Guild of Our Lady of Providence celebrates 75 years

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

WORCESTER – The Guild of Our Lady of Providence is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, like the Diocese of Worcester that it serves.

After Bishop John J. Wright (later a cardinal) was installed first bishop of Worcester in March 1950, he arranged guilds for “everything,” recalled Jeannette Bruso, a past president of the Guild of Our Lady of Providence, initially established to help St. Vincent Hospital.

“Wasn’t Bishop John Wright something?” marveled Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, the diocese’s vicar general and pastor of Christ the King Parish, as he preached at the Guild’s 75th anniversary Mass Sunday at Blessed Sacrament Church. “He was founding new Catholic organizations, and parishes, and so many other programs so quickly. … Those were real building years.

“And what a great organization, this Guild. That gathering of wives of doctors, and others who lived near the old St. Vincent’s Hospital, and so many other women so active in the new diocese and their parishes, was quite an initiative.  

“Your principal concern was for those who were sick, as well as their family members,” Msgr. Sullivan continued, noting that Jesus loved the sick and “laid out a pattern … for us.” He thanked Guild members for all they and their predecessors have done and all they will do.
Stories of the Guild come from members, Sunday’s Mass program, The Catholic Free Press files and the book Body and Soul: 100 years at St. Vincent Hospital, 1893-1993, by David P. Kowal.

On May 7, 1950, the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent Hospital held a tea at the hospital’s School of Nursing, the program says. About 230 women attended, including the medical staff’s family members and hospital volunteers, some of whom started during “the emergency days of World War II.”

Sister of Providence Mary Loreto, hospital superintendent, said the sisters wanted volunteers to help with their work. Bishop Wright spoke of a need for volunteers and friends of the hospital.

“With his sanction, the group was formally organized,” and he suggested meetings with Mass, coffee hour and entertainment, as well as large social events to raise money and “stimulate interest in the hospital.”

“With the bishop as a catalyst, membership reached 842 by October 1950 and 1,060 a month later,” Body and Soul says. By 1951 there were 1,300 Guild members.

“A 1990 proclamation signed by Mayor Jordan Levy in honor of the guild’s 40th anniversary says that from 1950 to 1990, the guild accumulated more than 1,225,000 volunteer hours, awarded more than 1,600 scholarships totaling $108,800 to student nurses, donated $50,000 for a diagnostic building and more than $167,000 for St. Vincent’s amphitheater and library,” the book says. “The proclamation estimates that the guild raised $1,847,000 for the hospital. By 1992, donations passed the $2 million mark.”

The Guild also arrranged for the photographing of newborns, knit baby hats and managed the hospital gift shop, Body and Soul says.

“In the 1951-1952 fiscal year alone, 86 volunteers made 147,568 [surgical] dressings,” it says. “In 1959-1960 … 260,763 dressings.” Also making dressings and performing other tasks was the Junior Guild of women ages 15-20.

In a letter in Sunday’s program, Bishop McManus, who was away, had written: “This anniversary recalls all those who have labored tirelessly and lovingly to lay a strong foundation for building up the Church in the City and the County of Worcester. They formed a Catholic community that would be a living temple of God’s presence in their midst.”

“The best thing I can say about the Guild – it is a group of women that are really bonded to one another,” said member Mary Maher. “Our friendships are very strong. ... We have a lot of fun ... as well as working to help other people. I worked on different committees. ... I talked to people ... to get them to join. ... This is how it grew. We used to be able to give thousands of dollars a year to St. Vincent’s. ... The favorite thing that we did” was the annual assembly, which featured a meal and entertainment.

“The doctors were very generous to the Guild,” recalled member Madeline Iacobucci, who graduated from and taught at St. Vincent School of Nursing and whose husband was a doctor at the hospital. “They would come to the concert, or whatever it was, and buy a whole table. … To have the Boston Pops was very special. … We would actually have the conductor,” Arthur Fiedler.

The Guild “usually had a project they were supporting,” said Mrs. Bruso, who recalled teas and dances the Guild organized for the nursing students, of which she was one, before becoming a nurse there. “They bought a lot of equipment for the hospital.”
Members also helped at the hospital.  

“I worked 10 years, volunteering in the cancer center,” being present mostly to those who brought in patients, she said. “You not only served them coffee; you would cheer them up. … A lot of times it was just plain support – a smile or a kind word.”

She was Guild president in 1996 when St. Vincent’s was sold to a for-profit company. The Guild, a non-profit organization, could no longer raise money for, or provide services to, the hospital, so it shifted focus to serve the diocese by supporting health, education and charities.

Now the Guild raises money through shows with lunch, calendar raffles, selling items at a craft fair, and a collection among members, said Donna Wrenn, president. The money is used for annual donations: $5,000 for the Guild’s Adopt-a-Student scholarship for a student in a local Catholic school; two $500 grants to Catholic elementary schools; $2,500 to Parters in Charity, and $1,000 to St. Peter’s Free Medical Program.  

The Guild closed its own 11-year health care program at St. Bernard Church of Our Lady of Providence Parish when there was no longer a doctor to staff it, said Jo Luikey, vice president and treasurer.  

The Guild also supports various charities with non-perishable foods, toiletries and baby items that members donate.

Now there are 97 members, including six new ones this year and some who can’t attend gatherings anymore, Ms. Wrenn said. They’re seeking more members.

– Those wanting more information can contact Donna Wrenn at [email protected] or 508-826-4256.