Our Blog: Holy Names Voices

We collect experiences throughout our lives that shape who we are and how we act in the world. For Catholic Sisters Week, we’re sharing how some of our recent travel experiences have shaped us.

“When I volunteered at refugee centers in Texas, I understood how much work we have ahead of us to guarantee a safe home, food security and healthcare for all.” – Sister Guadalupe Guajardo

“When I spent time in Peru, I admired how people looked out for one another with food, friendship… whatever was needed.” – Sister Maureen Delaney

“When we traveled to Arizona to help at a refugee center, we witnessed the incredible courage of families migrating to find a safe home.” – Sister Karen Conlin and Sister Makiko Fujiwara

Many Holy Names Sisters composed poetry, including California Sister Mary Edwin O’Neill (1867-1946), who published “Love on a Christmas Morning,” a charming book of poems relating to Christmas, in 1938.

Photos courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

Holy Names Sisters received homemade gifts from Bing Crosby!? Yes, it’s true.

Here is a shell, painted and decorated for Christmas. The accompanying Christmas card reads, “Crafted at Casa Crosby by loving, if reluctant, hands,” signed by singer Bing Crosby and his wife Kathryn. Bing grew up attending St. Aloysius Parish in Spokane, Washington, which was staffed by Holy Names Sisters. Many future Sisters also grew up in that parish and crossed paths with the Crosby family over the years, including Sister Katherine Theresa Fife, to whom this shell was sent in the early 1970s.

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,” (Isaiah 9:6). This creche scene was displayed at Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California for many years.

Photos courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

Sisters often bring home souvenirs from their missions around the world. This folk art depiction of Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem was purchased in Mexico in 1962 and belonged to Oregon Sister Barbara Gfeller.

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

Sister Mary Noreen O’Leary in the studio.

As we celebrate Sister Mary Noreen O’Leary after 100 years of life and 73 years of religious profession, her legacy of using art as “a source of new vision” for creation and education lives on through her work and her countless students.

For over 30 years, Sister Mary Noreen was a beloved instructor in the Marylhurst College Art Department. She had the challenge and the joy of convincing young people preparing to become teachers that they were equal to the challenge, including teaching art.

After leaving the college, Sister Mary Noreen spent many years teaching private art classes to children and adults in her Marylhurst studio. Throughout her life, she remained a practicing artist whose extensive body of work includes serigraph, mosaic, block print, oil and acrylic works.

“Madonna and Child”

A primary tenet of her philosophy of art was “The Adventure of Seeing!” The creative environment and diverse collections of her studio enhanced her students’ power to see beyond the external and to venture into “the within” in their exploration and experimentation with various media.

Sister Mary Noreen perceived art as a positive challenge. “It is a means by which we can explore and enjoy our world — both the inner world and the outer one,” she said. “Like life, art is a constantly growing experience. It does not disregard suffering. Rather, it is a tool for thinking and a source of new vision.”

Sister Mary Noreen recognized the value of art to human life and spirit. Whether participating in the richness and appreciation of the work of others, or imparting the values and principles of art to learners, she understood that art making and art immersion are important to the full development of the human person.

Victorians used hair art, worn as jewelry or crafted into elaborate display pieces, to mourn the loss of loved ones. This piece contains the hair of our foundress, Blessed Mother Marie Rose Durocher.

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

These black and white beans were used as voting markers by Sisters in California after Vatican II, when the hierarchical structure of religious life began to change in favor of a more democratic system.

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

Sisters in Washington and Oregon used Quick Elastic starch to prepare the coif and bandeau that surrounded their faces when they wore the traditional SNJM habit.

Here’s Sister Xavier Mary Courvoisier playing her violin, circa 1962 – Quick Elastic is certainly to thank for keeping her habit clean and crisp!

Sister Xavier Mary, a graduate of Julliard with a master’s degree in violin, taught music at Fort Wright College and Gonzaga University in Spokane and Holy Names University in Oakland.

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

This purse is an early creation from the Tutwiler, Mississippi quilters. This group was encouraged by encouraged by Holy Names Sister Maureen Delaney and Dominican Sister JoAnn Blomme, who saw an opportunity for the women in the area to earn income from their traditional quilt making back in the 1980s.

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.