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With a Mission SpiritSister Luella Ramm, OPPrioressOn December 16th, 2021, the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Caldwell celebrated 140 years of the power and faithfulness of God working in our congregation and in our lives.
We commemorated that initial call when four nuns, in 1853, said “yes” to traveling from Regensburg in Bavaria to the United States to educate the children of German immigrants. From this foundation in New York City, the sisters said “yes” again and crossed the Hudson River to Jersey City in 1872. The Sisters of Saint Dominic of the American Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus came into being at Saint Dominic Academy and its convent in Jersey City in 1881 with Mother Mary Catharine Muth as the first Prioress. The rest, as they say, is history.
Who knows how many people have heard the gospel because of our sisters and their many ministries? Who knows how many lives have been changed forever because of the Caldwell Dominicans?
We marked our 140th anniversary not simply to celebrate what has been achieved but also to look forward with hope. Our mission has always been to meet the needs of the times. What are the needs of these times? How do we stay grounded while surrounded by such uncertainty? How many recognize us as authentic women of prayer re-inventing, re-imagining and re-birthing our charism in new ways?
The spirit is leading us on, and we are not afraid of the future. We are being called to safeguard creation and to go forward with confidence and enthusiasm for what lies ahead. In fact, we have every reason to believe that the future will be as blessed as the past. So, we choose to echo the words of the great Dag Hammarskjold: “For all that has been, THANKS…To all that shall be, YES!”
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