Our Lady of Lourdes Academy has been staffed by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, since it was founded in 1963. The Sisters have passed on to the school community the spirit and Charism of their congregation.
The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary have provided the foundation for the spiritual life of Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. Since their congregation was founded by a Redemptorist priest in 1845, the Sisters follow the spirituality of Saint Alphonsus Liguori.
The four hallmarks of Alphonsian spirituality which the Sisters have instilled in the life of Our Lady of Lourdes Academy are:
- Devotion to the Blessed Mother: St. Alphonsus loved Mary, our Mother, because of the great courage She displayed in answering God’s call, the dedication with which She supported Her Son’s ministry and Her fidelity to being a witness of God’s love. This is witnessed at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy through the presence of a Blessed Mother statue in each classroom and in our Grotto, our commitment to daily prayer and through our lived witness of our school motto: “With Mary in all things.” This acknowledges that Jesus is the Center and Mary our Model.
- Incarnation: St. Alphonsus desired everyone to understand the unconditional love that God our Father has for us. He loves us so much that He gave us His son, Jesus Christ, to become one with us in human flesh, thus reminding us that Christ is present in every human being. The devotion to the Incarnation is evident at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy through the hospitality we show to one another, the joy with which we celebrate the gift of each other’s lives and the joyful service we offer those in need.
- Redemption: St. Alphonsus reminds us that Christ loved us so much that He sacrificed his very life so that we have the opportunity for eternal life. This love for the redemption that Christ has won for us is demonstrated at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy through the presence of a cross in every classroom, the praying of the Stations of the Cross during Lent, and beginning and ending each day with the Sign of the Cross.
- Eucharist: St. Alphonsus once said that Christ was so “crazy for love of us” that he could not bear to be separated from us and so left Himself with us in the form of the Eucharist. Eucharistic devotion is present in our school through the constant presence of the Blessed Sacrament in our school’s Chapel, weekly Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
For more information about the Sisters, Servants of the immaculate Heart of Mary visit their Web site at www.ihmimmaculata.org.