News Scrapbook 1973-1974

Sunday, July 21, 1974 Modern dress, family living mark changes Sacred Heart nuns ad pt 'new order' by Rosemary Johnston "A change is a challenge. It provokes creativity."

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After meeting for three years , the council fathers decreed that the religious should altPr some of their centuries-old customs to meet the demands of 20th century living. For the Religious of the Sacred the HPart that adaptation reQuirer! some precedent-shattering upheavals in a way of life the order has known since it was founded in 1800 by St. Madeline Sophie Baral. First. the sisters changed their names - students no longer addressed them as "mother" but "sister.·' Then thPV traded their floor-length black habits and the fluted wimples that framed their faces - first for a short veil and knee-length habit, and then for contemporary dress . A more flexible. personalized schedule designed to meet the needs and talents of each sister replaced their strict daily regimen. Previously confined to campus except for educational seminars and doctors ' visits, the sisters began to take part in community activities and to take advantage of the cultural opportunities of the city Four years ago. they decided to embark on the most ambitious expenment of all - breaking down their community mto smaller living groups . Eight of them elected to remain in their original quarters. Five moved to the Casa Maria, a Spanish -style bungalow on campus once occupied by the families of campus gardeners. Five others rented an apartment in Kearny Mesa. Even the government of the order changed - from a monarchical rule by a mother general to a more democratic. decentralized council. Each vear. the five nuns on the counc1i visit each of the internation- al order's divisions. Sister Helen McHugh, chairman of the humanities department at the university. 1s among those who still live in the chapel facilities. onetheless. she speaks freely and enthusiastically of the "new order." "There's more realism, less formalism ,'' she observed . "The prayer life still forms the core of our lives, but now we live more like a fam,ly " And she continues , the sisters still adhere to the basic educational philosophy of their foundress : to work with all the good in an individual, to bring out the best energies in a student, and to help students first find, and then transcend themselves. Like most of the 13 sisters on the univer ity staff. Sister McHugh has opted for contemporary dress . "I hate shopping," she confesses. "When we first went looking for clothes. I didn't know what size I wore And I still find that confusing. My main concern is that I look clean and modest." She shuns makeup and jewelry, but visits a hair dresser oc- casionally. A silver cross she wears ·symbolizing the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the only outward sign that she is a nun. Although the sisters who have moved out do their own cooking and housekeeping, they still abide by their vow of poverty. Their new status makes them eligible for Social Security and other benefits afforded university members.

For Sister Helen McHugh and the other Religious of the Sacred Heart at the University of San Diego, the last decade has been marked by a series of changes and challenges . Until the late Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican rounril in 1962, the sisters were semt-doistered They taught classes and fulfilled administrative duties on campus, but they seldom left the hill overlooking Mission Bay Secluded from the world, they functioned in a highly regimented, monastic atmosphere, beginning each day with morning prayers in the pre-dawn hours. Vatican II changed all that

Rev. Mother Rosalie Hill, pictured here in the pre· Vatican 11 dress al the Religious of the Sacred Heart, was instrumental in establishing the College for Women at the University of Son Diego in 1952.

Framed by a pew in Founders Chapel, Sister Aimee Rossi spends a reflective moment in prayer. Sister Rossi, who still lives in the nuns' quarters adjacent to the chapel, is retired now. But she tutors minority students and works to build a music scholarship named after her.

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Sister Catherine McShone enjoys the quiet atmosphere of Caso Moria, on on-com· pus dwelling where she lives with four other nuns.

But

they

never

see

their

paychecks. They are forwarded to the order's provincial house and a certain amount 1s returned to the sisters for living expenses . They won nothing individually and most of them rely on public transportation to get around San Diego. Sister Sally Furay, provost of the university, shares a Kearny Mesa apartment with four other nuns. She cheers the move toward a smaller " family." "We have developed more of an interdependence toward one another." she observed. " Before, with such a large group under one roof, we were like ships passing in the night." Living off-campus allows her to function as a person instead of a 24- hour administrator. she confided . In addition to her duties as a provost, Sister Furay teamteaches a class in sex discrimination at the university's Law School. She earned her law degree there two years ago. " There's a growing awareness in our order of the dimensions of the problems facing women, " she said. "I view women's liberation as a transition to human liberation, when human beings will have the op- portunity to develop their emotional, intellectual and spiritual potential to the fullest. " On Tuesday nights , Sister Furay serves as supervising attorney for the Law School's legal clinic in Linda Vista. Accustomed to a life of poverty herself, she has gained some additional insights into the plight of the poor. " Poverty," she mused ,' ' 1s helplessness , dependence, insecurity." Sister Furay learned many of her administrative skills from Sister Aimee Rossi, the senior member'of the community. Sister Rossi retired as academic dean of the College for Women in 1967. turning her duties over to Sister Furay She remembers when the College for Women, staffed and operated by the order, first opened its doors in 1952. Back then, the dream of a diocesan university was just Continued on Page A- 7

phase of her vocation and just retired from the history department and plans to dedicate herself to a new task - compiling the archives of the order's western province. She shows a visitor around the Casa Maria bungalow with obvious pride. She is especially fond of the little windowed alcove where priests can celebrate the Mass. Outside, a vegetable garden struggles agamst nightly raids from rabbits in a nearby canyon. Dressed in a bright yellow shirtwaist dress and gray leather sandals Sister McShane con- templated the "new order." "Nothing essential has changed. A good deal of structure has fallen. We're trying to meet the needs of a vastly changed world." When the sisters gather near the chapel, at Casa Maria, or in Kearny Mesa, one of the problems that worries them most is the future of religious life. Religious vocations are declining and priests and nuns are abandoning thelf vocations for the secular life. Will young women still answer the call to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience to serve God? "When people know who they are and what their goals are, they're not afraid to make longterm com- mitments," observed Sister Furay. "When they ' re not sure, they're incapable of making them." Sister McHugh added: "We've talked about the future long enough. Now it is time to pray. I think there will always be some religious, a few 'tough little citadels' who will transcend themselves to witness in the marketplace. " Sister Rossi agreed. "I don't think people realize how much more they can accomplish for God and for others in the religious life. When they begin to see these values in a new way, there will be an increase in vocations." "We don't know God's plan for us," mused Sister Murphy. "I want people to see the religious dynamism, the hidden spring that propels us. The thing we must preserve is a genuine religious call. It's just that we've translated that call into new lifestyles." the beginning of another. She

beginning to take shape m a cluster of Spanish Renaissance buildings overlooking Misst0n Bay. It wasn't until 1967 that the separate entities on campus the College for Women, the College for Men, the Law School, and the seminary began to combine facilities, faculties and administratlOns. The campus operates independently of the diocese but still retains its Catholic orientation. The president, Dr. Author Hughes, has spearheaded a reorganization of the different schools. Today there is a college of arts and sciences, a school of business administration, a school of education, in addition to law. A school of nursing and allied health sciences will open next year. Sister Rossi has accepted the changes gracefully. but she believes that the college offered more op- portunities to develop women leaders before classes became coed. She has decided to retain the short black veil and knee-length habit. And despite her retirement from administrative duties, she's still very busy - tutoring minority students in English and drumming up support for a music scholarship fund named in her honor. She reminds her students that discipline is essential to success in study and in life itself . Looking back over her six decades as a nun, she reflects: "You've got to have that desire to serve God and His • people. You can't leave either out of the picture." For Sister Agnes Murphy , the new lifestyle has meant an opportunity to become active in parish life. She is diocesan synod discussion leader at the Immaculata Church on campus. That experience, she said, is typical of the new wars of knowing "God and His people · that she has found since the order began to experiment with different modes of living. "It's been a marvelous experience, meeting with people of all ages and backgrounds to discuss how the diocese can better serve them. One thing I've found, we all need to listen more.·· Souvenirs of her year-long sabbaticaf to Afnca crowd a table in her office, giving evidence of her continuing interest in history. "If I am going to teach African history," she explained, "I need something more than books. I have to experience the culture.'· Reflecting on the changes wrought in the order, Sister Murphy cited "more sharing" as the biggest gain. "And I thmk our prayer life has intensified, if anything." For Sister Catherine McShane, this summer marks the end of one

Sister Solly Furay, university provost, shores on apart- ment in Kearny Mesa with four other Religious of the Sacred Heart. The sisters decided to break down into smaller family type living groups four years ocio.

, , JL..,._ tz 'JU./ 74 Fasliions in focus'' committee selected . (Jd- c- ,J

ho lesses , Frank O'Connor. publicity , Frank Pavel. decoration and Richard Wolf, Charles Ragan, award Also Mme.. Emtl Bava 1, file . Harry Lee mith , music, Lee Bartell Robert Bond. mv1tat1on and .James Casey Jr , tele- phone rea chairmen include Mme John Hogan, Del Iar. Alvm Schrepferman, La Jolla , A.J.C Forsyth. Coronado . and Robert Howard, La Mesa . Proceeds of the event have been pledged to the university's scholarship fund Mrs. James Robert Davis is president of the auxiliary.

FOR CLUES TO PAST Students Sift Old Town Earth By DIANE Cl, RK Education Writer The San Diego t:nlon

"We are finding enough here to deterrnme the shapes of the walls, the sizes of rooms, the type of floors and a lot about the people that lived in these buildings." For instance, no one knows when the American Hotel was bmlt since build- ing pern11ts were not re- quired m the mid-19th Centu- ry. But USO research places the date between I l and 1858, Brandes said. DETECTIVE STORY ' it's kmd of like a detec- tiv story - fitting the pier·- es together," he added Moriarty described some of these pieces The beef bone might mdicate the kitchen area of the hotel, especially when several china pieces were recovered in the same area. A half-inch chip of glass iudicates tnat the name of the Aniencau Hotel was painted in blue. Other rt Jnks of wood show that ,11,· hotel <.:oior sct1en1e was r,•:l, ·>i,te and bwe. .Ii -rno ·srovE A twisted hunk of rusted iron became, under )loriar- ty's experienced eye, figured as a 500-pound cast-iron stove. Pipes leading into the

building not only showed that gas was used, but be- cause they were coated with tar to prevent rusting and because an Old Town resi- dent remembered an era of gas lighting, they were dated between 1870 and 1880. :vloriarty held up slivers of glass and described their be- lieved role in Old Town his- tory. One was from a dry sink counter top of about 1870 designed to support a pitcher and washing bowl. Another, dated by its thin- ness and degree of deteriora- tion, was determined to be- long to the hotel's original windows , and another piece, thicker and better pre- served, was dated between 1914 and 1918. Whisky-bottle glass, hand- blown between 1860 and 1880, indicated where the hotel bar was located. 2ND YEAR This is the second year of excavation at the hotel site by USD students who work four mornings a week in the swmuer and on weekends during the winter. Hours of research preced- ed the first excavations, however. Historic&! docu- ments were researched, old- (Contlnued on 8-4, Col. I)

University of San Diego students are slowly unearth- ing San Diego's early history m Old Town. Bits of chlna, square hand- wrought nails, corroded gas pipes, painted boards and even old beef bones are writ- mg the history of a three- building block of Old Town as they are brought to light. Dr. James )lonarty and Dr. Ray Brandes are leading their "historic lte archeolo- gy" class in gathering mfor- mation that will blueprint reconstruction and furnish· ing of the O'Neill house, a 12- foot alley, the American Hotel and the Machado- Wr ghtmgton Hou e on the west side of. an Diego Ave- nue FEW RECORDS

FOR CLUES TO PAST

Youths Sift Old Town (Continued from Page B-1) "But with our society ad- timer. interviewed, pictures vancing so rapidly and tec_h- and drawings pursued nolog1cally we soon ;y1ll acr • the country and li- clear out all the old ~r~as brary and history books and only the people hvmg studied, instructors said there will _re~.ember what "My students have to deal th ey were like . with many artifacts," said Monarty explamed . that Moriarty. "That means ~randes mlt1ated the h1stor- when they find a hunk of 1c archeology at several rusted iron they have to sites 1~ San Diego - mclud- know what. a cast-irqn stove mg M1ss1on Sa~ .Diego de looked 11ke and how it aper- ~cala and Pres1d10 Park - ated." m the late 1960s because he

rome out here and find it and hold it." EXAJ\IPLES DISPLAYED She mted to some nearly decayed cotton, a Swim's mmeral water bottle, an 1830s medicine bottle, some · china imported from En- gland and hand-wrought square nails. Brandes explained that they hope to complete re- search on the site this sum- mer so reconstruction of the period buildings may follow in keeping with an Old Town master plan for restoration as it appeared in the 1800s. The California Parks and Recreation Department that maintains the state-owned park granted permission for USO to dig at the sites . It also has given the university a grant for its research from which architects and land- scape artists eventually will reconstruct the early town .

He calls his course an "in- w_as alarmed that so much troduction into thr roots of history IS bemg lost and stu- San Diego community cul- dents w~re not l~armng ture." about their own area s histo- VALUE RECOGNIZED

ry. Melinda Blade, a USO graduate student who is ra- tegorizing this summrr's finds, explained the value of the dig. "You can do all the re- search in class and from books that you want to learn about an area, but we can

- Stoff Photo bv Bob lvln With picks and brushes these University of San Diego students carefully sift an historic Old Town site for artifacts to be used as clues in reconstruction of an old hotel and two houses along San Diego Avenue.

"We've been very late in the United States to come to the realization that we must begin prcservmg things that aren't very old, like Vic- torian houses," he said. " Many archeologists prefer to study ancient man.

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