[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12822]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING THE URSULINE SISTERS OF LOUISVILLE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to bring to my colleagues' 
attention the work of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, which will 
soon receive a special recognition from the Commonwealth of Kentucky 
for their decades of service.
  The Ursuline Sisters began their ministry in Kentucky in 1858 when 
three Sisters from Germany, led by Mother Salesia Reitmeier, answered a 
call to teach at St. Martin School in Louisville. Within 2 weeks of 
their arrival, the Sisters were teaching 50 students and had plans to 
construct a convent and boarding school on the corner of Chestnut and 
Shelby streets in Louisville, KY. The building was completed in 1859 
and became the home of the Ursuline Academy. The new boarding school 
for girls offered classes from elementary through high school.
  Soon the Ursuline Sisters were asked to operate and staff other 
schools. They established Sacred Heart Academy in 1877. Within 100 
years of their establishment in Kentucky, the Ursuline Sisters had 
staffed or were staffing 23 parochial schools in the Louisville area, 
as well as schools in other States. They owned and operated Ursuline 
College, Ursuline Academy, Sacred Heart Academy, Sacred Heart Model 
School and the Ursuline Speech Clinic. The original Motherhouse and 
Convent for the Ursuline Sisters is located near the original school in 
downtown Louisville that was established by those three German 
immigrants 152 years ago and is listed in the National Park Service's 
National Register of Historic Places.
  These Sisters serve as educators, spiritual ministers, health care 
professionals, and administrators. They operate programs for the poor 
and disenfranchised and continue to search for ways to assist others to 
grow personally and spiritually.
  On July 25, 2010, the Ursuline Sisters' history of ministry and 
service will be recognized by the Commonwealth of Kentucky with the 
placement of a historical marker outside that original location on 
Chestnut Street. This marker will note the founding and mission of the 
Ursuline Sisters and inform people of the contributions these Sisters 
have made to the community.
  While the true record of their good deeds will continue to be 
chronicled in a place not of this Earth, it is entirely appropriate for 
the Commonwealth to take note of the good work the Ursuline Sisters 
have done for my hometown. And I hope my colleagues will join me in 
congratulating the Ursuline Sisters for all their hard work of 
ministering to mind, body and spirit.

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