Two religious organizations engaged in the $9.3 million sale of a 522-acre land parcel in Ulster County”™s West Park.
According to a Hudson Valley One report, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus sold the property to the Bishops of the Coptic Church of New York and New England. West Park is where Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini established the Sacred Heart Orphan Asylum in 1890 on land purchased from the Order of the Jesuits, who sold it cheaply because they believed the property lacked well water ”“ a well was discovered after Cabrini took possession of the land and it still serves the property. The Italian-born Cabrini was initially interred at the property after her passing in 1917; she was canonized in 1946 as the first U.S. citizen to become a saint.
The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus have used the property to run the orphanage, a school and a facility for young women ”“ all three structures no longer exist. Today, the property is home to a convent, a chapel, an administration building and the Sacred Heart Center for New Americans, which provides assistance for immigrant families in Ulster, Orange and Dutchess counties. It is uncertain whether the property”™s new owners will enable the Missionary Sisters to continue their tenancy and work at the property.
Photo: Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini in a 1905 photograph, courtesy of the National Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
