Living in God's Providence: History of the Congregation of Divine Providence of San Antonio, Texas, 1943-2000 (review)

This congregational history provides a thoroughly researched portrait of a unique group of women religious, the Congregation of Divine Providence of San Antonio, in the latter half of the twentieth century. The book, based on archival research and a significant collection of oral histories, focuses particularly on how sisters adapted to new ministries and changes in internal organization and governance. So many other congregations experienced similar upheavals, but the pleasure of this book can be found in how it makes this familiar story particular. For example, we assume that most sisters' discernment about these issues was based in prayer, but Mary Christine Morkovsky reminds us that a congregation's approach to prayer is unique. She argues that her congregation's special dedication to, and reliance upon, God's Providence helped them sense changing needs and situations, and discern the most fruitful path. Stories abound of sisters who watched for "Providence moments," as members of the congregation referred to them, and then interpreted these moments as personal directives in changing times.

Clearly, then, these sisters made a habit of practicing the art of discernment, a habit that seemed to serve them well. Yet a more complex portrait emerges. Morkovsky also has this to say of her congregation: "The Sisters are more task-oriented than reflective in their orientation toward life" (p. 16). This is an extraordinary statement about a group of women who based their lives on the ability to identify and interpret the gifts of Providence, and one that the author leaves unexplained. For better or for worse, this statement is also an accurate description of Morkovsky's book as a whole.

The author has made a great effort to balance the obvious need to chronicle the congregation's history for its internal use and to write a history that will be of interest to outsiders. She successfully places the congregation's history in the larger context of the U.S. Church's history. But Morkovsky lets the facts tell her story without offering much in the way of reflection or argument.

The book's primary purpose is apparent in the sheer number of people mentioned in the text—to provide a comprehensive record of the congregation. Of greater concern, however, is the author's tendency to make blanket, cheerful statements about the sisters. For example, Morkovsky states that "as individuals and as a Congregation, the Sisters of Divine Providence met each challenge and adapted with resilience and creativity" (p. 50).We also learn that "[w]hen a need arises they do what they need to do and they do it well" (p. 16).Such statements are not particularly helpful for scholars. Nevertheless, historians interested in Hispanic Catholics and those who ministered to them, the sisterhoods in transition and decline, Catholic schools and Catholic higher education, and the Second Vatican Council transition will find a wealth of information here that makes larger trends of this period concrete.