Behind Light of Hearts Villa in Bedford, a senior living facility that is part of the Sisters of Charity Health System, lies an 8.5-acre wooded oasis that once contained manicured gardens, a small lake and walking paths. The property was part of the former Schatzinger estate, which later was called Villa San Bernardo and served as home to the Vincentian Sisters of Charity of Bedford. The sisters also operated Lumen Cordium (Latin for Light of Hearts) High School there from 1964 to 1987. The old high school reopened in 1989 as Light of Hearts Villa.
Lumen Cordium alumnae, including attorney Lynn Clark and Margery Henning, fondly recall exploring the wooded grounds between the school and the motherhouse. In 2017, they helped establish Vincentian Pathways, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring the site and making it accessible to the community.
Clark and Henning, along with Amy Huntley, Light of Hearts’ director of mission advancement and communications, and other Vincentian Pathways volunteers, hosted an information session and tour of the site recently.
“The goal is to restore and preserve the gardens so the community can enjoy them,” Clark said.
Henning said the group has partnered with community volunteers, including Bedford High School students, to weed and maintain portions of the property as they continue to develop their plans and raise funds for the project.
“Members of the Bedford police and fire departments have told us they would come to the site and sit by the lake or just enjoy quiet, reflective time on the property to decompress after a difficult time,” Henning said.
Their goal is to raise $200,000 for Phase 1, which will make the land more accessible for restoration. “We welcome advocates, partners and investors,” Clark said, noting there are many ways to become involved with the project.
“This will be for everyone,” Huntley said. “We want to honor the sisters and the history of Lumen Cordium.”
As guests walked through the site recently, Clark, Henning, Huntley and other board members shared history of the sisters and the property.
Nearly a century ago, five members of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity of Pittsburgh settled there. The local order was canonically established in 1939 as the Vincentian Sisters of Charity of Bedford. They ministered there until 2004, when they merged with the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati.
According to their history, available at the Women Religious Archive Collaborative, the sisters were embedded in the Slovak community, teaching primarily in Slovak parishes. They also worked in domestic service for the Cleveland Diocese and Borromeo Seminary. The sisters established the Shrine to Our Lady of Levocha, the only one of its kind in the country. The shrine became a central place for processions and special gatherings for the Slovak community.
The sisters also installed stonework and statues and created retaining walls and steps, making the gardens a popular location for walking, contemplation and prayer for generations of sisters, retreatants and Lumen Cordium students.
“We hope to restore that former glory,” Henning added.
Click here to learn more about Vincentian Pathways.
