ST. LOUIS — Ursuline Sisters of the Central Province announced Dec. 2 they will begin to transition sisters from their Queen of Peace Infirmary and adjoining convent in Alton to other retirement and health care facilities. More than half the Ursulines in the province attended the four-day meeting in St. Louis, following Thanksgiving.
Currently 33 Ursulines and two Divine Providence sisters reside at the Queen of Peace Infirmary side of their large, brick building, set in a tree-filled campus at 845 Danforth St.
Ursulines have served in Alton since 1859, when Bishop Daniel Juncker requested Ursulines from St. Louis to come to Alton to teach and administer Catholic schools in the diocese. The first Ursulines moved into a large house near the Old Cathedral, where they founded Ursuline Academy for girls.
Three years later, a new convent and adjoining new Ursuline Academy on Fourth Street was finished and ready for occupancy. The academy existed until 1927, when at the request of Bishop James Griffin, the Ursulines converted the girls’ academy into a coeducational high school called Marquette High School. In 1991, the Ursulines ceased sponsorship of the school, which now is known as Marquette Catholic High School.
The decline in vocations to religious life over the last few decades, and the aging of the community’s members led to an 18-month study and long-range planning process for Ursuline ministries, community living arrangements and health care.
“In terms of health care, our goal has remained to be able to continue to provide quality care that we can afford for the long term,” said Sister Diane Fulgenzi, OSU, provincial leader of the Ursuline Sisters of the Central Province.
“Our study showed that we do not have the financial resources to continue to provide quality health care in our own Ursuline facility. As we looked at all the facts and prayed and reflected together, a consensus of the group emerged that it is time to pursue alternative sites for the health care of our sisters,” Sister Diane said.
The decision means that alternate living arrangements also will be sought for the sisters who live in the Ursuline convent adjoining the infirmary, she said.
“Our goal is to find facilities that will offer loving, quality care to our sisters, support the Ursuline values of community, offer availability of the Eucharist and other spiritual opportunities, and provide proximity to other Ursulines,” Sister Diane said. “It is also our goal to maintain a presence in Alton, where Ursuline Sisters have served since 1859.”
The sisters living at Queen of Peace and staff members were informed of the direction-setting consensus on Dec. 2.
Ursuline Sisters of the Central Province are part of a worldwide congregation of Ursulines of the Roman Union, whose sisters serve on six continents and in 36 countries. Central Province communities are located in Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri and Texas, with their ministries extending to other areas in the United States and in foreign countries.