Administrators old and new gathered on December 12, 2019, to bless the transition of Mount Assisi Convent to Mt. Assisi Place, following the property sale in August 2019. Pictured are (from left to right) Kathy Jones, Diane Ott, Sister Kathy Kudlac, Dennis Jones, Michael Ott, Dr. Matthew Coppola, Cindy McCullough, Sister Marian Sgriccia, Kate Guay and Sister Frances Marie Duncan.
A Grateful Transition
Our Lady of the Angels Chapel has hosted many blessed events over the decades, but perhaps none so monumental as A Grateful Transition, a special prayer service held on December 12, 2019, to mark the transition of the School Sisters of St. Francis former motherhouse property to Mt. Assisi Place.
Sister Georgette Dublino distributes prayer booklets to Diane Ott and her husband, Michael.
Sister Cecilia Jacko places a historic photo of Mount Assisi Convent at the altar.
The School Sisters of St. Francis have called Mount Assisi home since 1928, but aging membership and fiscal realities prompted the Sisters to sell the property in August 2019 to 934 LLC, a group of Pittsburgh-area investors who are committed to carrying forward the Sisters’ century-long mission of service through Mt. Assisi Place.
The prayer service and reception that followed honored the Sisters’ humble beginnings in the United States and their efforts to build the motherhouse — brick by brick by brick — to house their growing congregation, the thriving Mount Assisi Academy (1938-1978) and, eventually, Marian Hall Home personal care home (1970-2019) and Mount Assisi Academy Preschool (1980-2018).
Several of the Sisters carried bricks to represent the building’s construction and a historical photo of the ‘Gleam on the Hilltop’ in ceremonial procession. Blessings were bestowed upon the continued success of the 81-bed Mt. Assisi Place that remains home to 14 elder members of the School Sisters of St. Francis.
Following the prayer service, those assembled gathered in St. Francis Library — the original motherhouse chapel — for a reception. The evening offered prayerful closure to and celebration of the property transition and the continued care of those in need — in this case the elderly — just as the Sisters envisioned when they broke ground on the Mt. Assisi complex in 1926.
“It is kind of a time capsule,” said Sister Marian Sgriccia, current provincial vicar and former administrator of Marian Hall Home for 19 years. “We hold in our hearts the years our Sisters built upon this hill to the time of rejoicing that our charism and faith can be continued through Mt. Assisi Place.”
The Sisters continue to coordinate daily Masses at Mt. Assisi Place and have an enduring presence there, both in person and through artifacts throughout the building.