tions soon became inadequate. At about this time there were requests for the Sisters to teach in parish schools. In 1925, Sisters went to staff the first school in Wilkes-Barre, PA. From these humble beginnings, the apostolate of education grew to the staffing of thirty-three schools – elementary, secondary and catechetical- at its highpoint in the 1960’s. Many of the Sisters dedicated their lives to education, teaching not only the religious and academic subjects, but also touching untold lives by their witness and their imparting of Christian values in the Byzantine Catholic Church.
Continued growth in ministry and members necessitated another move for the Sisters. This time it was to Factoryville, PA in October of 1927, where the Sisters purchased a 170-acre farm with several frame buildings. The Sisters realized early on that this property was not an ideal site for a permanent motherhouse. Material facilities were lacking, and the spiritual opportunities so needed were even more remote because of distance from Byzantine parishes and clergy. Some neighbors were unfriendly to the Sisters, and others showed open hostility. It was obvious that they had to seek for a more suitable place.
Financially, though, this seemed impossible. It was the era of the Great Depression, and the money that the Sisters had been able painstakingly to save was lost in a bank failure. However, the Providence of Almighty God intervened and in a series of extraordinary happenings, the Sisters acquired the property known today as Mount Saint Macrina in Uniontown, PA as a permanent motherhouse. The down payment was realized by the sale of the Factoryville property, and through the generosity of many charitable people, Oak Hill, the once palatial but now greatly neglected estate of the former millionaire coal baron Josiah Van Kirk Thompson, was bought and was renamed Mount Saint Macrina in 1933.
Bishop Basil Takach formally dedicated the mansion turned motherhouse in September 1934. Thus began the Pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It was encouraged by the deep devotion to the Mother of God that is inherent in the Byzantine Church and among all Slav people, and by the presentation by Pope Pius XI of an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to the Sisters with the request that they spread devotion to her. This Pilgrimage has become the largest Byzantine Catholic Pilgrimage in North America where hierarchy, clergy, religious and people gather yearly over the Labor Day weekend to give glory to God and honor to his Mother.
When the Sisters moved to Uniontown, they were able to widen the vistas of their apostolate. The Sisters began an ecclesiastical sewing department, weekend retreats for laity inaugurated the Retreat Ministry, numerous catechetical schools thrived in the various parishes and an Academy for girls flourished from 1939 to 1968. Today, the original Thompson Mansion is a House of Prayer where groups and individuals receive spiritual direction and refreshment.
The neighboring mansion where Mr. Thompson’s son and family lived became St. Basil’s Personal Care Home for women in 1947 until 1999, when this building became a home for 12 years of another ministry – the rehabilitation of women who have been involved in substance abuse.
In 1964 the present Monastery, which houses the offices of the Provincial Administration and Sisters’ Residence was completed. This building is also home to a Greeting Card Department. The Religious Gift and Icon Shop are also located on the grounds.
The Sisters built Mount Macrina Manor in 1971, a 133-bed licensed long-term care facility that offers both intermediate and skilled nursing care. It likewise features a Memory Care Unit and a Hospice Care Unit. It has recently completed a two-year renovation begun in 2015 and now includes both in-house and outpatient Rehabilitation Services.
The Sisters provided a number of other ministries throughout the years: Prayer Ministry, Pastoral Ministry, Diocesan Religious Education Office Staffing, Diocesan and Chancery Office Staffing, Seminary Administration, F