When the Sisters established the Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home in 1946, they moved into what is now the main building of Sanctuary of Hope and added the current chapel, day room, and dining room.

When their time in this location (what is now Sanctuary of Hope) was at an end, Sister Adolph Schuele, SCL,  prayed for many years afterward that the building and grounds would one day flourish again.  The wall near our statue of Jesus that overlooks the Interstate is an eagle scout project, built in memory of Sister Adolph.

It is through the efforts of Sister Darlyne Kern, SCL, that the Sanctuary of Hope library boasts a card catalog of books indexed according to the Dewey Decimal System. We are grateful for Sister Darlyne's many months of effort to accomplish such an enormous task.

Sister Eugenia Floersch, SCL, spent eight years as a live-in member of our community.  Sister Eugenia shared her generosity, kindness, and love with all who came through our doors.  Her admonition, "Be the Love that you are!" continues to echo in our halls and in our hearts today.  Her ability to bring the love of Jesus to the lives of others, is obvious in that, even after her death, she is so often mentioned with love in the conversations and prayers of the Sanctuary of Hope community.  Our first annual Hope Benefit was dedicated to Sister Eugenia and a retreat scholarship fund has been established in her name.

The SCL website states that when the small congregation of sisters in Tennessee headed for the Indian Territory of Kansas in 1857, they were led by Mother Xavier Ross and began a new community in Leavenworth, KS. Their mission was then, and continues today, "to partner with and serve the marginalized in our society".

Of Mother Ross, we are told, "As a young woman, she had tried to explain to her father her desire to serve God’s people. His response: “What can a woman do?”  The Sisters of Charity Leavenworth have vividly answered his question every day for the past 150 years. As the web site concludes so eloquently: 
                "What can a woman do? With a gracious and loving heart
                 and a solid faith in God, she can touch hearts and change
                 lives. And that’s just what Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth
                 continue to do."

Father Dennis and the entire Sanctuary of Hope community, send our congratulations, our best wishes, and our prayers for the continued blessing of God upon the Sisters of Charity Leavenworth community and those to whom they reach out in service to His people.