Our Story of the Lamp
Our Story of the Lamp
When Mother Odilia and her
companions arrived in St. Louis in November of 1872, they had few
belongings. After spending two weeks at the Ursuline Convent, they
found a second floor attic apartment where they could live in community.
A neighbor lady noticed that in the evening there was no light in the apartment. She picked up a kerosene lamp and brought it to the Sisters. The Sisters were most grateful for this gift.
The lamp became for the Sisters a symbol of their dependence on the goodness of neighbors to carry on their life and mission.
When
St. Mary of the Angels was built in the 1920's, many of the light
fixtures were patterned after the lamp. While most of the fixtures have been replaced, an original
remains in the Founder's Room (within the Convent).