The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
Poor Clareswelcome volunteers to bake altar
By PAUL R. LEINGANG
- Message editor
On Holy Thursday Catholics
remember in a special way the
Lord's Supper, when Jesus took
bread and wine and gave them
to his disciples as his body and
blood. In the parishes of the
Diocese of Evansville, the
bread that is used more than
likely came from the Monastery
of St. Clare, west of Evansville
in Vanderburgh County.
The Poor Clares have been
baking altar breads since 1897
-- about 33 million of them a
year in recent years. Most of
the parishes in the diocese,
along with a few parishes in
the neighboring areas, order
altar breads from the
monastery. It is the only
source of regular income for
the Poor Clares.
But after almost a hundred
years, the members of the small
community at the monastery
have embarked on a new course
to continue their service. Since
early March, volunteers from
prayer groups and other organi-
zations have begun to offer
their assistance on Saturdays.
Volunteers come to work and
pray with the sisters, whose
community now numbers 17
members. Of that number, only
seven are able to work at the
baking stoves, or "bakers" as
the sisters call them. Others in
the small community are able
to perform the other tasks,
such as cutting the round altar
breads from the rectangular
sheets that come from bakers.
First Communion classes
often visit the monastery on
field trips. As many as 40 to
50 children gather to watch
the operation at one time,
and as many as four or five
groups schedule such visits
during some weeks in April.
John and Jean Daidson operate one of the three "bak-
ers" used for making altar breads at the Poor Clare
Monastery. The bakers produce fiat sheets of bread,
which must be humidified before individual circles of
bread are cut.
Bishop
Continued from page 1
Deering.
• On Good Friday, April 5,
the bishop will preside at St.
John Chrysostom Church, New
Boston. The service is sched-
uled at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Good Friday is observed as a
day of abstinence and paschal
fast. The paschal fast contin-
ues if possible to the Easter
Vigil.
• Bishop Gettelfinger re-
turns to Evansville for the
Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday,
April 6. The ceremonies begin
at 8 p.m. CST.
On Holy Saturday, commu-
nion is not given before the
Easter Vigil, except as Vi-
aticum (for someone about to
die).
The entire celebration of the
Easter Vigil is to take place
aRer dark.
• On Easter Sunday, April 7,
Bishop Gettelfinger will cele-
brate with parishioners at St.
Bernard Church, Rockport, at
10 a.m. Central Daylight Time.
Residents of Posey, Vander-
burgh, Gibson, Warrick and
Spencer counties "spring
ahead" to Daylight Savings
Time on the first Sunday of
April. Residents of all other
counties in the diocese remain
on Eastern Standard time
throughout the year.
Sister Mary Martha Bland-
ford supervises the altar bread
operation -- she has been in-
volved in some way with the
process since she came to the
monastery 51 years ago.
The first stoves ran on gas,
when Mother Magdalen, the
Foundress, established the
monastery in 1897. Various
kinds of equipment have been
used over the years, leading up
to the "automatic" bakers in
use since around 1968.
The current electric bakers
resemble waffle irons, but with
large flat surfaces instead of
the deep waffle shapes. Both
the upper and lower surfaces of
the bakers have heating ele-
ments in them.
An operator pours a mea-
sured amou.nt of batter --
made from flour and water
only -- onto the lower surface,
and then pushes a button. The
upper surface closes flat, and
the batter sizzles and bakes.
A timer automatically trips
a mechanism to raise the
upper surface when bread is
baked -- usually after about
two minutes.
Two of the bakers have de-
signs incorporated into the fiat
baking surfaces, producing de-
signs such as a representation
of Jesus as the Lamb of God.
The third baker produces a flat,
unadorned sheet of altar bread.
Circular shapes are cut from
all of the bread sheets. One
cutter stamps out circles from
the entire sheet; other cutters
are used for larger hosts, cut
out one at a time.
Sister Blandford said the vol-
unteers who worked March 23
helped bake 631 sheets, which
provide the material to make
71,000 individual altar breads.
After the Second Vatican
Council, which encouraged
Catholics to receive Commu-
nion more frequently, the de-
mand for altar breads rose dra-
matically. Larger, thicker
breads were requested, as
many parishes changed from
the small standard white host
which melted on the tongue to
the newer whole wheat bread
which has to be chewed.
About three-fourths of the
altar breads baked at the
monastery are the thicker,
whole wheat variety.
After the sheets of altar
breads are baked, both vari-
eties require several more
steps before they arrive at the
parishes. Before the breads can
be cut or stamped out, all the
sheets must be humidified to
keep them from cracking and
crumbling.
After the individual breads
are cut, each is inspected. In
respect for the intended use of
the small circles of bread, each
one is made as nearly perfect
as is humanly possible.
The inspected circles are then
packed in bags and boxes, to be
shipped to the parishes which
have ordered them. It's hard
work, involving standing and
bending and repeated motions
over hours and hours at a time.
Sister Blandford and the
abbess, Sister Anna Scheessele,
Wade Funeral Home
119 S. Vine Street, Haubstadt, IN
768-6151
Call about pre-need counseling.
Robert J. Wade Alan J. Wade
I
Jim Cameron pours batter onto the lower
altar bread baker at the Poor Clare
and his wife, Justine, along with John and
are among members of the Christian
who volunteered to help the sisters, prayer
many parishes in the Evansville are.
involved.
first discussed their concerns
about sustaining the work with
members of the Third Order of
St. Francis (Secular Francis-
cans) -- lay persons who com-
mit themselves to a particular
form of Franciscan spirituality.
John Davidson and Dr.
William Schmitt, both of
Evansville, encouraged the sis-
ters to seek volunteers from
area prayer groups for the
work.
Davidson and his mother-in-
law, Mary Lou Kunkel, have
been coordinating the work of
the volunteers; doing what Sis-
ter Blandford calls "the outside
work."
The Poor Clares themselves
live in a cloister, and have lim-
ited contact with "the outside."
The volunteers who help the
sisters do
prayerful
atmosphere,
said.
Some of the
come from
have
but who
partners for
VolunteeI
volved since
in March,
is coy
may be
getting the
The
ter known
Catholic co
And as
comes bett
women
are being
of a Poor Clare.
Message policy regarding
The Message is the official
cese of Evansville. The policy of the
the rules forbidding 501 (c) (3) organizations
in partisan political activity.
The Message continues its long-standing
ing news reports and commentary about
and issues, and about their relationship
Catholic social teaching.
Political adveising is accepted at the
bona fide candidates on an equal basis.
Hi-Tech Sheet
Residential, Industrial &
Installation Sales &
422-9
Operated by
DUBOIS
MEMBER OLD NATIONAL BANCOgP,
YOUR FIVE STAR
