AMERICAN MARIA HAWTHORNE, FOUNDRESS OF HAWTHORNE DOMINICANS, RECOGNIZED BY POPE AS VENERABLE
The Vatican announced today that Pope Francis has authorized the promulgation of several decrees recognizing the martyrdom of a priest guillotined in Nazi Germany and 15 German-born nuns killed in the Soviet Union, as well as miracles attributed to three Venerables.
In wonderful news for the Church in the United States and the Dominican order, among the seven new Venerables also named was Mother Mary Alphonsa Hawthorne, (1851-1926) founder of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Rose of Lima, known as the Hawthorne Dominicans. She was born to a Protestant family in Massachusetts, became Catholic in Europe along with her husband, from whom she separated due to his alcoholism, and then dedicated herself to the service of Christ in cancer patients.
photo from Hawthorne Dominicans – Home (hawthorne-dominicans.org.
Born Rose Hawthorne, she was the daughter of celebrated American writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of “The Scarlet Letter,” The House of Seven Gables,” among his many works.
Her story could well have been a book produced by her father! To learn more about Venerable Mother Mary Alphonsa, her, you can watch this EWTN documentary (6) Mother Mary Alphonsa, Servant of God | An EWTN National Broadcast – YouTube) or go, of course, to the website of the Hawthorne Dominicans: Hawthorne Dominicans – Home (hawthorne-dominicans.org. A number of the sisters have appeared many times over the years on EWTN, several telling wonderful conversion stories on “The Journey Home.”
Joan's Rome 