Interview with Mother Anne of Des Plaines Carmel - Part 1

[graciandelamadrededios]

 

1.) I have heard that your Carmel has an interesting history — can Your Reverence please tell us about it?

Each Carmel has a unique and beautiful history to tell! The history of our Carmel of St. Joseph, Des Plaines began in the heart of our beloved foundress, Mother Agnes of Jesus (1909- 1999). Mother was a “Pennsylvania girl,” who entered Carmel in 1928 in New Albany, Indiana, for the foundation in Indianapolis and eventually, as prioress of Indianapolis, founded the Carmel of Terre Haute, Indiana in 1947. In founding and guiding our Carmel, Mother Agnes, together with Mother Catherine of the Mother of God (who succeeded her as prioress), imparted to our community a spirit of holy joy, strongly rooted faith, and an unquestioning trust in God. We always begin the story of our history by recalling the Gospel verse, “Unless the grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it remains alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.”

Mr. and Mrs. John B. O’Connor of Wilmette, Illinois (who always insisted we call them “Jack and Margaret”) had been in contact with Mother and the Sisters in Terre Haute Carmel, asking prayers for their eight children, especially for their son, Johnny, who was born with Down’s Syndrome. This precious child died in a tragic drowning during the summer of 1955. Soon after that, Jack O’Connor’s parents were both killed in a car accident. Mother Agnes sent the heartfelt condolences of the Sisters for this new loss, and in a momentous and now famous “P.S.” to her letter, subtly suggested that their home could be used for the beginning of a Carmel in Chicagoland.

The O’Connors then had a “family meeting” about this crucial decision. Jack told the children, the eldest of whom was only nine years old, “You may not be able to have a fur coat or a swimming pool if we help the Sisters to come to Chicago.” The family all opted for Carmel, and this generous response was the birth of the plans for our foundation in the archdiocese.

In 1956, Jack O’Connor conferred with Cardinal Samuel Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago, about the possibility of bringing Carmel to the archdiocese. The Cardinal himself went to see the house Jack proposed to give the community but judged it to be too small for a monastery. He suggested that the proceeds from its sale should be used to help build the first wing of the monastery on property donated by the archdiocese. The priests of the archdiocese also very generously responded to the Cardinal’s appeal to help this first building project of our fledgling Carmel. This property to the northwest of the city was originally purchased after the Chicago Fire of 1871, for an orphanage for children who lost their parents in the disaster. Our Carmel is actually on what was once a cornfield used to instruct the young people in farming techniques; we still had tractor ruts in our yard for many years after the foundation - our founding Sisters still speak of their adventures from their hours of “de-bumping the field.”

Mother Agnes always remembered her first meeting with the Cardinal. No sooner had they sat down than he asked, “Now Sisters, what do you do (to support yourselves)?” Mother replied, “We make altar breads.” He said, “Mother, we don’t need your altar breads.” Mother then said, “We make vestments,” and she could see a twinkle in the Cardinal’s eye as he then insisted, “We don’t need your vestments.” After a pause he added, “Do you pray? We need your prayers. Pray for the archdiocese, pray for the archbishop, the priests, Catholic Charities and all the faithful.” This was the only work the Cardinal asked of the community and he assured Mother that once our Carmel was established, the people of the archdiocese would always give it their faithful support. His promise has been wonderfully fulfilled to the present time. In 1958, Pope Pius XII appointed Cardinal Stritch as Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. Before he left for Rome, one of his last official acts was to break ground for the first wing of our monastery on April 11, 1958. He then placed the arrangements for the foundation in the hands of his auxiliary, Bishop Raymond Hillinger, who became a very faithful friend.

The first wing of the permanent monastery at the corner of River Road and Central Avenue in Des Plaines was completed in November of 1959. Mother Agnes and six nuns arrived to make the foundation on November 24, which was the solemnity of Our Holy Father St. John of the Cross at that time. The first Mass was said on December 16, at the beginning of the Christmas novena, and Cardinal Albert Meyer, Cardinal Stritch’s successor, officiated over the Enclosure Ceremony on January 7, 1960.

The first monastery wing contained a temporary chapel and nuns’ choir, infirmary, kitchen, refectory, laundry, workrooms, and some cells. In time the community was outgrowing this modest space, and a further addition to the building was necessary. On July 11, 1964, Bishop Hillinger presided at a groundbreaking ceremony for the next wing of the monastery, which would include the permanent chapel, choir, chapter room, speakrooms, and several workrooms. The first Mass in the new chapel was said on August 27, 1965. Construction was completed by January 1966; Cardinal John Cody blessed the front wing and conducted the Enclosure Ceremony on March 12 of that year.

Mother Agnes, along with Mother Catherine who worked faithfully at her side, were together a pillar of light for their daughters during the years following the Second Vatican Council. They were dedicated to protecting the peace and good of our Carmel. It was a time when leadership had to be wise, strong and very discerning. Our Mothers combined these characteristics with a wellbalanced flexibility, neither rigid nor radical. They were gifted with a wisdom that saw right to the heart of any problem, spiritual or material. They were a source of strength and moral support for all those who came to Carmel with their needs and petitions.

Our Community grew steadily and in the 1980’s it became possible to complete the monastery, providing more cells, a permanent recreation room and library. Mother Agnes used to tell the Sisters that she would never live to see a complete monastery, though she always had the finished plan in her mind’s eye. However, as the need became pressing, we made building plans and had a private groundbreaking ceremony on March 19, 1984, the year of the Silver Jubilee of our Carmel, placing the project in the hands of our Father, St. Joseph. By the summer of 1986, our monastery was at last complete. We remember how wonderful it was to finally have processions that could go around the entire building and not stop to double-back.

The grounds of the enclosure, the famous cornfield with nary a blade of grass, have been transformed into an oasis of peace. There St. Joseph stands in silence and prayer. In his hands we find strength for those who bring to Carmel their overwhelming needs. In his great heart, we find answers to the deep and varied sufferings of time. There we find courage to meet each day as he did with honesty, fidelity, integrity and unfaltering love.

In our monastery cemetery beneath a granite cross, Mother Agnes awaits the Resurrection, surrounded by three more of our foundresses: Mother Catherine, Sr. Francis of Jesus, Sr. Elia of the Mother of God as well as Jack and Margaret O’Connor, who had the privilege of burial on our grounds in virtue of their pivotal role as our founders.

The overall impression of the monastery is of a fortress of prayer and sacrifice, set as a jewel in what St. Teresa liked to call “a paradise of the Lord’s delight,” under a majestic bell tower rising above the surrounding area from which the clarion call of our bells ring out each day to affirm the immortal words of the Prophet Elias that are so emblematic of our Carmelite Order. “The Lord God lives, in whose presence I stand.”

Thus, the tragic loss of a cherished son and the sudden death of beloved parents made the Cross a vivid reality to the O’Connor family, but its life-giving streams, bringing life from death, would nourish the ground where the Vine of Carmel would be planted. From these humble beginnings of simple faith and generous love, Carmel made its appearance in the archdiocese of Chicago, destined to be a light for many souls, bringing new hope and strength into their lives.

God willed that new life should spring from apparent death, and that here, almost within view of Johnny O’Connor’s grave in All Saints’ Cemetery (situated south of us across Central Road), Carmel should arise like a beacon, as a witness to remind the world of God’s presence, His supreme reality in our lives and His loving concern for all our needs.