Enter a name, company, place or keywords to search across this item. Then click "Search" (or hit Enter).
Volume 055-4 - October 2001 (8 pages)
Go to the Archive Home
Go to Thumbnail View of this Item
Go to Single Page View of this Item
Download the Page Image
Copy the Page Text to the Clipboard
Don't highlight the search terms on the Image
Show the Page Image
Show the Image Page Text
Reset View and Center Image
Zoom Out
Zoom In
Rotate Left
Rotate Right
Toggle Full Page View
Flip Image Horizontally
More Information About this Image
Get a Citation for Page or Image - Copy to the Clipboard
Go to the Previous Page (or Left Arrow key)
Go to the Next Page (or Right Arrow key)
Page: of 8
days. Due to the appeals of the Bishop and the Sisters and
with three fairs, numerous church collection and thirty-two
years of payments, the total indebtedness was cleared by
December, 1870.
On December 27, 1891, the revered Father Thomas
Joseph Dalton died at the age of sixty-five and, at his request, was buried in his priestly vestments under the floor
of the church in front of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s altar. As
the century drew to a close the Bishop appointed Father
Charles M. Lynch as the new pastor for St. Patrick’s
Church.
On May 10, 1894, the Sisters of Mercy elected a new
Reverend Mother to replace Mother Aloysius, who had
served the full amount of time permitted by church law. The
replacement was Mother M. Francis Murphy, who undertook an ambitious building program. It included the removal of the old Scadden cottage, which after housing
Father Dalton for a few years had become a chapel for the
Sisters. A new chapel named in honor of St. Joseph was
erected at that same spot.
Also taking place was the replacement of Sister M.
Teresa King with Sister M. Baptist Synan as Sister Superior. This was done at Sister King’s request due to her poor
health. Sister King and Sister M. Joseph O’ Rourke returned
to the convent in San Francisco and were replaced by Sisters M. Regis Conner and M. Raymond.
A synopsis of activities in the 20th Century follows:
1901-1907
More new Sisters had joined the growing community and
two of them were needed to replace those who had died.
1908-1920
The church was extensively renovated for its Golden Jubilee including new interior walls, altars, stain glass windows, a sacristy and even a new pipe organ. After his death,
Father Lynch was replaced.
1921-1930
The aging orphanages, St. Patrick’s Home for Boys and
St. Vincent’s Home for Girls, were replaced by new buildings
of brick construction. More funerals of the Sisters occurred,
and the influx of new Sister vocations was reduced. A new
amalgamation with the Motherhouse in Omaha, Nebraska,
was created and all assignments would be handled from
there. All future vocations would be trained at Omaha and
then assigned where they were needed the most. This was in
place and operational by the summer of 1929.
1931-1940
The early part of this decade found the moving of the
inhabitants/students of St. Patrick’s and St. Vincent’s to a
new home in Sacramento. This now left the small community
of Sisters to apply their full attention to their boarding school,
day school, high school and the commercial school. The
Diamond Jubilee celebration was held on August 20, 1938, to
NCHS Bulletin October 2001
commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the arrival of
the Sisters. On January 8, 1940, another Diamond Jubilee
celebration was held, this time for Sister M. Agnes, who had
taken her vows on that date 75 years earlier.
1941-1950
On November 6, 1946, Sister M. Agnes died. She was a
few days short of her ninetieth birthday. Her passing marked
the last link with the pioneer Sisters that had called the
Convent their home. During the period of 1948 through 1949
a new church of St.
Patrick’s was erected
and the dedication
date was recorded as
March 17, 1950.
Before the old church
was demolished the
graves of Father Dalton and Father
McDonnell were removed and relaid in
the existing cemetery.
1951-1960
During these years,
the number of pupils
enrolled in the schools
was approximately as
follows: elementary
205, high school 86,
and some 30 boarders.
Mother M. Regis Connors.
1961-1970
This decade witnessed the Centennial of the arrival of the
Sisters and was celebrated on May 30, 1963, by the Most
Rev. Alden Bell, Bishop of Sacramento. In May 1965 the
“Select Boarding School for Young Ladies” was closed,
which provided more space for the elementary and high
schools. Also the Commercial School was closed, with the
students going to the new junior college in Auburn.
Renovations to the main building allowed both the
elementary and high schools to be in the same building, occupying the first and second floors respectively. During this
period the old St. Joseph’s Chapel was closed. A chapel for
the Sisters was set up on the top floor of the old building.
On May 28, 1966, the Nevada County Historical Society
recognized Mt. St. Mary’s School as an historical landmark
and dedicated a plaque commemorating Father Dalton and
the Sisters of Mercy.
Due to a shortage of personnel, the Sisters of Mercy decided to close the high school in 1968. This freed the top
floor of the old 1927 building, and the community of Sisters decided to turn it into a Convent for themselves. The
original 1866 building now stood empty except for the