A Short History of The Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, Missouri

“Since our foundation we have sought to adore and to serve
Christ who shed his blood for the redemption of the world.”
-1985 Constitutions -

The Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, Missouri, had its beginnings in Steinerberg, Switzerland, on September 8, 1845, as a contemplative community. On that day a group of young women from Baden, Germany, joined together for the purpose of perpetual adoration of the Most Precious Blood in the Blessed Sacrament. Magdalen Weber, known in religious life as Mother Theresa, became the first superior of the fledgling community and is revered as its foundress.

The congregation was founded under the guidance of Reverend Karl Rolfus, a priest from Baden. Searching for a spirituality to counteract the growing secularization of southern Germany, Rolfus had found his answer in contemporary devotion to the Precious Blood and shared this spirituality with his many directees. German convents were not allowed to accept new candidates at that time, however, so the women journeyed to Switzerland where the pastor of St. Anne’s Church was supportive of their desire.

The Swiss government prohibited the establishment of strictly contemplative orders, and the pastor also saw the coming of these young women as an opportunity to improve his parish school. Thus from the beginning the congregation had both a contemplative and an apostolic dimension.

Within three years, however, the congregation was forced to leave Switzerland because of the growing hostility of the Swiss government. In the summer of 1848 the exiled community found a home in Ottmarsheim in the French Alsace. Since the Sisters were of German origin they were not permitted to teach in the schools there, but they continued their contemplative life style. Then in 1857 a request for teachers came from Gurtweil in Germany, and thus the teaching ministry was resumed. At Gurtweil, the making of church vestments was also introduced and the ministry of the Ecclesiastical Art Department continues to this day.

In 1860 the contemplative Sisters in Ottmarsheim and the active Sisters in Gurtweil decided to separate, the former group eventually becoming monastic Benedictines. While not forgetting their contemplative roots, the Sisters in Gurtweil continued to expand their teaching and art activities with notable success until another hostile government again forced them to seek refuge elsewhere. Bismarck’s KULTURKAMPF inaugurated a military policy against the Church in general and, by the MAY LAWS, decreed the expulsion of all religious congregations. Through this unfortunate occurrence, however, God led the young community to respond to a request that had previously been made for its expansion to the New World.

In 1870 the first group of nine Sisters arrived in Belle Prairie, Illinois; the rest of the congregation was to follow over the next three years. At that time another separation occurred with some of the Sisters choosing to remain in Belle Prairie and maintain an affiliation with the Precious Blood Congregation in Rome. The other Sisters under the leadership of Mother Augusta Volk were unable to accept the conditions of the Bishop for remaining in the Illinois diocese and moved temporarily to St. Agatha’s Parish in St. Louis and in 1875 established the community in its new motherhouse in O’Fallon, Missouri. There it became an independent congregation and it grew and flourished gaining pontifical status in 1918.

For many years the primary ministries of the congregation continued to be education and the ecclesiastical arts. The liturgical movement which began to grow in the first half of the twentieth century greatly influenced the spirituality and ministries of the Sisters and found expression in music as well as art and education. The years after Vatican Council II, however, brought new needs and the Sisters expanded their ministries to include such areas of service as parish work, hospital chaplaincy, prison ministry, and care for the elderly. In old age or infirmity the Sisters continue to minister through prayerful presence and an offering of their suffering, giving a more visible witness to their contemplative roots.

Over the years the ministries of the Sisters also expanded beyond the United States. In 1939 at the invitation of the bishop of Finland the congregation sent Sisters to establish an English school. In 1957 Sisters were missioned to Peru and in 1959 to Bolivia. At the present time Sisters continue to serve in these countries as well as in Estonia and Italy. Within the United States, Sisters serve as far north as Alaska and as far south as New Mexico.

In 1878 a Normal School for Teachers was opened; this was the future St. Mary’s College of O’Fallon which continued until 1988. Other institutions likewise were begun and sponsored by the congregation. St. Elizabeth Academy began as a boarding school for girls in 1882. It continues to the present day, though now as a day school. In 1964 St. Mary’s Academy began in O’Fallon as a small private Catholic high school for girls; it continued there until 1990. In 1966 Linda Vista Montessori School was begun; today it is known as Linda Vista Catholic School and is a Montessori pre-school and grades one through eight. St. Elizabeth Adult Day Care Center opened in 1981 on the site of St. Elizabeth Academy. Since then six more sites have been opened. The latest sponsored institution is the Centers for Professional and Pastoral Services which was established in 1993 to carry forward the mission of the congregation by offering counseling and other human services.

In the 1980s and 1990s, in another effort to further its mission, the congregation moved to involve others more directly in its life and ministry. Advisory boards were established for its institutions and these eventually all became governing boards. The Sisters also began an associate program called “CPPS Partners in Mission” for both women and men. In celebrating its sesquicentennial in 1995 the congregation looked back gratefully over the 150 years of its existence. Now it looks forward to a future bright with the promise of continued collaboration with others called to join with the Sisters in bringing its mission of reconciliation to fulfillment.

“Faithful to our heritage and rooted in prayer, we ask to carry forward our mission of reconciliation through the Precious Blood of Jesus as he continues to reconcile all creation to the Father.”
- 1985 Constitutions -

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