Coming Soon...

     Since December I have been working on an Arcadia book about the Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburg Monastery. Starting in 1993 Arcadia Publishing has produced a series entitled “Images of America” which focus on “general visual histories intended to tell in broad strokes the story of the title community from its earliest days.”

     While looking for pictures that tell the story of St. Walburg Monastery, I’ve come across delightful pictures and stories. One of the stories is about our community’s service in the 1918 flu epidemic. Below are excerpts from the Community record book

Today [Oct. 30] Rev. Regis Barratt [sic] of the U.S. Army at Camp Zachary Taylor called at St. Walburg’s and demanded to have Sisters sent to the Kentucky mountains to nurse the Influenza-sick. I [Mother Walburga] promised to send four sisters.

Oct. 31 Today at 2 pm the four sisters left for Lexington, Ky to report ot Major McMullon at St. Joseph’s Hospital from when they will get their orers to go to whatever district is pointed out to them. The Sisters were Sr. Alphonsa Spatz, Sister DeSales Fox, Sr. Armella Klein, Sr. Bernadette Klinker…

Nov. 1 Rev. Father Regis came back for four more Sisters. We sent:

            Srs. Edith Hoffmann, Loretta Fox, Sophia Saelinger, Eleanor Falangan [then a postulant].

Nov. 11 Peace was officially proclaimed and we hope the terrible World war will now be ended

Nov. 16 At 12:0 am the first four Sisters who had been sent to nurse the “Flue-sick” returned and at 7 pm the other four Sisters came back by order of the proper authorities. All were well except Sr. Alphonsa who had the “Flue”

Nov. 16 As the schools were closed again by the Health Officers on account of the Influenza epidemic, our Sisters were called out to nurse the sick in the city [Covington] until Dec. 6 when the schools were re-opened.

      None of the sisters at that time had nursing experience or training, but from that point on, Eleanor Flanagan, who became Sr. Callista Flanagan, wanted to serve as a nurse in the Kentucky mountains. In the 1940’s when the community was asked to establish a hospital in Hazard, Kentucky, Sr. Callista finally got her wish.

     For pictures of Sr. Callista and Sr. Alphonsa and other pictures of our community’s history, look for the book entitled The Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburg Monastery which will come out from Arcadia Publishing in September or October.

Sr. Deborah Harmeling, OSB