In Her Own Words ...

Reflections on the Adrian Dominican
Congregation from Two Novices

	Sister Elise García Adrian Dominican Sisters: A Spiral of Wild Symmetry More		Sister Thanh Nguyen Adrian Dominican Sisters: Flexible Clay More

Sister Elise

The six nuns who gathered at the door of the elm house in the cornfield were not aware that they were laying the foundation of what was to be the Motherhouse of the Adrian Dominican Sisters. The bleak little dwelling gave neither promise nor sign.

It was a warm spring day in late May 1884 when the nuns gathered to dedicate the house as a hospital for railroad accident cases — and, as it turned out, to give birth to a new way of living Dominican life six and a half centuries after it emerged in southern France. Over the course of the next century, the community grew out of that casual beginning, unfolding like a spiral — expanding out in wild symmetry from its new shoots in the Great Lakes basin of North America.

Like the brief period of “inflation” at the creation of the universe that resulted in its massive expansion within a matter of seconds, the community that would become the Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary experienced rapid growth in its early years. Within less than 40 years, the community in Adrian had grown from 14 to 440 members who staffed 52 schools in seven states, including Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida.

The expansion continued until the Congregation reached a peak in 1968 of 2,400 members, whose median age was 33 and who were engaged in 208 elementary schools, 56 high schools, three Congregation-owned colleges, one Latin American university, two hospitals, two Newman Centers, and centers of Christian information.

At this point, with the post-Vatican II Renewal Chapter of 1968, the Congregation’s expansion took a new twist — it was internal rather than external. In what by all outward appearances might have seemed a break from the past, the radical changes that ensued were actually a great swing of expansion issuing from and giving new expression to the Congregation’s essence. That expansive movement continues today, although at a more modulated pace.

The spiral image evokes in my mind a double movement of inner impulse (that which initially impelled and continues to impel the congregation and its individual members to existence) and the gravitational pull of the world’s needs (the signs of the times that demand a response from the Congregation and its individual members). The spiral also images a core essence, an inspirited “singularity,” from which its life emerges and to which it is ever-more tethered (i.e., must remain true) regardless of the distance the outer arms have journeyed from the core. The double movement of inner impulse and gravitational pull creates a “wild symmetry.” Again, no matter how wild the swing, the Congregation/spiral is held and ultimately shaped by the internal and external forces of the whole, which also will not permit it to be contained, as with a circle, triangle, square, or ellipse. The spiral is dynamic, ever-expanding, outward-reaching — as are the Adrian Dominicans.

Sisters say they never could have predicted in 1962 what their life would look like in 1972, so radical was that particular spiral swing. Yet there is near universal agreement that their life today is as true as it was prior to renewal.

When I ask, “If somehow you had a lens to look into the future and in 1962 could have seen what life would look like in 1972 (and beyond), would you have liked what you saw and thought it ‘true’?” The usual answer I get is, “No, probably not!”

So as I look to the future of the Adrian Dominican Sisters (and religious life, in general), I know that I am and will be part of that next great spiral movement where we will experience new ways of being true, impelled by the Spirit and drawn by the signs of the times. History tells me that if I could look into the future — even 10 years hence — I may not like what I see or think it “true” to the life. But history — and the sacred geometry of the spiral — speaks otherwise, promising a future (Adrian or not) Dominican life I can trust to be deeply true to itself. Back to Top

Adrian Dominican Sisters: Flexible Clay
- by Sister Cecily Thanh Nguyen

Sister Thanh

The metaphor that I would propose for my congregation is “flexible clay.” The clay is shaped or reshaped by the potter until he or she is able to make it form an attractive and satisfactory vessel. Therefore, Adrian Dominican Sisters are reshaped or transformed by God in order to become a useful vessel for others at different times in history.

In light of the Adrian Congregation history, we can see how God worked like a potter with his clay. For instance, in responding to the educational needs of the children of German immigrants, four nuns from Holy Cross Convent left their home in Regensburg to go to New York. As the clay needs to be flexible in the potter’s hands, so also were these nuns flexible in changing their cloistered style of living to become apostolic sisters as teachers, nurses, and health care providers for the orphans.

The Adrian Congregation descended from the second Regensburg foundation, the Convent of the Most Holy Rosary in New York. The need for teachers brought the first nuns from this convent to Michigan. The Adrian Sisters responded to the needs at that time to move to an unknown place, covered with corn fields, to provide services to the poor. The trust in God’s providence and love made the Adrian Congregation become flexible clay in the hands of the potter, God. In 1884, six nuns were sent to open St. Joseph Hospital and Home for the Aged in Adrian.

With God’s guidance, Mother Camilla Madden, the first Mother General of the Adrian Dominicans, opened a new academy for young women in 1896. Her educational vision expanded with the opening of St. Joseph College in 1919, now Siena Heights University. After that, the Adrian Congregation received many young women who wanted to join the congregation. With the growth, the Adrian Sisters went farther to open new schools or provide ministries at different places, particularly in Illinois, Florida, Arizona and New Mexico. Later, the Congregation expanded to California, Nevada and the Dominican Republic.

With the breath of the Holy Spirit and under God’s assistance, the Adrian Congregation continued to be transformed in order to do God’s will. Vatican II led the Congregation into tremendous changes. The Adrian Sisters started to achieve higher education, discerned their calls in ministry, and voiced their ideas and needs. Different kinds of ministries were encouraged in order to adapt to contemporary needs. Many Adrian Sisters today work as teachers, nurses, social workers, lawyers, spiritual directors, pastoral care providers, and in social justice.

Today, the Adrian Congregation continues to be flexible clay in the hands of God. We need to discern God’s plan by listening to the voice of God that whispers in the quiet moments of our contemplation. Also, we need to let God be God, who controls our lives by acting according to God’s direction. In addition, a desire to be flexible clay in the hands of God requires me to discern God’s intention in my daily life. How am I able to know God’s will for me? I need to listen to the voice of God through prayers, discussions with others, events in my life, and feelings of my heart. With God’s love and grace, I can be flexible clay that God uses to bring salvation to others. I take responsibility in using my freedom to glorify God, for the benefit of myself and others. Trusting in God’s sovereignty and mercy also helps me to live my life in peace and hope. Back to Top