MOUNT CARMEL - Although no longer in use, the Holy Cross Church, School and Convent in Mount Carmel still stand as they did when Mother Maria Kaupas started her journey toward sainthood there almost a century ago.
Approximately at 3 p.m. on Friday, June 3, representatives of The Sisters of St. Casimir will visit the site where Mother Maria Kaupas began her religious obligations as a member of the congregation of Holy Cross Parish. Representing the sisterhood will be Sister M. Immacula Wendt, General Superior of the Sisters of St. Casimir; Sister Margaret Petcavage, Vice Postulator for the Cause of Venerable Maria Kaupas; Sister M. Lourdine Ramoska; and Sister Therese Banach.
The Sisters will stop to see the sites where one of their founding sister once lived, taught, and worshiped. They will then head to Kulpmont to meet with former parishioners of Holy Cross Church and representatives of the Mother Pauline Visitainer Center.
The center's committee members recently donated a section of the center to be use to honor Mother Maria Kaupaus, where various artifacts are on display, including an 18-foot cross that was originally in the Holy Cross Church. Mother Pauline was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002. Her cousins, Lou and Al Visitainer, helped establish the center in Kulpmont.
In 1907, Mother Maria completed her religious training to become a nun in Scranton, and founded the first Lithuanian Sisterhood, The Sisters of St. Casimir, in the United States. Upon completion of her training, she relocated to Holy Cross Church in Mount Carmel, where she aided in establishing its school and maintaining the church. The order later moved to Chicago, where she continued to serve as the Superior General. In 1940, Mother Maria died of cancer, and in 1943, the Archbishop of Chicago began the process for her to be considered for sainthood. On July 1, 2010 Pope Benedict XVI recognized the heroic virtues of Mother Maria Kaupas, which placed her on the road to beatification and sainthood.
Mother Maria not only founded the sisterhood in the United States, but also in Lithuania as well. In 1933, the government of Lithuania bestowed its highest decoration, the Order of the Grand Duke Gediminas, upon Mother Maria in recognition of her work in both in the United States and her native country.
Since Mother Maria is a prime example of the Lithuanian immigrant's influence on the area's communities, also attending the festivities on Friday will be Brigadier General Frank Sullivan of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, who oversees the partnership between the Pennsylvania National Guard and the Lithuanian Military.