By MIA QUICK
Web Editor
What Happens To…? Will be a regular feature in the Chronicle this semester, exploring questions of what will happen to the different items, technology, and components of Saint Rose after it closes. If you have a question about what happens to some part of Saint Rose that is special to you, please submit your idea to chronicle@strose.edu and we’ll try to find out and include it in future issues.
When the French Revolution began, it seemed Mother Saint John Fontbonne’s battle against poverty and religious persecution against her dear neighbors was unraveled and disparaged as religious figures were persecuted. Robbed of her life’s purpose, the sister of Saint Joseph of Carondelet was forced to disperse her community and leave her home behind. The day before Saint John Fontbonne was set to face the guillotine, the French Revolution came to an end.
Her life, destroyed, left her with little to look forward to next. Saint John Fontbonne eventually emerged from the ashes of the revolution and took a step forward–and then another. She and her sisters took enough of these steps over many years, eventually leading to a second act, the creation of The College of Saint Rose.
“This is our second act,” said Director of Spiritual Life Joan Horgan, tasked with finding homes for the beloved student-made crafts, decorations, plants, and strings of cranes for peace that adorn the Interfaith Sanctuary.
For Horgan, the school closing is more than the loss of a job. While she mourns the loss of her home away from home and wonders what comes next, she’s trying to figure out how to do justice to the sentimental pieces in the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary has made a mission out of creating meaningful decorations for students to feel an attachment, both physical and spiritual. Now that the school is closing, it’s her personal mission to give things to who would make the best use of them, to places that are special, and to students that have a connection to them.
Horgan said that when the weather gets warmer towards the end of the semester to keep an eye out for a “free” table outside of the Sanctuary. If students or alumni are in the building and notice something that they feel a connection to, they should let Horgan know. The items that don’t meet the criteria for being passed on will be given to donation, the Catholic community, and thrift stores such as Goodwill. For students whose beloved items have already been taken, Horgan is giving them two stones, one to bury on campus and one to take home, forever giving them a place at the school.
It’s too soon to know what will happen to the building since it will remain Saint Rose property until June, but Horgan hopes that it will remain Interfaith, “It could be a space that could be shared by multiple faith traditions and could also be a hub for when those multiple faith traditions want to come together for education, for dialogue, prayer, or sorrow, or to remember the people we’ve lost,” Horgan said.
The nearest interfaith space is far from the Interfaith Sanctuary and she feels as though the religions located in Albany will need a place to share. Horgan feels as though the intentions behind the ideals are also vital to the Albany region, and that it could provide a scene for unconventional marriages that are not traditionally welcomed.
Horgan believes that given the unique layout of the space it would be difficult to repurpose it into anything secular. Groups that use the space for spiritual purposes such as the Buddhist Sangha will relocate and student focused groups such as BASIC (Brothers and Sisters in Christ), yoga, and the Therapeutic Touch program will have to dismantle.
Similar to the fate of the Sanctuary, Horgan hopes that the cleaning and maintenance staff will be rehired. “There are so many people over so many years who have made sure that this building is lovely and beautiful and looks nice for people,” said Horgan tearfully, “There’s been a network of humans that have seen to this being a sacred space.” Some staff have begun to build on their English skills in the hopes of working outside of the custodial services after their time at the school comes to an end.
For her own journey, Horgan had much of her own life aligned with the Sisters of Saint Joseph’s pursuit of bringing communities, religious and secular, together to fight against poverty and persecution. If it had been up to her, she would’ve stayed for the rest of her career. Since this isn’t possible, Horgan has looked into private practices, counseling, and working with retreat centers, which will be supported by her MSW, or Masters in Social Work.
Horgan fears that no place that she goes will fill the spot that Saint Rose will leave, and many of her coworkers feel the same, “I was looking at a job and all of a sudden it hit me, this isn’t going to be the Sisters of Saint Joseph mission, this isn’t going to be the Saint Rose feeling,” said Horgan.
She feels as though she got to swim in a sea of people devoted to not only their careers but their students’ journeys beyond their coursework. The experience she got to provide for students was something personal, something unmatchable, she said.
In truth, Horgan said that she doesn’t know whose doorstep her next steps will take her to. Unlike Saint John Fontbonne, she won’t have the end of a revolution to swoop in at the last second to save the day. Regardless, Horgan wholeheartedly believes that the impact achieved at the Sanctuary will not be unraveled by a closure. So, with her last months at Saint Rose she asks herself and her community, what’s your next act?
