Keeping the spirit of Mother Maria in Marquette Park
When the Sisters of St. Casimir decided a few years ago to close Maria High School in the city’s Marquette Park neighborhood they knew that somehow they wanted to keep a Catholic presence on the site.
They established that presence through the Maria Kaupas Center, a youth community space housed in the former convent on school grounds and named for Venerable Mother Maria Kaupas, founder of the Sisters of St. Casimir. The center works with students from Catalyst Maria, the charter school located in the old Maria High School.
The Catalyst network was founded by the Christian Brothers as a way to provide quality, values- based education to children in two impoverished areas of Chicago. Catalyst schools are not religious, but do teach children values such as respect and compassion.
Sister of St. Casimir Margaret Zalot, councilor and general secretary of the community, said the sisters knew there would be a lot of children in the charter school who would still need opportunities for spiritual growth and good values.
“We’re really involved in this community here and we can see that there are needs here,” Zalot said.
When searching for someone to direct the program, the sisters reached out to Amy Eckhouse, a former teacher at Maria.
“I knew the clientele and the kids. And I had an idea of what they were saying,” she told the Catholic New World.
The convent, which is attached to the high school, provided ready-made space for the center with a large chapel, multipurpose space, a kitchen and dining area and even living quarters for overnight retreats.
In fall 2013, the first group of students from Catalyst joined the center. About 50 kids came daily after school from 4 to 6 p.m.
Starting up took a lot of work.
“The first day I came in here the walls were all white. I was sitting in a chair with no desk and I thought, ‘Oh my, God. Inspire me,’” Eckhouse said.
Today the walls are decorated with brightly colored inspirational messages and artwork created by the students. The sisters’ dining area has been converted into a lively teen space. Even some of the chairs are hand-painted by the students, each one with a different design and the bearing handprints of the painter.
The students also help lead groups in the center.
During the first year they had music sessions, drum circles and sewing and cooking classes. Grants from PNC Foundation and McLaughlin Foundation helped to cover expenses.
This past summer the center held a vacation Bible school from 9 a.m. until noon and then held a dropin from noon to 6 p.m.
Since the students are at school from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m., when they get to the center “they are just out of it,” Eckhouse said. To help them refocus, she starts with prayer.
“The very first thing that we do when they come is that we have reflection in the chapel. That’s our center,” she said.
Students appreciate the sacred space of the chapel, with one student telling Eckhouse that God hears their stories in the space of the chapel.
“This was our dream,” said Sister M. Immacula Wendt, assistant general superior and general treasurer of the congregation in the United States.
“These kids come into that chapel and just sit,” Sister Immacula said. “One of the questions that Amy asked them was if you met God today what would you ask him?”
The kids responded with questions such as: Why is my dad in jail? Why was my brother shot? Where is my mother?
Sister M. Immacula said it is important to keep Catholicity in schools that are no longer Catholic. The sisters believe this will be a model for other congregations as they are forced to close schools.
The kids feel safe coming to the center with many telling Eckhouse it is a “home away from home.”
The Maria Kaupas Center is in need of volunteers and donations of snacks and other supplies. For more information, visitwww.mariakaupascenter.com.
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