Pages of Providence Coming to America
Journal Entry: Sister Francis Borgia Schroeck  Sister Francis Borgia (1843 - 1907) was one of the original "pioneer Sisters" who came to America from Germany in 1856. She became Provincial of St. Peter Province in Pittsburgh in 1883 and was in that position until her death on Christmas Day, 1907.
October 25, 1907
As I near the end of my life, I find myself thinking more and more of people and places from my past. There is not much else I am able to do of late; my strength is gone and the pain from my cancer gets worse daily. I know that my productive years are behind me, and all that is left is to trust the future to a Provident God. Today I am thinking about how that same trust led me to America .
When I was a young woman, I wanted nothing more than to serve God as a Sister of Divine Providence and a teacher. It was a simple vocation for a young woman of 22 and I embarked on it with the intention of being a most obedient servant of my Provident God. Shortly after I professed final vows in 1875, the Community in Mainz began talk of sending a few Sisters out for missionary service to other countries. It was rumored that some of us would be chosen to go to Austria, England or Hungary, and so we began to learn English from the pastor at St. Stephen's Church. I would have preferred to spend my days in the Community at Mainz, but it was exciting to think about traveling to other great cities in Europe to educate children.
 Imagine my shock and surprise when I received the summons from my superior and was told that I was one of six Sisters who had been chosen to travel to America. I could scarcely believe my ears - America! We were to teach in a place called Cleveland. It seems that Bishop Ketteler had received word that there were American bishops who considered Catholic education to be so important that they were building their parish schools first and then building the churches. They needed Sisters to teach in these schools.
The six of us had to be ready to leave on June 7, 1876. That left us little time to worry about our new mission or what it would be like in America. Our English lessons were accelerated, and in no time at all we were packed up and bundled off to the dock to board the Scholten for New York. My vow of obedience left no doubt that I would step onto that boat, but my heart was pounding and my legs were so unsteady that I thought I might be spared the trip by losing my balance and tumbling over the side of the swaying gangway before I actually reached the deck! But God had other plans for me. We pushed and pulled our valises onto the ship, and then the six of us turned for one last look at our beloved Germany. I could not have dreamed of the great adventure that lay ahead.
The trip was difficult, but Sisters Lucy (Weber), Michael (Kindhauser), Mathilda (Gebhard), Hedwig (Beckhaus), and I, along with our superior, Mother Xavier (Schneider), kept the complaints to a minimum and instead concentrated on improving our English by testing each other. These exercises would usually reduce us to tears of frustration or gales of laughter as we tried to make sense of the strange sounding words. On June 25, the huge ship approached New York harbor. The dock was a flurry of noise and activity. Disembarking, the other Sisters and I dragged our belongings into a pile, and Sister Michael plopped unceremoniously on top of the largest valise. We scanned the crowd for Father Vattman, pastor of St. Philip's in Dungannon, Ohio, which was to be our final destination. More than two hours passed and we began to doubt that he was going to meet us. Sister Xavier arranged train passage to Cleveland, telegraphing Father to meet us there. We were bone-tired by the time the train arrived in Cleveland, only to be told that Dungannon was another four hours by stagecoach!
How I longed for the convent at Mainz and my own little room. We climbed into the coach and bumped and swayed our way over a dusty, rutted road for what seemed an eternity. We consoled ourselves with thoughts of a warm meal and a clean bed. We found neither in Dungannon. Instead we found devastating poverty and almost inhumane living conditions. We were hungry every day.
 One of the most important purchases we made upon arriving at Dungannon was Daisy, a scrawny cow who, nevertheless, was a source of milk for our meager diet. I recall one time asking one of the farmers if we might have some hay to feed Daisy. The people of Dungannon were unfailingly generous with the little they had. With the farmer's approval, Sister Lucy climbed into the hayloft to toss the hay down to me. She squealed with delight as she came upon a hen's nest with 16 eggs in it. Providence, to be sure! Sister quickly scooped up half the eggs and wrapped them in her apron, tossed over a few handfuls of straw and hurried down the ladder. We had a feast that evening -- but not without the pangs of a guilty conscience. When Sister Lucy confessed her guilt to the priest, he surprisingly said she should have taken all 16 eggs - and the hen, too! Our good work did not go unappreciated in the town.
Our path was to take another turn by the end of our first year in Dungannon. A gentleman named Mr. Meyer, from a place called East Liberty, Pennsylvania, came to town for a funeral. He saw the conditions under which we were living, and suggested that we travel with him to SS. Peter and Paul parish in East Liberty. It seems the pastor, Father Hune, was looking for German Sisters to teach the children of German immigrants in his parish. Arrangements were made and we set out on a new mission. And so began our foundation on Larimer Avenue in Pittsburgh in the fall of 1876.
There was so much work to do and soon more sisters were sent from Germany. Bishop Ketteler considered this a testimony to the good work that we were doing. How happy we were to hear that ten of our dear Sisters would come, four professed and six novices. Sister Aloysia (Bansbach) was among that group. A novice, barely 20 at the time, she embraced life in the New World and her keen mind and leadership qualities have been of great value to the Community.
I must stop writing for now. Though it tires me, I enjoy this reverie -- thinking about how my life has unfolded -- the surprises and challenges, the friendships and the work, the successes and setbacks. And through it all is one constant, the community of my Sisters. These women have walked the path with me, giving me encouragement and strength. I am confident that the past we share has prepared us for whatever the future brings.
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