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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  Adrian Dominicans mark 125 years

by Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published May 29, 2009

Photo courtesy of Adrian Dominicans During Morning Prayer on May 16, Sr. Donna Markham, OP, prioress of the congregation, welcomes sisters and guests to the 125th anniversary celebration.

Detroit - The small community of Dominican sisters established at Adrian 125 years ago was to grow in numbers and scope of ministry far beyond its original mission.

On May 20, 1884, six Dominican sisters arrived in the Lenawee County city to open the St. Joseph Hospital and Home for the Aged, a ministry to injured railroad workers.

They joined some other Dominicans who had come as early as August 1879 to staff St. Mary School and some others who had come in 1880 to staff St. Joseph School.

With the new arrivals, what would eventually become the Adrian Dominican Sisters was formed.

More than 700 sisters, associates and guests gathered in Adrian May 16-17 to celebrate that 125-year milestone. But many thousands of people in southeast Michigan and beyond have reason to thank the Adrian Dominicans for their service down through the years - as well as their continuing ministries today.

Although its motherhouse ceased to be in the then-Diocese of Detroit when the Diocese of Lansing was erected in 1937, the Adrian Dominicans continued to be among the most numerous communities of women religious in the Diocese/Archdiocese of Detroit.

During those decades when religious vocations were plentiful - there were about 2,400 members in the early 1960s - many schools in the archdiocese were staffed by Adrian Dominicans, and the sisters have continued to be involved in key roles in educational leadership to this day.

Today, the congregation numbers about 850 sisters, with 148 of them living and ministering in the Detroit Archdiocese.

Over the years, the ministries of the Adrian Dominicans grew geographically, too, so that they now serve in 30 states, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, as well as in Haiti, China, the Dominican Republic and South Africa.

Two colleges originally founded to prepare sisters to be teachers have grown into respected universities - Siena Heights University in Adrian and Barry University in Miami.

Photo courtesy of Adrian Dominicans Sr. Nadine Foley, OP, the congregation’s historian and former prioress, discusses the history of the Adrian Dominican Sisters during the 125th anniversary celebration.

As former director of the archdiocesan Department of Education, Sr. Frances Nadolny - now prioress of the Adrian Dominicans' Great Lakes Chapter - is an example of how Adrian Dominicans have served in leadership roles in the local Church.

But there are many others, as well: Sr. Janet Schaeffler, archdiocesan associate director for Adult Faith Formation; Sr. Maureen Fay, former president of University of Detroit Mercy and now co-chair of the Together in Faith tracking committee; Sr. Karen Lietz, principal of Cardinal Mooney High School in Marine City; Sr. Mary Lou Putrow, of the Sacred Heart Major Seminary faculty; and Sr. Nancyann Turner, who directs the youth programs for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, to name just a few.

Others are pastoral associates at parishes, directors of institutions, hospital chaplains, nurse practitioners, health care administrators, or involved in an array of other ministries.

Sr. Nadolny says the support of her congregation gave her the opportunity to earn her doctorate - from Michigan State University - which enabled her to rise to become the archdiocesan education director.

"(Being an Adrian Dominican) allowed me to preach the Gospel in a whole different way, and affect more people than I ever imagined possible. It has been a wonderful gift for me," she says.

Photo courtesy of Adrian Dominicans Sr. Janice Brown, OP (right), director of the Dominican Literacy Center in Detroit, confers with Kimberly Burch Darling, the center’s program coordinator.

Sr. Janice Brown was a late vocation to the Adrian Dominicans, having entered the congregation at 45. Now, she is director of the Dominican Literacy Center on Detroit's east side - one of two literacy centers run by the Adrians in the city.

With an estimated 47 percent of the adult population functionally illiterate, Sr. Brown sees the ministry as essential to helping Detroiters qualify for employment and lift themselves out of poverty.

But she also enjoys the work her Dominican charism has led her to. "I have fallen in love with the people I'm working with and with my ministry. It's all about spreading the Gospel in a variety of ways, and it has just been a wonderful experience," she says.

For more information about the Adrian Dominican Sisters, call (517) 266-3400 or go to www.adriandominicans.org.