THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN ESTABLISHMENT Letters of Sister Emerentiana M. Handldovitsi, Provincial Superior 1902-1935 PART I i THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN ESTABLISHMENT 1901. On July 20th, the Right Reverend Bela Kazinczy, Roman Catholic priest of Braddock, PA asked humbly in writing the Right Honorable Gyula Meszlenyi, bishop of Szatmarii would he send from the motherhouse in Szatmar and under his authority, six nuns who could speak Slovak. He also asked the same from the Director of the establishment, Sister Afra Woelfle. The Right Reverend Bela Kazinczy underscored his request with a list of dangers facing the American Catholics from the Protestants and the Pan-Slaviciii movement that would estrange them from their Hungarian homeland. Because of a lack of teachers and many other reasons the request was denied. Half a year later, the request was renewed, with the approval of the Right Honorable Antal Varady, Catholic bishop, in the name of Francis Joseph I, Apostolic King and Emperor, in response to his wish to keep the language and loyalty of the American Hungarian Slavs, in the interest of church and country. This important wish received a positive response. So on December 30th, 1901 a request was sent to all convents. The circular had the following detail: ii “For the purpose of keeping the Christian faith among the emigrant Hungarian Slavs a chapter house in America is being planned. If anybody among the nuns who speak Slovak and is willing to partake in this mission, after prayer and due consideration, declare it at the latest January 10th here in Szatmar. The whole proposition is still in secrecy.” So this was the first summons for the Merciful Nuns of Szatmar to go to the America as missionaries. In response, on January 1902 many answered the call; among them were Sr. Emerentiana Handlovits, Sr. Fridolin Lengyel and Sr. Hilda Daubner. Twice they voiced their desire to go to America. On April 1st, 1902 the contract with the terms under which the Merciful Nuns from Szatmar could resettle in America was finalized. Terms under which the Merciful Nuns from Szatmar could be resettled in America. So that the motherhouse in Szatmar could release five Merciful Nuns to Braddock, Pennsylvania, the following need to be satisfied: 1. That the whole matter will be done organized according to church laws. 2. That the cost of the trip of the five members should be sent to the Motherhouse. Also they should be accompanied through their trip by a trusted person. If one of the five, due to uncontrolled homesickness or other reason needs to return to the Motherhouse, the cost shall be covered. iii 3. That before they leave, the Motherhouse receives a promise that the nuns will be provided for according to local necessities. It is desired a payment of around 25 dollarsiv per month to each one, and before anything else, a chapel in their home and small rooms should be provided. As the nuns keep a communal living, a bigger dining room, a living room, and a room so they can meet with strangers; and of course the other necessary premises. Of course, the rooms need to be appropriate but simple, with furniture. 4. The five immigrant nuns will have knowledge, able to speak, write and read the Slovak language. 5. The five nuns will abide and follow the Holy Rules of the Merciful Nuns of Szatmar. 6.. If for any reason, insurmountable problems arise, that make it impossible for the convent to stay there, after a six month notice, from either party, the costs of the five returning nuns will be provided to the Mother Superior. Szatmar, 1902, April 1st. Afra Woelfle, Provincial Director Jozsef Hamon, Provincial Superior 1 A year has passed since the sisters in the Chapter House received the call to volunteer for the American mission. Many generously showed an interest and presented themselves for this lofty purpose. Since the representatives from our Motherhouse agreed on the terms of the contract with the Bishop of Pittsburgh, the following five sisters were chosen from the volunteers: Sr. Emerentiana Handlovits, who of late has worked at the Sister House in Rozsnyó.v to the great satisfaction of everybody, and whom the superiors of Szatmar, despite of her youth, being 35 years old, chose as the superior and leader of this small expedition. Her zeal and much faceted practical knowledge gave great hopes for the flowering of the new foreign settlement. The names of the four other sisters were: Sr. Fridolin Lengyel, Sr. Hilda Daubner, Sr. Gonzaga Merzl and Sr. Wunibalda Missiak. The five sisters spoke, beside Hungarian and other European languages, more or less Slovak. The selected five nuns arrived at the Motherhouse in Szatmar a few weeks before their departure to make the e necessary preparations. After Bishop Gyula Meszlenyi, prelate of the diocese, gave them his fatherly blessing, they took their emotional farewell from the Motherhouse and their sisters on October 30th, 1902 and started their trip towards America. In Budapest they lodged for a couple of days in the Hospital of the Red Cross where they received loving hospitality. During these days they prepared the necessary items for their trip. After they received their tickets, graciously paid by the government, Afra Woelfle, Superior of the Szatmar convent, and the Right Honorable Bishop Antal Varady 2 and others, accompanied them to the Headquarters in Budapest, from which they left on November 2nd, boarding the train at 3 p.m. This train, as far as one could tell, tore them away from their country and motherland, so they would live and work far away, sacrificing for the Catholic Church and their beloved motherland, until their betrothed Christ would take them into their Heavenly home, where He will give them plentiful and generous rewards, as the Lord promised great rewards for those who leave their father, mother, and themselves and all to follow Him, Who left the heavenly abode, came to earth for us, to this vale of tears. They traveled without trouble until Berlin. Here they stayed with the nuns named after St. Charles Borromeo, in St. Mary’s Hospital, a Hohenfeld institution, where they received kind hospitality and rested from their travails. After pleasant further travel, our beloved sisters boarded the ship in the harbor of Cuxhaven/Hamburg on November 6th, 1902. After overcoming two storms and some sea sickness, they arrived with some tardiness. A delay due to mechanical problems with the ship, but thank Heaven, they arrived in New York the same year, on November 12th. At the wharf, they were met by the Consul’s secretary and a gentleman from the St. Raphael Societyvi. From there they were taken to the Leo Housevii, where nuns named after St. Agnes took care of them. On the morning of November 14th the aforementioned representative from the St. Raphael Society accompanied the good sisters to the train and took care of all their, necessities. The train left New York at 9 a.m. and they arrived in Wilmerding at 10:30 p.m. where they had to exit as the train did not stop in Braddock. Superior Emerentianastill from New York, and through the Consul’s offices, let the parish priest in Braddock know of their arrival. 3 The parish priest arrived with two cars in Wilmerding. He was surprised by their arrival as he had not received any news that the sisters were coming to America. His explanation for the problem was that there were some people against the work of the nuns and they go as far as withholding his letters and telegrams. He promised to take care of the situation within two weeks. Temporarily the sisters were housed at an English convent. The German Sisters of Divine Providence congregation also came to visit them. They all were very kind to our sisters. At the beginning they will teach the first three grades at the public school. Braddock has 35,000 habitants, six Catholic churches, three, and now with our sisters, four different convents. They paid their respect to the Bishopviii of Pittsburgh on November 17th. He commented on their habit, as for an industrial town it was very light colored. For their ordinary confessor he named Father Gellhof, once teacher in Levocaix , for extraordinary confessions, the Bishop left the decision to the sisters. It was a great joy to the Slovaks that the sisters came just for them. On November 22nd Superior Emerentiana requested the keys for their temporary housing from the parish priest so they could settle in. This was accomplished with the help of the parish priest and a teacher. After they finished with the settling in, the good sisters had their simple lunch, furnished by gifts from some charitable people. This lunch, around one o’clock consisted of a couple of soft boiled eggs and buttered bread slices 4 which after the heavy work tasted very good, as a matter of fact, better than the holiday lunches in Europe. That same afternoon they went to confession. The first confession in this far away continent. Afterwards, comforted and strengthened in spirit for the new mission work, they wanted to go back to their newly furnished home, but the English nuns asked them to stay with them another night until the next morning and to accept kindly their hospitality. So they stayed and the next morning they received the Holy Sacrament .They were present at the Sunday mass and afterwards they took the street car, shown to them by the German nuns, returning to their rented home. The good people provided the sisters with everything.