HM HISTORY AND HERITAGE
Prayer Path Brings A New Facet of HM Life and Spirituality to Campus Care for creation is an integral tenet of HM values and spirituality that Magnificat integrates into campus life in many ways including recycling, composting, and growing organic fruits and vegetables. Over the last several years, an important Mission focus has been to incorporate even more facets of the HM Sisters’ care for the Earth at the Villa into Magnificat’s outdoor spaces. The campus courtyard and All Generations Grotto and Spiritual Gardens have been places for individual and small-group prayer and reflection; and the Hoop House, installed in 2014, is a scaled-down version of the vast organic farm at the Villa. Like the farm at the Villa, produce grown at our Hoop House is donated to support local efforts to reduce hunger. In the spring and summer of 2020, the Magnificat Fathers’ Club hosted a service day to clear and lay mulch for a prayer pathway on the eastern edge of campus. This new opportunity for outdoor reflection replicates the wooded path at the Villa that Magnificat students enjoy during retreats and Freshman Heritage Day. The hope is that visitors to the path recognize nature as a gift that helps us to center ourselves in our relationship with God, with one another, and with all creation. Thank you to the Magnificat Fathers’ Club for helping to bring this vision to fruition, and special thanks to Magnificat fathers Lee Mizer of Cleve Lawn and Dave Pulice for lending the tractors that were critical to completing the project! All are invited to come to campus at any time to take advantage of the new prayer path. Future plans for bringing HM life to Magnificat include a replica of the Villa’s labyrinth!
Villa Maria Farm Attains Organic Certification After four years and the submission of more than 650 pages of documentation, the Villa Maria farm received a letter recognizing it as an official certified organic operation. The organic certifying agency, Global Organic Alliance (GOA), determined that 243.08 acres of tillable ground at the Villa are certified organic fields and gardens. This also includes the herb garden and the vegetable transplants grown in the greenhouse. The distinction as an organic operation is a testament to the Sisters’ commitment to care for God’s creation, an HM value that Magnificat students, led by Mrs. Karen Ryan Tigue ’86 and Mrs. Karen Duffy Morley ’78, emulate in their work in the Hoop House through the Seeds of Service club.
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MAGNIFICAT MAGAZINE | A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNAE AND FRIENDS OF MAGNIFICAT HIGH SCHOOL | WINTER 2021
