St. Hyacinth's Convent
project updates
Check this page for projects updates as we work to renovate St. Hyacinth's convent to be the new formation house for the sisters' branch of our community. Scroll through the images and text below to see a timeline of the project.
To make a donation to support the project, click here. To inquire about material or labor donations needed, please email olamission@gmail.com
april 2026
-- construction begins! --
On April 3, 2026, construction on the St. Hyacinth's renovation project OFFICIALLY started with a project replacing all of the windows. The old windows were cracked, didn't open properly, and leaked air in and out of building. These new windows are a big first step in getting the building inhabitable again!
march 2026
-- preparing for demo --
Sr. Anna and Leo work together to move a large table out of St. Hyacinth's convent and over to the Mission for safe-keeping during the construction. Any salvageable furniture has been temporarily moved out and all trash has been removed in preparation for a professional service to come through and remove the remaining trash that is scattered throughout all the floors.
february 2026
-- finalizing plans --
We have been working hard with architects, our general contractor, and others for many months, and the new building plans are finally coming close to being finalized! Just a few more steps and we will be ready to go to permit. This has been a LONG process, but the final plans have been so thoughtfully and carefully executed that we know the building will be adaptable and serve us for many years to come!
december 2025
-- 2nd match campaign --
We were so blessed to again be the recipients of a very generous Giving Tuesday matching gift campaign - this time up to $200,000! Once again, we were absolutely blown away by everyone's support and generosity and are humbled to share that we surpassed our goal by late afternoon! Know of our deep gratitude and prayers for all those who have supported this project.
september 2025
-- more assessment --
Sr. Stephanie has been working hard touring the building and gathering input from our incredible team of experts and friends of the Mission.
August 2025
-- Building acquired --
Bishop Bob signing the document to officially purchase St. Hyacinth Convent. Purchasing the building before beginning renovations ensures that this investment will continue to serve the community for many years to come. After many months of working on the contract and purchase details, we have finally received all the clearances to obtain the building!
February 2025
-- kitchen equipment rescue --
When you live on Divine Providence, sometimes that providence arrives a little earlier than you expected it! Recently, Sr. Kate, Sr. Alicia, and Sr. Stephanie traveled to a downtown catering business kitchen that was closing and called out of the blue to ask us if we needed any kitchen equipment. Even though we are likely a few years away from being ready to stock St. Hyacinth's convent kitchen, when God sends you ovens and stoves, you say yes! The sisters went through and marked items that we can store and eventually use in the new kitchen.
November 2024
-- matching funds campaign --
A very generous benefactor stepped forward to match $100,000 donated to the St. Hyacinth's project on Giving Tuesday. Thanks to the generosity of so many, we were able to meet the $100,000 challenge well before the midnight deadline!
The explanation of the project that was shared with those we invited to partner with us in this matching campaign was as follows:
As our community continues to grow, we are increasingly aware of the critical need to provide an environment conducive to the proper formation of our newest members and those who join in the coming years. To that end, our next step is to establish an official formation house, separate from our busy apostolate at the Mission. This will provide our newest members the atmosphere they need to delve deeply into the prayer, silence, study, and self-knowledge that initial formation requires. We are been working to obtain and renovate the convent building at St. Hyacinth, 15 minutes north of the Mission, for just this purpose. The initial administrative steps of the project have been long and arduous. However, there has recently been some actual progress, and we are looking forward to this construction project starting soon. The estimated cost of the renovation is between $1.5 and $2 million. We hope to raise all the necessary funds before the construction starts so we can complete the renovations without interruption!
May 2024
-- Franciscans tour building --
While Bishop Bob and Sr. Stephanie have spent significant time at St. Hyacinth's to assess the current state of the building and plan renovations, a large number of the other sisters finally had an opportunity to visit and tour the site. While the exterior is beautiful, the inside needs a lot of help to be ready to receive young sisters one day! Scroll through the pictures to the left to see where the project is starting.
November 2023
-- first draft of plans --
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Initial drafts of building plans are starting to be drawn up and the community has started talking about specific needs and visions for the new convent. We are working hard to make sure this new building will serve our community's needs for many, many years to come!
October 2023
-- site selected --
After an intense process of visiting potential sites, the abandoned convent at St. Hyacinth's Basilica was selected for the future home of our new sisters' formation house. St. Hyacinth was best choice for us because of it's location (close enough to the Mission for the sisters to easily be able to travel back and forth), its size (large enough to accommodate community growth well into the future), it's proximity to an active parish (being next door to St. Hyacinth's Basilica provides incredible access to the sacraments), and its availability (many other former convent buildings have been transformed into parish offices or leased to outside groups). St. Hyacinth's parish and pastor are very supportive of our community acquiring the convent to be our new formation house. Stay tuned for more updates!
august 2023
-- need discerned --
In August 2023, it became apparent that our community was ready to begin preparations for opening a separate house of formation for our sisters' branch. When a new religious community is approved, the Church asks that community to prioritize establishing a separate formation house for new members as soon as it becomes possible to do so. In August 2023, three young women entered our community and several others were in serious stages of discernment. We also finally reached the stage of maturity of having enough sisters who had been in final vows long enough to serve as formators for young sisters. In keeping with the Church's teaching, we discerned a need to begin the process of acquiring and renovating a separate formation house. Knowing that construction projects like this can sometimes take years to complete, we began actively seeking a site to become our second location while we still had some room for new members at our current women's formation house site at Our Lady of the Angels.
