Celebrating a Mass in Thanksgiving for 225 years of Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., Cardinal Wilton Gregory praised its educational legacy and its impact on generations of young women since it was founded in 1799 as the first Catholic girls’ school in the new United States of America.
In his homily at the Mass on May 31, 2024 at the school’s Nolan Center for the Performing Arts, Washington’s archbishop noted, “During these past 225 years, the techniques for teaching (have evolved), the buildings here on campus have been remodeled, erected or rebuilt, the teachers and students have come and gone, but the dedication to Catholic education has remained constant. That is what we celebrate this evening – the enduring dedication to Catholic education and the Christian formation of gifted young women (that) has endured for these 225 years.”
Cardinal Gregory pointed out that in the span of 225 years, “many changes occur. Some of those changes are life-giving and some are filled with sorrow. When the first nuns and students arrived at Georgetown Visitation, they were pioneer Catholics. They could not have envisioned that during the next 225 years, they would witness wars, the Industrial Revolution, numerous depressions, recessions, several pandemics, the end of slavery and even the constant splitting off of new local churches from the then still-new diocese entitled Baltimore.”
During his homily at the Mass on the Feast of the Visitation, the cardinal reflected on how Mary, “a person always concerned about others before she was concerned about herself,” visited her cousin Elizabeth to support and comfort her, as both women were awaiting a first child.
“These two courageous women lend the name of their wondrous encounter to the religious community who established this school, and then to the school itself,” he said, adding, “They are symbols of hope and compassion – gifts that we pray are found even today in the Visitation student body and faculty, as they have clearly become part of the 225-year legacy of this venerable institution.”
Visitation Sister Anne Francis Ng’ang’a, the mother superior at Visitation’s monastery, welcomed those attending the Mass, saying, “For over two centuries, our school has been a blessed place of learning where minds are enlightened, hearts are ignited and souls grow closer to Christ.”
She said that Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School “stands as a testament to the unwavering dedication of countless educators, students and friends who have shaped its legacy. Today we honor all of those who have gone before us – particularly our Sisters of the Visitation – and look ahead with joy and gratitude for God’s gracious providence.”
Dr. Barbara McGraw Edmondson, the president of Georgetown Visitation, offered remarks near the end of the Mass, saying, “The story of Visitation is one of deep and abiding faith, one of courage in the face of daunting prospects, and one of the power of women. But perhaps above all, it is a story of the power of community. Visitation was founded by three women who, working together, built a pioneering school in a nascent country. The Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary have carried their vision forward through the generations and today, we, the lay are taking the baton, ready to carry their charism forward.”
The school’s president added, “You and I are the future of Georgetown Visitation. Together, we will build on the sisters’ legacy of faith and excellence…”
Then a 225th anniversary video was shown, with commentary noting how three pioneering Visitation sisters founded the school in 1799 to provide young women with a Catholic liberal arts education, at a time when there were only three schools for women in the United States.
“The Sisters of the Visitation helped define women’s education in America,” the video’s commentary noted, while adding, “Those early sisters were countercultural and pioneering in many ways, fighting to establish the Catholic Church in America and believing in the power of women’s education. But they were also very much of their time, enslaving men, women and children – a moral failure that we recognize and seek to repair today.”
The video noted how from its early years, Georgetown Visitation offered a faith-based education with classes in the arts and sciences, attracting students from across the country, and six presidents came to the school to preside at its award ceremonies.
Visitation’s early graduates included Emily Roebling from the class of 1863, an engineer who was instrumental in the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge; Ella Jones of the class of 1873, one of the first female physicians in the United States; and Harriet Monroe of the class of 1879, who the video noted “founded Poetry magazine, helping launch the careers of luminaries like T.S. Eliot and William Carlos Williams.”
Georgetown Visitation’s anniversary video underscored how its alumnae today “continue to be leaders in their communities and in our nation. They have helped rebuild cities after national disasters, transformed education for disadvantaged youth, advanced public health for women and people of color, served as high-ranking government officials, broken down racial barriers in the arts, advocated for climate change legislation, and so much more. Today, more than 6,000 Visitation women are making a difference in our world.”
Summarizing Visitation’s mission, the video’s commentary said, “Each student who walks through our gates joins this 225-year procession of women of faith, vision and purpose. Our mission – to empower our students to meet the demands and challenges of today’s rapidly changing and morally complex world – has never been more vital… Each young woman here carries the sisters’ vocation to ‘Live Jesus’ out into the world.”
In interviews after the Mass and during a reception that followed, people connected with Georgetown Visitation reflected on its legacy and impact.
Visitation Sister Mary Berchmans Hannan, the president emerita of Georgetown Visitation who has been part of the school community since entering as a student 79 years ago in 1945, said, “Each decade of my life here has had its own gifts, challenges and joys.” She led the school as its historic academy building gutted by a devastating 1993 fire was rebuilt into a state-of-the-art educational facility. Berchmans Hall with its art studio, science labs and math classrooms, was dedicated there in 2019 and named in her honor.
Sister Berchmans – who is now 93 and was the speaker at the graduation ceremony for Visitation’s class of 2024 on June 4 – added, “The grace of God has been abundantly present in my life, for which I am grateful.”
Kitty Wach, a 1982 graduate of Georgetown Visitation whose mother and two daughters also graduated from the school, said its legacy reflects “the power and persistence of Catholic women.”
Wach, an attorney, said she went into law because her teacher in Visitation’s current events class “was the best teacher I ever had. She encouraged me to get involved in civic life.”
She is among a group of laity involved in working to preserve the charism of the Visitation sisters at the school for years to come. Those Catholic values, she said, are vitally important “in today’s world that is so divided.”
Leonor Limarzi Ponzio of Georgetown Visitation’s class of 1997 became the school’s principal during the 2021-22 school year after serving as an English teacher and as director of educational technology there. During an interview at the 225th anniversary reception in the school’s quadrangle, she said, “I’m just lucky to be a part of this moment in Visitation’s history. The future is bright. We’ve got strong Catholic faith, (and) women who come here because they want to be empowered leaders, and we want to usher them into that future.”
Reflecting on her own education there, Ponzio said, “I don’t think I saw the impact until after I left Visitation, how much confidence and conviction I had because of my education here.” Serving as the principal at the 225-year-old school “is an honor. It’s humbling,” she said, adding, “I’m blessed to say I’m part of this living legacy. I’m so proud to be a part of it.”
Also attending the reception was Kathleen Brogan, a member of Georgetown Visitation’s graduating class in the school’s bicentennial year of 1999 who now serves as the chair of its Board of Directors. Asked about the impact of her education at Visitation, Brogan – who works as an attorney – said, “It’s hard to exaggerate how important it’s been to me, how I understand my relationship with Jesus, and how I understand I have the responsibility to use the gifts I have to serve the world.”
Brogan said one of her first memories there was how the Visitation sisters told her and her freshman classmates that they had been praying for them since before they were born and had been waiting for them to arrive. “To be part of the history of an institution of faith that prays for one another across generations is not only powerful, but so needed in the world,” Brogan said.
Sister Anne Francis Ng’ang’a, a native of Kenya who serves as the mother superior at Visitation’s monastery, leading the 17 sisters there, praised the legacy of the Visitation Sisters who have guided the school over its 225 years.
“I feel like I stand on the shoulders of giants who carried us and are still carrying us,” she said, adding that through challenges the sisters faced over the years, “their faith sustained them.”
The Visitation sister said the education offered at Georgetown Visitation changes the lives of the young women there. “I see women being transformed in their faith, in their way of looking at things. They become better leaders. Like St. Francis de Sales said, ‘Be who you are, and be that well.’ They embody that.”
Mary Lou Lanman Kenary, who served as the director of alumni relations at Georgetown Visitation from 1990 to 2006 and helped organize its 1999 bicentennial gala, graduated from its junior college in 1961, and her daughter and two granddaughters later graduated from the high school there. Georgetown Visitation’s traditions “have stayed the same,” she said, also emphasizing the enduring bonds that its students form.
She and a group of her Visitation classmates from more than six decades ago remain lifelong friends and get together for each other’s birthdays. “My daughter’s best friends (from Visitation), through the trials and tribulations of life, they help (each other). My granddaughters have that same camaraderie,” she said.
Also attending the 225th anniversary reception were three graduates from Georgetown Visitation’s class of 2022 who are now in college and plan to continue on to medical school.
Neso Mere, who is studying kinesiology (the science of human body movement) at the University of Maryland and is interested in orthopedic or physical rehabilitation medicine, said her neuroscience class at Georgetown Visitation sparked her interest in becoming a doctor. “I feel like going to Visitation definitely shaped who I am today and gave me an invaluable experience,” she said, noting the friends she made and praising the teachers and advisors she had there.
Her twin sister and fellow Visitation graduate, Sobi Mere, is also on a pre-med track at the University of Maryland, majoring in criminology and criminal justice. She is considering studying physical rehabilitation medicine or anesthesiology in medical school.
“I’ve learned to really value the relationships I made at Visi, and Visitation has really challenged me to speak up for myself, whether in class or outside class, to advocate for myself and what I believe in,” she said.
Their friend and fellow member of Georgetown Visitation’s class of 2022, Hannah Pierce, is a rising junior at the University of Miami studying neuroscience, and she is also on a pre-med track. Her favorite class at Visitation, neuroscience, inspired her interest in majoring in that subject, which may be the branch of medicine she will go on to study. She is also interested in radiology and psychology.
“Visitation as a whole has reminded me of faith, vision and purpose. Those three themes are really important to Visitation and its community,” Pierce said, adding, “It’s helped me stay true to my faith, have a vision for my future and maintain my purpose every day.”