Aging religious order adjusts to changing times

~ Catholic orders in the United States have been losing members for years; nuns forced to close school.

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. -- Members of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, like other women's religious orders around the nation, are making hard choices as their population ages.

The order of aging nuns said it must close a 40-year-old Catholic school in eastern Missouri in June.

The sisters say they will sell Linda Vista Catholic School and the land it sits on to the highest bidder to raise money for the retirement and health care of the order's 200 nuns. On average, the sisters of O'Fallon-based Sisters of the Most Precious Blood are 75 years old.

"It's the last thing we wanted to do," said Sister Carmen Schnyder, a liaison between the 160-student school and her order.

For several years, the school has had a $200,000 deficit. Schnyder, who is the order's treasurer, said the group will need $63 million to support the sisters for the rest of their lives.

The group had Linda Vista's buildings and grounds appraised at nearly $4 million.

But parents say they're willing to fight to keep the school open and have offered to buy Linda Vista for $1.5 million. They have already raised a half-million dollars in donations and pledges.

"You walk through the doors and it's like you're walking into your second home," said parent Noel Marbarger.

The sisters are also debating selling some of their convent's 42 acres, building commercial space on the property or transforming their 125-year-old chapel into a museum.

Catholic orders in the United States have been losing members for years. In 1965, about 35,000 priests and brothers worked in Catholic communities, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. The number has fallen to 19,000 today.

But women's religious orders have lost seven members for each brother or priest. In 1965, almost 180,000 sisters filled U.S. elementary schools, hospitals and other missions, according to the center. There are now fewer than 67,000.

Male orders are certainly aging, said Mary Charlotte Chandler, director of the Center for the Study of Religious Life, but women's orders have a larger proportion of elderly in their communities and fewer young sisters to help out.

Sisters have worked in many ways to combat the decline.

They have established development offices to seek new money for their missions. They have printed glossy magazines to get word out to those they have served.

They have turned unused space in their motherhouses into money-makers, such as retreat getaways, retirement homes and ecological education centers. In some cases, they have merged with other orders.

Some are selling buildings and land to bankroll their future.

Parents like Marbarger said they'll do what they can to help the sisters.

"I feel like this is such a good cause. We'll do whatever we can. We'll donate money, we'll donate time. Whatever they need, we'll do it."

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com