St. Augustine Parish, Augusta, celebrates 150 years of the Sisters of Notre Dame
Bella Bailey
Multimedia Correspondent
The Sisters of Notre Dame celebrated 150 years of ministry to St. Augustine Parish and School, Augusta, June 28, with Mass and a reception following. Celebrating Mass was Father Joey Shelton, pastor, St. Augustine Parish.
In 1875, 150 years ago, the Sisters of Notre Dame made their way to Augusta, Kentucky, one year after landing in the United States from Germany. Upon their arrival the sisters got to work establishing a parish school for St. Augustine Parish. Since then, Father Shelton said, the sisters have dedicated their entire selves to handing on the Catholic faith, equipping young people to grow into good parents, neighbors and friends.
“We owe these women an immense debt of gratitude,” said Father Shelton. “For all that they have done — teaching during the day, visits they made after school to help a student who had fallen behind, helping families in crisis, ministering to the poor, evangelizing the community, and even caring for us when we are struggling.”
Father Shelton shared a personal instance when Sister Nance Hehman came to his assistance mere days after moving into the St. Augustine rectory in 2020, assisted by his parents. The night his parents left, Father Shelton set out to cook himself dinner in the rectory, an “image of independence,” said Father Shelton. Things quickly changed when he cut his finger deeply and realized a first aid kit was not among the things unpacked in the recent days.
“What is my very first thought,” Father Shelton asked the congregation, “Call Sister,” he answered. “In just a moment she was over with a first aid kit and had helped me to pull myself back together,” he said.
“In every aspect of the life of the parish, from mending the pastor’s nearly amputated finger, to sacramental preparation, to service to the poor, and everything in between, Sister Nance is the glue that holds our community together,” said Father Shelton.
While Sister Nance has been serving as the parish glue for 18 years, 122 Sisters of Notre Dame have served the parish and school before her.
In the spring of 1875, three Notre Dame Sisters — Mary Paula, Mary Marzellina, and Mary Clara — made their way to the river town of Augusta to serve the educational and spiritual needs of its people. “Though those original sisters only stayed three years, plenty more would come to replace those sisters and then more to replace those sisters and then more to replace those sisters,” said Father Shelton. “But whichever sister was here,” he continued, “they brought with them the charism of their order, the charism of discipline, direction and quality education.”
It is not just what the sisters have done and continue to do for the St. Augustine community that lends them a debt of gratitude, said Father Shelton, “it is who they are.”
“Today we celebrate not just what the Sisters of Notre Dame have done, but who they are: prophetic women, who by their very lives remind us that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. These women have, for 150 years, been ambassadors of heaven among us,” said Father Shelton.
Concluding his homily Father Shelton said, “We owe these women a gift of gratitude for who they are, mighty prophets of the Most High, who through their vocation to religious life have reminded us and continue to remind us that the Kingdom of God is at hand. So, for all that they have done and for all they are we say, ‘thank you’ to the Sisters of Notre Dame.”
