Dominican Sisters of Springfield, IL

Henry J. Smith Charitable Trust for St. Malachy School

Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois, is a congregation of vowed Catholic women. They are members of the Order of Preachers, and the spirit of their religious order is rooted in what they call the Four Pillars of Dominican Life: prayer, study, community (or common life), and preaching (or ministry).

The founders were originally members of the Convent of St. Catherine of Siena in Siena Vale, Kentucky, (the first congregation of Dominican women in the United States). In 1873, six Sisters were sent to Jacksonville, Illinois, for the purpose of teaching a large population of immigrant children there. The Sisters believed this was a temporary assignment, yet less than a year later the Sisters received direction from their superior to establish a completely new congregation, separate from the Kentucky Dominicans.

The Sisters have served the St. Malachy Parish in Rantoul, Illinois, since the original school opened in 1914. They have continued their dedicated service to St. Malachy School to this day.