Record Staff Report
The Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, who are marking 160 years in Louisville in 2018, will share oral histories recorded by the sisters during two events in March called “Listening to Our Stories.”
As part of the 160th anniversary celebration, Ursuline archivist Angelica Bullock is digitizing oral histories captured by Sister Concetta Walker from 1976 to 1982. These recordings, which fill 26 tapes, will be shared during the listening events.
The tapes feature interviews with Ursuline Sisters who discuss their congregation’s members, both deceased and living. The sisters were interviewed separately and as part of a group.
The oral histories include general information on each sister (her name, age, where she grew up, why she joined the Ursulines); campus changes; life after Vatican II; the fire at the Motherhouse; the sisters’ schools; historical events; early community life; and the sisters’ missions.
Sisters, associates and the public are welcome to attend “listening parties” March 9 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and March 11 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. as part of National Catholic Sisters Week.
The parties will take place in the Motherhouse library and historic photos will also be on display. The parties, in part, are an effort to bring the sisters and the larger community together to “listen to Ursuline history, and celebrate the contributions that the sisters have made to our community through their various ministries,” a news release from the sisters said.
The events will also “look at the community in the years following Vatican II as they explore what those changes brought to their order and the larger church,” the release said.
