SHREVEPORT, LA - 12/24/2015 (PRESS RELEASE JET) -- After 61 years of dedicated service to St. Mary’s Residential Training School, in Alexandria, the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows will no longer be at St. Mary’s. The sisters are no longer a part of the plans that the Diocese of Alexandria has for St. Mary’s, and as a result, Sr. Mavis Champagne has been released from her role as administrator, effective immediately. Serving for the past 3 years as administrator, Sr. Champagne followed a long line of sisters who gave their all in ministering to and protecting “God’s special children” who live at St. Mary’s.
From its beginning, the Sisters helped to fulfill Bishop Charles P. Greco’s dream of having a home for children with mental disabilities by staffing and running the school. The school officially opened on September 15, 1954, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Bishop Greco would often say that the residential school was not funded with diocesan money and was never a burden to the Diocese of Alexandria, but that he had provided for the school through the generosity of his many benefactors who saw this ministry as an answer to a pressing need.
St. Mary’s became a school that the Sisters and children alike could be proud of. It became a home, a very large extended family, with all having a stake in it, and has remained so even to this day. Under the direction of the Sisters, St. Mary’s has conscientiously tried to carry out Bishop Greco’s goal of providing each child with an environment and training that will not only help them to realize their potential, but will honor and fulfill their “right to happiness.”
Sr. Carla Bertani, Superior General for the Congregation stated, “We, the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows, leave knowing that we have given birth to this place and that we have nurtured it for 61 years, and this gives us peace.”
Although the Sisters will no longer be associated with St. Mary’s, they pray that the children will always be the focus of this diocesan ministry, as it was for Bishop Greco and the sisters. They would like to thank the Amicus Club, the many benefactors, and all those who supported the Sisters in many ways during their time at St. Mary’s.
Sr AnnaMaria Iannetti, OLS
Vicar General of the OLS Congregation
USA Delegate of the Superior General
Media Contact
Company Name: Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows
Name: Sr AnnaMaria Iannetti
Phone: (318) 797-0213
Email Address: annamariampda@yahoo.it
Website: www.ols.org