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"Women Saying 'Yes' To God"
A Century of Service
by Margaret McDonell, April 2005
In 1906, the same year that the foundation for the Cathedral of Saint Paul was
excavated, a group of women in St. Luke’s parish in Saint Paul formed an
organization of women to provide assistance to people who were overlooked or
forgotten. Nearly a century later The Guild of Catholic Women (GCW), a
philanthropic organization, continues to exist extending services to people
living in the greater Saint Paul area.
Since GCW’s founding a variety of services have been provided by its members.
In 1908 the Guild opened a Travelers Aid Bureau to meet Catholic immigrants
arriving in Saint Paul and provided for them, when needed, temporary shelter and
loans of money.
In 1911, upon the request of a juvenile court judge, the Guild provided
counseling and direction for wayward young women and in that year alone found
173 jobs for these women.
The Saint Paul Y.W.C.A. in 1912 asked the Guild to help young working women from
out-of-town. A home for thirty women, with a housemother and a cook, was
established at 574 St. Peter Street. In 1914 the Guild bought a house at 215
Nelson (now Marshall Avenue) in order to provide more comfortable and pleasant
surroundings for these young women.
In 1914, the Guild established the Catholic Infant Home (later Seton House). The
Infant House was a responsibility the Guild shared with the Minneapolis based
League of Catholic Women until 1922 when the Sisters of St. Joseph assumed
control. Seton Center is now operated by Catholic Charities, an organization the
Guild helped found in 1920 as the Bureau of Catholic Charities.
Weekly visits were being made to patients at Ancker Hospital (now Regions
Hospital), the city and county hospital, and in 1915 a picnic was held for
patients. Personal gifts were given to residents of the Home of the Good
Shepherd and Ramsey County Farm.
The Guild was aiding troubled families, providing clothes for those in need and
holding fundraisers to help support its work. Its major fund raising effort,
The Guild of Catholic Women Charity Ball, was inaugurated in 1917 and was the
city’s first benefit ball. It continued until 1991, with the exception of
several years during World Wars I and II.
In 1930 the Guild became aware of the needs of Mexican immigrants and
established a chapel in a storefront on the West Side of Saint Paul so people
could receive the sacraments and attend Mass in Spanish. Through the years, the
Guild aided this mission and, in 1939, Our Lady of Guadalupe was incorporated as
a parish in the Archdiocese.
Next door to 215 Marshall Avenue, a house was built in 1930 by the Guild to
accommodate 48 young working women and it became known as Guild Hall. This
property on Marshall Avenue was purchased as a site for the Saint Paul Technical
College in 1964 and a new Guild Hall was built across the street at 286 Marshall
Avenue. After providing housing for young working women for more that fifty-five
years, it became apparent in the early 1970’s that supervised living quarters
were no longer needed by liberated young women. Guild Hall for a few years
housed low income elderly women.
Since 1974 the focus of The Guild of Catholic Women has been to help people with
serious and persistent mental illness lead quality lives. With the closing of
state institutions for the mentally ill, the Guild was asked by the State of
Minnesota to fill another
community need. Guild Hall became a professionally supervised home for more than
eighty people from Ramsey County living with mental illness. Services were
expanded with the purchase of a fourteen unit apartment building next door to
Guild Hall. In 1983 three homes capable of housing five people each were
purchased in South St. Paul as a residential facility for people from northern
Dakota County living with mental illness.
The Guild of Catholic Women established Guild Residences, Inc. (now Guild
Incorporated) in 1990 as a non-profit subsidiary to manage direct services.
Because of changes in care for people with mental illness, Guild Hall and the
apartment building were sold in 1994 and the emphasis of service was changed to
provide support that would allow people with mental illness to live
independently. Today people with mental illness from Ramsey and Dakota
Counties live in transitional, shared or independent housing with services
provided by Guild Incorporated to help each individual live a productive,
satisfying life. In any given year more than 1000 people are served.
Each year, with funds generated by its annual Angel Appeal, GCW hosts a
Christmas candlelight dinner which includes entertainment and gifts for about
400
people and families of those who are served by Guild Incorporated. The Angel
Appeal funds also make it possible for clients to purchase needed items they
personally cannot afford.
In 1998 an endowment fund was established with proceeds going to support the
work of Guild Incorporated. Contributions to the endowment continue to be
welcomed.
Volunteers support clients in a variety of ways, including one to one friendship
matches, transportation assistance, and more.
GCW conducts an ongoing effort to educate the community about mental illness –
what it is and how it affects one in every four families. In October, during
the Mental Illness Awareness Week, programs planned by GCW and entitled The
Puzzle of Mental Illness have been provided to the public free of charge.
Speakers are available for presentations to community and religious
organizations.
Some 500 members strong, The Guild of Catholic Women still looks for
interested women who would like to share in the organization’s work and
experience
fellowship with others. Their lofty goal is that every woman in the Archdiocese
will join them in their efforts to help those with severe mental illness lead
quality lives. Membership is open to women of all ages, professions and
religions.
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