Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

The Sisters of St. Basil wish you a Christmas filled the wonder of the birth of Christ, the serenity of the peace He came to give us and the joy of his everlasting love!

On Dec. 14, WTAE-TV’s Mike Clark stopped by the House of Prayer at Mount St. Macrina for the Christmas luncheon of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women. Sr. Barbara Jean gave Mike and the group a tour of the Shrine.

During this Christmas season and all year, when you shop online at amazon.smile.com, Amazon will donate to the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. Simply go to smile.amazon.com , create an Amazon Smile account (you can use your existing Amazon account) and select the “Sisters of St. Basil the Great” as your beneficiary. You’ll find the exact same prices, selection and shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to the Sisters.

We have secured a special group rate at the Hilton Garden Inn in Uniontown from Thursday, 8/31/2017 through and Tuesday, 9/5/2017.

The rate will be honored by the hotel three days before and three days after based on availability.

The special rate is $129.00/night, which includes a voucher for the full cooked-to-order breakfast (normally sells for $10.95 per person each morning) each day.  Each additional registered guest can receive a breakfast voucher with an increased rate of $5.00 per person per day. ** see below for additional info

Please make your reservations using one of the following methods:

• Use the Hilton Garden Inn Uniontown Website

When booking, please select the option to “Add Special Rate Codes” and enter Group Code APB

• Contact the Hotel Directly to make the Reservation

Call  (724) 434-7200 and select Option 5.

Tell them that you want the 2017 Annual Pilgrimage Group Rate (Group Code APB).

Sr. Stephanie (Elizabeth) Bavol quietly and peaceful entered the fullness of life on Mon., Oct. 17. After retiring from active ministry due to health issues, Sr. Stephanie resided at Mt. Macrina Manor for the past eight years. Her cheerful countenance and acceptance of this change in her life was an inspiration to all who cared for her. She never failed to greet one with a smile and the question, “So how are you doing?”

Sister Stephanie was born in Trenton, N.J., the daughter of the late John and Susan (Vasilko) Bavol. In 1941, she entered the Sisters of St. Basil from St. Mary’s Church, Trenton, N.J. Having made the decision to offer her life in service to God at the early age of 16, she remained faithful to this call for 76 years.

Sr. Stephanie’s life in ministry ranged from being prefect of boys and girls in St. Nicholas Orphanage, to prefect at Mt. St. Macrina Academy, to being a teacher in the primary grades for over 25 years in the various places where the Sisters served. Of her last and most beloved ministry, that of iconography she wrote, “My last apostolate which is iconography—is the most prayerful and peaceful. I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide and help me.” Sr. Stephanie, in fact, has the distinction of being the first iconographer in the community.

Following upon her degree in education and certification in Elementary Education and Art from Marywood College, she was privileged to pursue her study in art under Master Iconographer, Philip Zimmerman, with whom she also conducted workshops both in this country and abroad. Over the years, Sr. Stephanie had been commissioned to write several icons for special occasions, one of which was presented to Pope St. John Paul II by the late Archbishop Judson Procyk as a token of esteem and gratitude. Through prayer and inspiration, Sister Stephanie also wrote an icon depicting the Call of the Apostles which became the official Vocation Icon of the Eparchy of Passaic at the time. These and many other commissioned icons and the several which grace the walls of the monastery near the chapel are testimony to Sister’s gifts and God-given talents.

Sr. Stephanie was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Mary Bavol, Ann Vanisko, and Margaret Mattaliano; and her brothers John and Michael Bavol. In addition to her members in community, she is survived by her cherished sister, Sr. Theresa, also a member of the Sisters of St. Basil, and many devoted nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends were received at the Monastery Chapel on Thurs., Oct. 20 and the Parastas Service was sung that evening. The Funeral Divine Liturgy was celebrated on Friday morning, Oct. 21, in the Monastery Chapel. Interment followed in the Dormition Section of Mount Macrina Cemetery.                         

For a copy of the 2016-17 House of Prayer Program Schedule, please follow this link >> 2016-17 HOP Programs.

The Orientale Lumen Foundation is presenting their third Seminary Concert Tour. The tour started Sept. 11 and will conclude on Oct. 2. The choir includes 16 seminarians from the Blessed Theodore Romzha Seminary in Uzhoroed, Transcarpathia, Ukraine. They performed their two brief concerts of sacred music(both plain chant and choral arrangements), in the Church Slavonic language at the Monastery and Mount Macrina Manor on September 14.

The Sisters and the Choir pose for a group photo in the dining room of the Monastery. This was taken on the last day of their visit to the Mount.

A Pilgrimage thank-you from Sr. Ruth Plante, Provincial, Sisters of St. Basil the Great.

Here is the complete schedule for the 82nd Annual Pilgrimage in Honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help: pilgrimage_schedule.pdf

We will see you soon. Safe travels.

On the morning of August 4,2016, Sister Vladimir (Mary) Chabala made the final surrender of her life to the Lord in whose service she spent herself for over 70 years. Until the last two weeks of her life, Sister was a familiar figure around the monastery, and most frequently, she could be found praying at her place in the chapel. Her poor health in her later years did not prevent Sister from either doing what she could or from carrying out the duties of her religious vocation.

Sister Vladimir was born in the village of Kobylnice in Slovakia, the daughter of the late John and Helen (Onufer) Chabala. She entered the Sisters of St. Basil from St. Mary’s Church, New York, N.Y.   Sister brought to the Community her special gift in the culinary arts, which she generously offered in service to the community.  Besides caring for the Sisters’ needs in the various parishes of where the Sisters served, Sister Vladimir also worked at St. Basil’s Home for Aged Women, at Maria Manor in Ebensburg, PA and at the Archbishop’s Residence in Pittsburgh, PA.

In addition to baking throughout the year, Sister Vladimir brought her unique abilities to the “medovniki” project for the annual Pilgrimage. Over the years, Sister Vladimir fine-tuned this particular ministry down to its minutest details, and all were in awe of her skills in organizing this project. In fact, for this last round of baking, she still oversaw the preparation of icing.  For many years, Sister also added another flavorful touch to the Pilgrimage through overseeing the preparation of the “holupki” (cabbage rolls) which are a popular item with the pilgrims. When Sister Vladimir was no longer able to do this, she was consulted and then gave her stamp of approval to the caterers who now make this ethnic treat.

Sister Vladimir was also responsible for preparing the Holy Chrism which is consecrated for use in all of our churches, another ministry to which she was devoted for quite a number of years. Much more could be said of Sister, whose life journey took her from her small village in Slovakia, to New York City where she worked at Schrafft’s to Mount St. Macrina. In summary, her simple life of loving labor and prayer has enriched many lives, and she now enjoys her well-deserved heavenly reward.

The last surviving member of her immediate family, Sister Vladimir was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Michael and John and her sisters Anna Evan and Sister Olga, OSBM. In addition to her Sisters in community, she is survived by several nephews and nieces and their families. Relatives and friends will be received at the Monastery Chapel on Wednesday, August 10 from 3:30 pm to the time of the Parastas Service which will be sung at 7:00 pm. Visitation will continue afterwards until 8:00 pm. The Funeral Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:30 am on Thursday, August 11 in the Monastery Chapel by Archbishop William Skurla. Interment will follow in the Dormition Section of Mount Macrina Cemetery. Stephen E. Kezmarsky III Funeral Home, Uniontown, is in charge of arrangements.