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Show ONE OF THE POOR CLARES. Death of Countess Annetta.Bentivog- j lio, Their Founder. The soul of the Rt. Rev. Mother Mary ! Magdalen of the Sacred Heart, nee f Countess Annetta Bentivoglio, foundress found-ress of the Order of Poor Clares in the ! United States departed this -life the j 18th of August, at 3:30 p. m., fortified ! with the sacraments of our Holy Mother Church. She was born in the castle of St. Angelo. Rome, July 29, 1834. being the twelfth of sixteen children. chil-dren. Her father. Count Domenico Bentivoglio, held the rank of general in the papal army and did worthy service ser-vice both under Gregory XVI. and Pius IX. She entered religion on the feast of St. Francis, 1864. Thirty yearge ago, in 1875, the Rt. Rev. Mother Abbess accompanied ac-companied by her Sister Mary Constance Con-stance of Jesus, left. the monastery of San Lorenzo-in-Panisperna, Rome, to come to this country', in conrbliance with the command of his holiness. Pope Pius IX., and the general of the order, the Most Rev. Father Bernardine. made at the request of the Rt. Rev. Franci3 Silas Chatard, D.D., bishop of Indian apolis, (then president of the American Ameri-can college in Rome) who has always been a father to the Rt. Rev. Mother Abbess and her community. Prior to this time several attempts had been made to introduce the Order of Poor Clares according to the primitive primi-tive observance of the first-rule of St. Clare into America, but. they- had proved unsuccessful. The Work of firmly establishing the ordep. was reserved re-served in -the .decrees. -.of Divine Provl-i Provl-i denee.,- to two members of one of the oldest and noblest families of Italy. The two Sisters, in virtue of holy obedience, set out from their beloved monastery, August 12, 1S75, Sister Magdalen being appointed Mother Abbess of the new foundation, or of any other foundation to be made, bv his holiness, granting her all the rights and privileges commonly com-monly enjoyed by the superiors of the order, expressly ordaining, that in these new foundations the first rule of St. Clare should be strictly adhered ad-hered to, especially in the things relating re-lating to the observance of holy poverty. They arrived in New York, October 12, having a most calm and pleasant voyage. Here they encountered many trials, which though severe, did not discourage them in their noble undertaking, under-taking, but rather afforded a means of manifesting the true worth of their noble characters. After a series of bitter disappointments, they received an offer from his grace, the archbishop of New Orleans to establish themselves in that city. They gratefully accepted the offer and through the kindness of Mrs. F. A. Drexel and Mother Bouvier, a religious of the Sacred Heart were enabled to reach their new home, March 13. 1877. Their stay in New Orleans was of but short duration for on June 17. they were surprised by a visit of the Very-Reverend Very-Reverend Father Gregory Yanknecht, minister provincial of the German province of the Sacred Heart of St. Louis, Mo., who told them to get ready to leave New Orleans and to go to Cleveland. O. Without inquiring into his motives, they simply bowed their heads and prepared for departure, leaving August 6. At Cleveland new trials awaited them; three months had barely elapsed when Father Gregory, accompanied by Father Kilian, came to tell them that a number of German Poor Clare Col-letines Col-letines were on their way to Cleveland and would arrive the next day; that a fusion of the two communities was to be made and that they were to conform in every detail to the usages of the German Sisters. They had received no previous intimation of this matter. Without knowing the reason, they had been conducted to Cleveland for the purpose of introducing the German Colletines for whom Father Gregory ! had promised to provide a home in the I United States, but had failed to ob- j 'tain the necessary permission from, several bishops to whom he had ap- plied for leave to establish them in I their dioceses. When, however, he informed in-formed his lordshin. the Rt. Reverend j Bishop Gilmore, that there were two i Sisters belonging to the family of Bentivoglio. who wished to settle there. I his lordship, having heard of them I from the Rt. Reverend Bishop Chataid, at once said: "I will certainly receive re-ceive them." Upon the arrival of the German community com-munity it was found to be impossible to conform to their usages and customs, cus-toms, the rules of the Colletines differing differ-ing in many essential points from the first rule of St. Clare, which latter the Sisters had been sent specially to found. Besides this, there were several rights, which had been directly conferred on them by the apostolic see at Rom which they could not renounce until they were taken from them by those who had granted them. They wrote to the father general in Rome fully explaining ex-plaining matters and received his sanction sanc-tion to leave Cleveland, which they did, February 26, 1878. thus a second time deprived of their home, but they went with brave hearts trusting to the guidance guid-ance of God. They decided this time to make an attempt at-tempt to col'ect funds to Durchase a proper-site and build a regular monastery, mon-astery, although they , had been invited in-vited by the archbishop to return to New - Orleans. - ' Accordingly . they started for New- York where they were known and hoped to .find friends will- ing to aid them. They did not remain long, however, but went out west on a begging tour. Passing through Cmaha. they made the acquaintance of a wealthy gentleman, the Hon. J. A. Creighton, well known for his great liberality. He promised to assist them and right nobly and faithfully has he kept his word as the present beautiful monastery there erected at his sole expense ex-pense bears testimony. The most important foundation of the Rt. Rev. Mother Abbess is. however. ? in Evansville, Ind.. under the special ?J jurisdiction of the Rt. Reverend Bishop Chatard. and where her last years have been peacefully spent. The mon- astery was opened in 1897, a wing only I then being built, but which is now to be completed through the liberalitv of I a generous benefactress, Mrs. Mary R. Fendrich. ( I The life of a most truly saintly re- ligious, one who followed c'osely in the footsteps of the humble minded foundress, of the order, the glorious St Clare, is ended. Tie fragrance of her I virtues will linger long in the mem- ones and hearts of those she has left behind: i i "As fades the golden sunset from our si-;ht. - " Her noble spirit passed to realms of ' light." |