Service at the Mount...

MSJA Sanctuary Society "A Group of the Sanctuary Society at Work" (undated photo)

Although the Sanctuary Society began around 1918, it was still going strong when Madge Mansell Keehn ’50 attended MSJA. She recalls a number of Mount Alums who were part of this very lovely, hard-working group of women whose beautiful needlework and countless hours of generous service left a lasting impression. To read more about the Sanctuary Society, check out the publications page and click on the Winter '08 Magazine.

Golden Memories from a Golden Girl:
Lasting Impressions...

by Madge Mansell Keehn '50

Shortly after the turn of the 20th Century, Mrs. Mary McNally, class of 1894, the mother of Rosemary ’17, Frances ’21 and Roberta ’24, founded the Sanctuary Society. This organization was comprised of Mounties who dedicated themselves to sewing vestments and altar linens and supplying sacred vessels for the parishes and priests who requested them. Every Tuesday, these women could be found in the sewing room located on the second floor of the old Mount, just behind the music corridor. A few were mothers of my classmates. I remember coming down the back stairs of the Mount and seeing them all diligently sewing, hemming, and embroidering the beautiful linens and vestments in the sewing room. Some Mount graduates even donated their beautiful wedding gowns to the cause. These beautifully and lovingly crafted items would be sent to priests locally as well as those in the foreign missions.

On Alumnae Day, the Sanctuary Society leadership explained the importance of their work and gratefully acknowledged the students’ monetary donations that had benefited priests and parishes both near and far.

Individual requests memorializing or honoring a loved one were often made to the Society. Rosemary McNally would always work with the donor to assure her that the sacred vessel had gone to a mutually agreed upon recipient.

Madge Mansell Keehn ’50 is a former features writer for the Chestnut Hill Local. Watch for her upcoming articles on Mount life!

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Do you remember anyone in the Sanctuary Society? Do you know what year the photo above was taken? Perhaps you might like to talk about current or past service projects at the Mount. Click on the 'Comments' link below to join the discussion!