga is positioned in the center with parallel traits located on the sides. Sister Emmanuel has also created a triptych of the history and progression of Benedictines with descriptive wording and whimsical characters. This stands in the passageway between the monastery and the infirmary.
The dining room has a floor to ceiling oil painting by Johan Schmitt dated 1895. St. Walburg dominates. The treasure for me is a strip across the bottom circa 1900 showing the monastery, the St. Walburg school building and St. Joseph Church. Ladies in floor length skirts, men and children moving in and out of the buildings. Such great progress made in the first fifty years.
May you enjoy your own birthday and those of your loved ones.