Apostolate is oldest in the world for Catholic laywomen
MaterkaWest Bloomfield Township — The Oakland County chapter of the Ladies of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul plans a brief hiatus from its decades of serving the poor to commemorate its 50th anniversary next month.
Three-hundred strong, the Ladies of Charity will welcome Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron as their special guest of honor at a gala Sept. 12 at the Pine Lake Country Club in West Bloomfield Township.
In addition to honoring the group’s anniversary, the event will also recognize the service of past presidents of the Ladies of Charity, said Mia Materka, chairperson of the event, to which both members of the public and Ladies of Charity are invited.
“All the proceeds from this event will enable us to help the less fortunate and to reach out to further the mission envisioned by the founders,” Materka said.
The Ladies of Charity are members of the oldest Catholic laywomen’s apostolate in the world. It was founded in 1617 by St. Vincent de Paul, then a parish priest in Lyon, France, where poverty, sickness and great hardships were rampant.
The first association in the U.S. was established in St. Louis in 1857. By 1934, there were 2,500 chapters throughout the world. Today there are 61 associations in the U.S., and more than 260,000 members in 53 countries. The mission remains the same: to make Christ present by fulfilling the material and spiritual needs of the sick, poor and marginalized.
Last year, the Ladies of Charity assisted more than 20,000 people in Oakland County supplying food, clothing and other needs largely through its Clothes Closet at St. Hugo of the Hills Parish in Bloomfield Hills. Fr. Eric Fedewa, associate pastor at St. Hugo, serves as spiritual moderator, and members meet for Mass regularly at the church.
“We pray the first Monday of every month for the deceased Ladies of Charity who have served us in the past. We need to have Jesus to serve Jesus’ people,” said Kay Browne, who served as president of the organization from 1976-78.
Browne, whose mother preceded her as a stalwart with the Ladies of Charity, said over the years, members — all volunteers — have aided those in need, including the poor, unwed mothers, orphans, and adults with closed-head injuries. Ladies of Charity have used their talents to do everything from sewing curtains and making quilts and blankets for hospital patients to offering parenting and cooking classes for young, unwed mothers and hosting Christmas parties for the marginalized.
“We do our best to meet their physical, mental, psychological and religious needs,” Browne said.
BrownePast presidents to be honored at the gala include — in chronological order — Majel Barch; Jan Moore; Bea Sifferman; Patricia Kendro; Jean Chinn; and Leona Cippola, all deceased. Kay Mullen Browne succeeded Leona Cippola, followed by the late Mary Ellen Philbin; Joanne Wilberding; the late Madeline Kessler; Mickie Kroetsch; the late Miriam Best; Barbara King; Eileen Brennan; Sandy Mackle; Pat Hurlbert; Helen Peterson; Beverly Stenger; Madeline Lokar; the late Margaret Clare Hastings; Sarah Gijsbers; Mary Ottney; Barbara Stoffa; Pauline Peterson; Cathryn Clark; Bernice Mittelstaedt; Lisa Kocab; Marleen Condit; Colleen Giles; Carol Roney; Dorothy Perrotta; Mary Glantz; Marilyn Cooke; and Liz Okoniewski. Kathi Tauscher serves as the current president.
New members are always welcome, Materka said. “There is a quote in the Bible wherein Jesus says the poor will always be with us,” she said. “So our mission of service is ongoing; it will never stop.”
Tickets for the “Joie de la Nuit” 50th Anniversary Black Tie Gala are $200 per person. The Mercyaires and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Jazz Ensemble will entertain at a cocktail reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fox 2 TV anchor Monica Gayle will act as mistress of ceremony, and internationally-renowned violinist Sonia Lee will perform. Dinner and a silent auction will follow at the black-tie-optional celebration.
For more information, contact Cecelia Ann Kelley at (248) 561-1785 or [email protected]. To donate to the Clothes Closet of the Ladies of Charity, call (248) 646-0920.
