Church
Upon entering this room, one of the first things you see is the striking painted tapestry of the Annunciation. Painted tapestries, which are rare, were one of the forms of art in which the Sisters of St. Joseph specialized, in addition to bobbin lace and painted chinaware. Most of the objects on display here are of a religious nature. The area along the south wall has Bishop Verot’s crosier and miter along with his portrait. Bishop Verot died in 1876, the same year that he had transferred the O’Reilly House to the Sisters of St. Joseph. Among the small items in the display case with the monstrance, are the items Bishop Verot had in his pocket when he died. To learn more about Bishop Verot, go to the sub-section entitled, Notable Catholics, which can be found in the “Catholic Tradition” section.

In the display case along the east wall is a book from the 1800s with biographies of the popes. Displayed with the book are the shoes of Saint Pius X, which were given as a gift to the Sisters in the early 1900s.

In the northwest corner is a life-size statue of St. Teresa of Avila for whom the Sisters have a special devotion, as her feast day, October 15, is also the anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of St. Joseph. St. Teresa died on that day in 1582, 17 years after the founding of St. Augustine, and the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph were founded on that day in 1650, 41 years before the O’Reilly House was built.

Each of the Bishops of St. Augustine are represented in some way in the room, including the current bishop, Victor Galeone. The copy of “A Catechism from the Council of Trent” on display has been in his family for over three hundred years. You can learn more about the men who were successors to Augustin Verot as Bishop of St. Augustine by going to thefirstparish.org, the website of the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Augustine.



Painted tapestries, such as this example depicting the Annunciation, now rare, were a specialty of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the 19th and early 20th centuries.


This display contains a rare book on the lives of the popes dating to the 1800s, a holy card with the image of Saint Pius X, along with a pair of his shoes, a gift to the Sisters in the early 1900s.


In addition to the Monstrance used during Bishop Verot's time, the contents of this display include the sacred and secular contents of Bishop Verot's pockets at the time of his death.


© 2004 Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Augustine, Florida