International sisters visit Mount St. Macrina
Ed Cope
Sister Maria Rozmarynowycz (left), OSBM, of Fox Chase Manor, Pa., along with Sister Dia Zagurska (right), OSBM, of the Ukraine and Sister Barbara Jean Mihalchick (center), provincial counselor at Mount St. Macrina in Uniontown, browse through the religious gift shop at Mount St. Macrina.
Ed Cope
Sister Barbara Jean (left), provincial counselor at Mount St. Macrina, and Sister Janet Decker (right) assist Sister Mariam Clare Kowal, superior General of the Sisters of St. Basil in Rome, Italy, as she browses through the gift shop at Mount St. Macrina during a recent visit..
A group of sisters from eight countries visited Mount St. Macrina in Uniontown recently as they came to America for the 100th anniversary of the Basilian Sisters in the United States.
“We are very blessed to be here in this jubilee time of joy and gratitude,” said Sister Monica Jaciuk, director of communications for the Basilian Kenosis Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “It’s a great opportunity to share with our sisters here how God is working in us and through us as a praying, life-giving and healing presence.”
Fifteen Sisters of St. Basil the Great came to Uniontown from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Ukraine. The guests include Sister Miriam Claire Kowal, general superior of the Sisters of St. Basil, who is originally from Philadelphia but stationed in Rome.
Sister Barbara Jean Mihalchick of the Sisters of St. Basil at Mount St. Macrina explained the Sisters of St. Basil is an international order that is several centuries old and established in 12 countries. The sisters first came to the United States at Philadelphia in 1911. The Sisters at Mount St. Macrina are an offshoot of that original group and are celebrating their 90th anniversary this year.
Mihalchick said the centennial celebration took place at Fox Chase Manor in north Philadelphia and included a Liturgy at the Ukranian Catholic Cathedral in Philadelphia as well as a dinner on Nov. 6. A leadership workshop was held Nov. 4. About a dozen sisters from Mount St. Macrina traveled to Philadelphia for the celebration.
Afterwards, 15 sisters took an opportunity to visit Mount St. Macrina.
Sister Valentina Hadarau, provincial superior of the Romanian Province of the Sisters of St. Basil, knew many of the sisters at Mount St. Macrina from her work with the general council in Rome as well as four previous visits to Uniontown.
She said, “I like the property here, and the sisters and the work they do here. Every time I come, I’m happy to see them.”
The sisters traveled by van Tuesday to Mount St. Macrina, where they enjoyed a dinner and toured the grounds. They did more visiting Wednesday, stopped at the gift shop and attended a Liturgy before going back to Philadelphia and later returning to their home countries.
Asked her impression of Pennsylvania, Hadarau said, “It’s a beautiful area, especially in the autumn when everything is full of colors. We’ve had very nice weather.”
Jaciuk, who first came to Mount St. Macrina for a weeklong retreat in 2004, spoke of the significance of Mount St. Macrina.
She said, “The monastic life is at the heart of the church. Mount St. Macrina is like a heart of this whole area and through our prayers, we’re trying to be life-giving for this area.”
Jaciuk added, “I would like the people living in this area to feel blessed because they have Mount St. Macrina here.”