Trail-blazer of faith touched many parts of the Albany Diocese

Around the same time the Albany Diocese was breaking in its baby shoes, a delicate but determined toddler named Lucy Smith was taking her first steps in a privileged Protestant home in Brooklyn.

Years later, that same frail female would earn respect among Catholics for the pioneering steps she took in retreat work as Mother Mary Catherine de Ricci of the Heart of Christ. During her 49 years of life, which began in 1845, Mother de Ricci blazed a trail that has enriched the faith journey of the many souls who found themselves drawn to retreats at the Dominican Spiritual Life Center in Niskayuna.

While the life and work of Mother de Ricci have been well documented by the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of St. Catherine de Ricci, it would be hard to find a greater male admirer than historian Paul McCarty, a parishioner of St. Joseph's Church in Fort Edward.

Roots of retreats

"Almost everyone in the Albany Diocese has heard of the Dominican Retreat House," Mr. McCarty said. "What is not generally as well known is that Mother de Ricci also had very deep roots in the northern part of the Diocese, particularly in Fort Edward and Glens Falls.

"Before she became known as Mother de Ricci and a pioneer in retreat work, Lucy Smith spent her summers at the home of her Grandmother McIntyre on Broadway in Fort Edward, just around the corner from the original St. Joseph's Church on East Street," he explained during a recent tour of the historic community which Mother de Ricci's ancestors helped to establish in the 1750s.

"Before converting to Catholicism, Lucy attended St. James Episcopal Church, just a short walk from her grandmother's house, and later became quite a presence in and around St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church. In the late 1870s, she actually formed a sewing and religious instruction class that met at her grandmother's house even though her grandmother was not Catholic at the time."

It was not until about a decade later, when Grandmother McIntyre was in her 90th year, that Lucy converted to Catholicism. Other converts included five of Lucy's six siblings, many of whom had initially ridiculed her decision to change religions. One of her sisters, Lillie, later became a nun in the same order as Mother de Ricci.

Ahead of her times

"Mother de Ricci was an amazing individual, a person way ahead of her time, and certainly way ahead of the women's movement," reflected Mr. McCarty, who credits Sister Mary James, OP, of the Dominican Retreat House with authoring an excellent biography about Mother de Ricci in 1949. More recently, Mr. McCarty has gleaned additional information about the pioneering nun from descendants of the Smith family and other sources.

In the words of biographer Sister Mary James, Mother de Riccci's "every mortal step was dogged by physical weakness." When she first journeyed abroad in 1872, it was upon the advice of her physician, who felt the therapeutic spas of Germany might be beneficial to her health. She later spent time in France and Spain. But it was an eight-day retreat in Rome in 1876 that was to prove to be a turning point in her life.

Coming home

Lucy discussed her growing vocation call with a Dominican prior, who advised her to return to her homeland because "your own bustling America needs you."

Lucy's earliest attempts at establishing a place for retreats in New York did not meet with immediate success, in part because it was felt that "the only place for active religious was the school, the orphan asylum or the hospital."

Wrote Sister Mary James: "Lucy...busied herself with the care of St. Joseph's Church; encouraged the village girls to attend Sodality; formed a sewing and religious instruction class which met each week at her grandmother's house,...prepared the children for their reception of the Sacraments; and in general did all in her power to make religion a vital force in the little town."

Beginnings

Early in 1880, while visiting Glens Falls, Lucy noticed an empty house near St. Alphonsus Church, prompting an idea: The girls of Fort Edward had been so appreciative of what she had to give to them, why not settle in this larger town and continue the work she had begun in Fort Edward, but with others helping her as a religious community?

Lucy wrote to Rev. Louis St. Onge, the pastor, who replied that he looked upon her letter "as an inspiration from the Holy Spirit." Arrangements were made with the bishop of Albany, Francis McNierny, and on May 24, 1880, Lucy Smith pronounced the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, taking as her religious name Sister Mary Catherine de Ricci of the Heart of Christ. On June 21, after she was joined by her first two companions, conventual life began in Glens Falls.

Prayer and works

The trio of nuns first opened a free school for the children of the Glens Falls parish. In 1881, they moved to West Troy. A year later, the nuns bought a mortgage on a property on the Albany-Troy Road where "a formal novitiate" was established and retreats for lay women were offered. Women reportedly flocked to the retreat house from as far away as Boston and Washington.

In 1884, the community moved into the city of Albany where they rented a house near the Cathedral to continue their work. A plot of land was ultimately secured on Madison Avenue.

In 1886, the convent Mother de Ricci had so long dreamed of establishing became a reality. There, she helped others live out the two old mottos that sum up the spirit and essence of Dominican life: "Laudare, Benedicere, et Praedicare" ("To praise, to bless and to preach"); and "Aliis tradere contemplata" ("To give others the fruits of contemplation").

Another foundation was subsequently established in Saratoga Springs, long famous for its healing waters. It was there that Mother de Ricci died on May 27, 1894, prompting her Dominican biographer to conclude: "Her days were indeed few, but in the eyes of God very full."

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