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Dominican sisters to buy Cultural Center

Dennis Sadowski | Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON – A Michigan religious order experiencing rapid
growth since its formation in 1997 is planning to buy the
10-year-old Pope John Paul II Cultural Center across the
street from Catholic University in Washington.

The Ann Arbor-based Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the
Eucharist signed a purchase agreement with the Archdiocese of
Detroit to buy the 100,000-square-foot center and use it as a
house of study for its members. No purchase price for the
12-acre property was disclosed. The property was valued at
$37.3 million for the 2011 tax year during the most recent
real estate appraisal.

Its proximity to the well-established Dominican House of
Studies and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception makes it an attractive site, said a
spokeswoman for the order.

Sister Maria Gemma Martek, superior of the motherhouse in Ann
Arbor, said the hope is that the center can be developed into
a house of studies for sisters.

“This is an exciting possibility,” she told Catholic News
Service. “The idea of being able to potentially have a
presence in our nation’s capital in such a great location in
proximity to Catholic University, the Dominican House of
Studies and the basilica.”

She said architects are going through the facility to
determine if it can be remodeled to incorporate living space,
a kitchen, a chapel and other needs for a religious
community.

If all goes well, she explained, the order hopes to close on
the deal by the end of the year.

The order has grown from four to 113 members since it was
founded in 1997. With members’ average age of 26, the order
welcomed 22 young women into its novitiate in September, she
said.

The rapid growth has forced the sisters to look elsewhere to
house and train members. Leaders had begun searching for a
new location for a second motherhouse when they learned that
the cultural center was available, Sister Maria Gemma said.

The idea for a Catholic center in Washington honoring Pope
John Paul II was conceived in 1988 by Cardinal Adam J. Maida,
then bishop of Green Bay, Wis., and was unveiled during his
tenure as archbishop of Detroit. His admiration for Pope John
Paul led him to envision a place where Catholics could
explore their faith and church teachings.

Eventually, the concept evolved to become a cultural center
where classes on Catholicism and Catholic theology could be
conducted, lectures held and studies on Catholic culture
could be undertaken.

The center, which cost $60 million to build, has experienced
financial difficulties throughout its history. Because of low
attendance rates, center officials in 2006 discontinued
museum activities and shifted the center’s focus to a place
of scholarly research on the concepts in Catholic thought
laid out by Pope John Paul. It continues to display personal
memorabilia, photos, and artwork from the late pope.

The center is now overseen by a foundation chaired by
Cardinal-designate Donald W. Wuerl of Washington.

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