Out of 23 Visitation monasteries listed in Dehey, five cloistered monasteries are still extant. Only four remain from the teaching branch. (One of the those four is a new community, which will be discussed at a later time).
From 23 to 9.
Let that sink in.
I nearly entered the cloistered Visitation when I graduated college. The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary is obviously close to my heart. I'm also co-founder of a new Salesian-Vincentian-Paulacrucian Congregation that includes a pro-life outreach. Because of these factors, my research for this blog entry nearly put me into physical shock.
If you don't have kids, you don't have schools.
Enough of the soapbox, though. Let's get on with the tour.
The history of the Visitation in the United States begins with an archbishop; a young lady; and two widows in Georgetown, D.C. Although an established rule was utilized, the Visitation was the first indigenous congregation in the U.S.:
https://gvmonastery.org/history/
Georgetown went on to found the Mobile,AL, academy. Their schools eventually closed, and the academy converted to a retreat center.
http://www.visitationmonasterymobile.org/HTMLcode/History.htm
St Louis has had various buildings, the latest now on Ballas Road:
https://www.visitationacademy.org/about-viz/our-history
One of St Louis' academy buildings was called the Castle. When the school relocated, the Victorian structure was razed. The property became Visitation Park, and has since been renamed. More here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visitation_Park,_St._Louis
Wheeling, WV,'s convent and academy are completely gone now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_de_Chantal_Visitation_Academy
The Frederick academy began in Baltimore proper:
https://collections.digitalmaryland.org/digital/collection/mdph/id/1072/
The academy closed in 2016. The new owner, as of this article, was seeking a developer:
https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/real_estate_and_development/city-votes-to-rezone-visitation-academy-for-redevelopment/article_5712e4fb-5e8c-5a52-b457-b61dd8ddd152.html
Catonsville, MD, was founded from Mobile. The Visitandines eventually left, and the St Cecilia Dominicans took over:
https://www.mountdesalesacademy.org/about/history
The Visitation of Tyringham, MA, was transplanted from Keokuk, IA, via Wilmington, DE. This monastery began as a teaching Convent, but a benefactress bestowed a substantial financial gift that enabled the nuns to fully cloister. More of the history here:
https://vistyr.org/our-monastery
Brooklyn's Visitation monastery and academy are still going strong! Be sure to check out the journal!
https://brooklynvisitationmonastery.org/
The Parkersburg, WV, Visitation is gone entirely:
http://electricearl.com/parkersburg/desales.html
Riverdale Visitation, which had been contemplative, was converted to the St John Vianney Clergy Residence for the Archdiocese of New York:
https://archny.org/about/associated-organizations/sjvcr/
Please stay tuned for the next installment.
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