|
|
In 1926, the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus came to Philadelphia from Rome at the invitation of Dennis Cardinal Dougherty. In this, their first foundation in the United States, the Sisters opened a small chapel on 34th Street, near the University of Pennsylvania. They began immediately to teach classes in business skills, languages and the arts. These classes were well attended both by the women-students at the University and by working women. The Sisters were in contact with children through classes and clubs organized for them. The Sisters especially cherished instructing women and children in preparation for the reception into the Church. They also offered opportunities for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament through the Association of Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. A constant characteristic of their presence in the United States has been their international membership. A multi-cultural community of Sisters today resides in South Philadelphia. Each offers her own culturally unique gifts and skills to those in need. Through their work in Catholic Social Services and in the parishes, they assist newcomers to the United States through pastoral and social outreach. Other sisters provide evangelization and social services to the Latino and Asian communities, helping them to grow in the faith, to understand and survive in their new environment, and to inculturate while at the same time preserving their own cultural heritages. The ACJ community touches the lives of the elderly and the sick through the presence two sisters who volunteers her services at a nearby senior citizens' center and at a local hospital. The sisters as a community want to add to the witness of the Church in the city by being a prayerful and neighborly presence among the urban underprivileged of all races and ethnic groups.
|
||
|
|
|||
