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BVM Sisters move into new convent
By Joyce Coronel, news@catholicsun.org
June 19, 2008
They’ve lived in a convent on Third Street, just north of Xavier College Preparatory, since 1954.
But now the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, affectionately known about town as the BVMs, have a sparkling new and spacious home on Highland Avenue, thanks to the hard work and generosity of donors and local businesses.
The jewel of the new convent is a chapel where the eight sisters gather to pray. Just behind the altar is a large, stained-glass window designed by Sr. Lynn Winsor, BVM, assistant principal and athletic director of nearby Xavier College Preparatory.
“We’re a very welcoming community,” she said of the order and its new digs. “Last year we had 192 overnight guests.”
That spirit of hospitality is symbolized by the open arms of the Saguaro cactus depicted in the multi-colored window, which when illuminated at night, is something Sr. Lynn says the residents of the neighborhood greatly enjoy.
It became clear a new convent was necessary in late 2006 when St. Francis Xavier parish announced it would be building a new elementary school. Sr. Lynn was onboard a plane when she sketched a preliminary drawing of what she wanted the chapel’s stained-glass window to look like. Last March the sisters poured the black resin into the channels that hold the cut-glass pieces together.
The colorful pieces detail the rich history of the order from its humble beginnings in 1833 when five Irish women traveled by boat to America to its present-day work in the Valley. One of the founding sisters, while climbing down the rope ladder from the boat, dropped all of their money into the river, leaving them penniless. That seemingly disastrous moment is depicted by gold coins immersed in a river of blue.
A Jesuit aboard the boat witnessed the incident and helped them with money. He later became the president of Georgetown University.
“This is why the BVMs and the Jesuits have had an alignment for many years,” she said, noting the connection between Xavier and the adjacent Brophy College Preparatory, a Jesuit-owned Catholic high school.
While many private donors made the new convent possible, one local business played a key role. Tom Roberts, president and CEO of Opus Corporation, said the commercial contractor company donated all its services. Roberts has a daughter who graduated from Xavier and another who is currently a student there.
He said the new convent was built over the course of 11 months and cost about $2 million.
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