Blessed Mother Maria Theresia visited her Sisters in America three times. She wanted them to know her motherly care, and she wrote frequent letters to individual Sisters, local convents, and the whole Congregation. She was kept aware of new hospitals and schools that the Sisters began in Nebraska, Colorado, and throughout Indiana.
Mother’s second visitation in North America began in 1885 and extended into 1886. She visited many convents of the Congregation. The Community was receiving American Sisters, and many of them were able to meet their Mother for the first time.
On April 12, 1886, Mother Maria Theresia wrote from America to the Sisters at the Novitiate in Mülheim:
“The glorious day of Easter is fast approaching and I hasten to send my wishes for a grace-filled, peaceful, and joyous feast. May the risen Savior grant you special consolations and blessings that all may enjoy intimate union with God.”
Following this visit, the decision was made to separate the Congregation into two provinces, one in Germany and one in the United States. Sister M. Alphonsa Neuhoff, one of the original six Sisters to come to North America, was named provincial superior of the Province of the Sacred Heart of Mary.
~Written by Sister M. Anna Joseph