Daughters of the Cross: Legacy

daughters of the cross

Crowds of the faithful welcome Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, St. Vincent’s Academy, 1949 Courtesy of Sister Sharon Rambin, SFCC, Edited by Madeline Howard Elford

the final installment:

legacy

When I began studying the history of the Daughters of the Cross in 2016, I was preparing for a paper in a course on local history at LSU Shreveport. Ever since seeing “The Shape of Shreveport,” a series of documentary short films shown at the Strand Theatre in the summer of 2015, the idea of researching the influence of Catholic religious orders in Shreveport had been haunting me. On the evening after receiving my assignment, a chance encounter with Msgr. Earl Provenza led to my introduction to Sister Sharon Rambin, SFCC, and through her to Sisters Maria Smith and Lucy Scallan, Daughters of the Cross. Although I had attended St. Vincent’s Academy, I knew very little about the Order. I had no idea that they had operated other schools in Shreveport and across north Louisiana, dating back to 1856. The more I learned and the more I came to know the Sisters and their story, the more I came to realize that their impact on Shreveport, north Louisiana, and beyond cannot be quantified or circumscribed. How many former students, like me, can say that their association with the Daughters of the Cross was a factor in their decision to come into the Catholic Church? Having attended public schools for eleven years, I noticed the superior quality of the texts and instruction at St. Vincent’s, as well as a spirit of community that I hadn’t seen in my former schools. The Sisters’ dignified presence in their habits, some short and some long, and their evident care for their pupils and for the elderly Sisters in the convent, impressed me. Most of all, I could never forget the old Sisters in their long habits working in the heat in their garden, who I often glimpsed as I entered the parking lot from our air-conditioned school. Somehow, that sight spoke to me of their faith, of their unity, of their sacrifice. From the very first, the educational and religious foundation provided by the Daughters of the Cross

prepared their pupils for success in their personal and professional lives. From Avoyelles Parish to Isle Brevelle to Shreveport, Monroe and Lake Providence, they have produced leaders in business, medicine and healthcare, law, government and the military. Their pupils have excelled in debate, science, sports, music, and art. One of their former pupils has inspired the building of a chapel in Dallas. One became a priest and missionary to Sri Lanka, even serving as Superior General of the Jesuit province there. Another met with Mother Teresa of Calcutta and convinced her to establish her Sisters in Dallas. The primary goal of the Daughters of the Cross was always to educate in order to save souls. St. Francis de Sales told Marie de Villeneuve that there was a vacancy in the church. In Louisiana in 1855, the truth of that statement was magnified exponentially. When she came to Louisiana, Mother Hyacinthe observed that many residents were Catholic in name only, not knowing their prayers, not attending Mass, not seeking out the sacraments, even for the dying. Her goal was to educate girls academically, morally and spiritually, in order to prepare them to be wives and mothers who would pass the treasure of faith on to their husbands and children. Before long, the mission field included boys, as well. Gradually, as their families learned to pray and to practice their faith, they produced vocations for the Church: priests, brothers and sisters. As the sisters’ schools multiplied, that effect spread. Through their charity and perseverance, the sisters won advances against antiCatholic prejudice. As other Catholic religious orders arrived in the area, the Daughters of the Cross, who had paved the way, helped them become established. In every parish, one is likely to find parishioners who have ancestors or family members educated by the Daughters of the Cross. In our diocese, three of the schools opened by the Daughters of the Cross are still thriving under lay leadership: St. John Berchmans in Shreveport, and St. Frederick’s and Jesus the Good Shepherd in Monroe. In the Diocese of Alexandria, Sacred Heart School in Moreauville, operated by the sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows, continues to form good Catholics. Madame Marie l’Huillier de Villeneuve, foundress of the Daughters of the Cross, told her spiritual daughters that the cross would always be their portion. In imitation of Our Lord, the Daughters of the Cross have given their lives for us. We are their legacy. By the grace of God, may we live our lives in such a way as to be worthy of their gift. PATTI UNDERWOOD is a lover of history and is blessed to be a graduate of St. Vincent’s Academy and LSU-Shreveport.

Daughters of the Cross who came to Louisiana in November, 1855, St. Vincent’s Museum, Catholic Center, Shreveport, Courtesy of Madeline Howard Elford

Original Presentation Convent and Academy, Cocoville, Louisiana Daughters of the Cross Collection, The Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSUS, Noel Memorial Library

Mother Marie Hyacinthe le Conniat, Foundress, Daughters of the Cross in Louisiana, Archives, Diocese of Shreveport