[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 27, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1842]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO THE SISTERS, SERVANTS OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

                                 ______


                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 1995

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of my 
colleagues to a most significant event taking place in Monroe, MI. The 
year 1995 marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of a congregation 
of extraordinary women devoted to the service of God, their community, 
their nation, and the world.
  The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary congregation 
was established in Monroe in 1845 to meet a pressing need for Christian 
instruction in a parish that was maturing quickly, but was not far 
removed from its frontier past.
  The zeal and enthusiasm of Rev. Louis Florent Gillett, a Redemptorist 
missionary, drew the first three members of the community, Marie 
Theresa Maxis, Charlotte Shaff, and Theresa Renaud. Their first convent 
was a log cabin on the banks of the River Raisin. The early days were 
difficult, as poverty and disease sapped the congregation. The 
community grew in numbers nonetheless, and expanded its educational 
works.
  For this first century the congregation served Catholic communities 
in and near the dioceses of southern Michigan, especially the 
Archdiocese of Detroit, by providing Catholic education at all levels 
in local parochial schools and in their own private schools and 
college.
  The people of Monroe benefited greatly over the years by the presence 
of outstanding schools operated by the IHM sisters. St. Mary's School, 
the first opened by the sisters, provided the young women of Monroe and 
the surrounding area the chance to get a first-rate education. The Hall 
of Divine Child, a school for boys, instilled discipline and curiosity 
in generations of boys. I can vouch for the skill and efficiency of the 
sisters myself, because I attended this school.
  Other schools founded and built by the IHM sisters include Immaculata 
High School in Detroit, Marian High School in Birmingham, MI, and IHM 
High School in Westchester, IL,
  In 1910 they established Marygrove College, which was moved from 
Monroe to Detroit in 1927. IHM sisters have also served in other 
colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and throughout 
the world.
  Over the past 50 years the IHM congregation has extended its reach, 
staffing schools in Puerto Rico, and several Western and Southern 
States in the United States. While the majority of the sisters have 
devoted themselves to education, some have committed themselves to 
religious education, parish ministry, health care, social actions, and 
other forms of service. A small group of sisters began serving among 
the poor in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. The sisters 
also are vocal when it comes to local, national, and international 
affairs. I can tell you that a week seldom passes that I do not receive 
an articulate and thoughtful letter from one or another of the sisters, 
effectively arguing a position on legislation or national policy.
  Mr. Speaker, I have great admiration for the spirit, the 
determination, the devotion and the faith displayed by the Sisters, 
Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is without reservation 
that I commend this congregation to my colleagues on the occasion of 
its 150th anniversary.

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