On February 12, 1891, the woman who would one day be canonized as Saint Katharine Drexel pronounced her vows as the first member of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1925, she founded Xavier University of Louisiana, making the Sisters an invaluable component of university history. To honor the sacred anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, and as a part of Xavier’s yearlong Centennial Celebration, the university will hold a special anniversary mass on Monday, February 17 at 4 p.m. in the Saint Katharine Drexel Chapel, 3932 Pine Street, New Orleans.

Story of Xavier
Excerpt by Sister Monica Loughlin, SBS

The following is a presentation on Xavier's Mission by the late Sr. Monica Loughlin, SBS, herself a 1969 graduate who served at Xavier for 45 years in a wide variety of faculty and staff positions, including her last post as Assistant to the President for Catholic Identity and Mission Integration. Originally offered in October 2007 at an orientation meeting for new board members, it is a very personal story intermixed with reflections on the rich legacy and history of Xavier. Here it is, in her own words, edited for republishing purposes.

We all stand on the shoulders of those who have taken St. Katharine Drexel’s vision and expanded upon it.

 

Katharine Drexel was born into great wealth in Philadelphia in 1858. Her father was Francis Anthony Drexel, head of the Drexel Banking Company and her mother was Hannah Langstroth Drexel. Her mother died within weeks of Katharine’s birth leaving Francis with sole responsibility not only for Katharine but also for her older sister Elizabeth. A few years later, their father married Emma Bouvier. A younger sister, Louise, was added to the family three years later.

Katharine and her sisters were privileged not only by wealth but also by faith and love. Their lives were permeated by the word and example of their parents who stressed the primacy of faith and the necessity of good stewardship. Their parents died when all three girls were in their 20s. They were devastated by both deaths, but they were determined to carry on the legacy of their parents. 

At the time of Francis’ death, the Drexel’s had amassed a $15 million fortune that today would probably be worth close to $300 million. In his will, Francis had put the money in trust and indicated that the income from the trust was to be equally divided by his daughters and their offspring, not their husbands. His intent was to ward off suitors who might be looking for money. If at the death of the third daughter, there were no surviving offspring, the principal of the trust was to be divided among a group of Philadelphia area charities that he designated. 

Katharine had been well traveled including trips to the West where she learned the reality of the Native Americans who had had their land taken away and their culture denigrated. Their treatment by the nation and by the church caused her great concern. Her love and her vast wealth were soon being shared with them. She was convinced that evangelization —sharing of faith-- and quality education were the key to empowerment. 

As word of Katharine’s benevolence spread in the U. S., those concerned with the plight of the descendants of enslaved African who had been brought to the U.S. and treated as a commodity contacted her for the same type of help. Her philanthropy began to solidify around these two peoples — African Americans and Native Americans.

 

At the same time, Katharine was dealing with her vocation— to what was God calling her personally? Was it more? For quite a while she felt that her money could be used for her mission and then she could be of service to the people through prayer in a contemplative religious order. She was quite convinced that this was her call. She visited the Pope and asked him to send missionaries to carry out the mission she had funded so could become a contemplative and be assured that her missions would continue. His response was “Why not, yourself, become a missionary?”

Her spiritual advisers supported the Pope’s plan and asked her to discern on a closer union of her mission and vocation—they suggested she found a religious order of women devoted to the mission to which she had devoted her financial resources. She struggled with this decision for a long time but finally was convinced that this was God’s will.

 

In 1891, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and became Mother Katharine. The new community flourished and she continued to use her amazing wealth to assure that the congregational mission flourished. God blessed the congregation and its work.

To identify Xavier’s founding mission, we need to return to the year 1915. That year, Archbishop Blenk of New Orleans approached Mother Katharine about the lack of Catholic higher education for African Americans. With the guidance of the Josephites, Archbishop Blenk was able to offer a plan: Southern University that had been located uptown on Magazine St. in New Orleans had been moved to Baton Rouge in 1912. Their abandoned building which was well suited to higher education was about to be auctioned to the highest bidder. 

After prayer, consultation and a personal visit to see the property, Mother Katharine purchased the building and surrounding property through a third party. Old Southern—became St. Francis Xavier, named after a great missionary. 

Xavier flourished from the beginning. By 1925 a Teachers College and College of Arts and Sciences had been established and by 1927 a College of Pharmacy had been added. As the college thrived and the high school also expanded, it became clear that additional space was needed. Property on Washington and Pine was purchased in 1929, and the new buildings were dedicated in 1932. The new buildings at that time stirred as much excitement as the green roofs do today. The high school remained on Magazine St. and continues there today as St. Katharine Drexel Prep.

It was at Xavier that Mother Katharine could best enable her whole vision and congregational mission—that those who were educated and evangelized by the SBS would become the leaders, educators and evangelizers themselves. The vision has been made a reality in ways that she couldn’t even have imagined. Mother Katharine was clear about the purpose of Xavier University. She wanted to invite people to fully share in the faith that had shaped her life, and she wanted to produce leaders—for society, for government, for the church. From the beginning, there was a great deal of emphasis on liberal and practical education as well as a requirement of service, especially with the students at other SBS schools. There was a strong emphasis on “giving back” with the sense of stewardship or sharing—freely have you received, freely give. 

Clearly, the purpose of Xavier has been very consistent over its history. Xavier University of Louisiana, founded by Saint Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, is Catholic and historically Black. The ultimate purpose of the University is to contribute to the promotion of a more just and humane society by preparing its students to assume roles of leadership and service in a global society. This preparation takes place in a diverse learning and teaching environment that incorporates all relevant educational means, including research and community service.