Shrine to St. Katharine Drexel to be sold

"The religious order founded by St. Katharine Drexel has decided to sell the 44-acre Bensalem estate housing its mother house and the shrine with the saint's tomb.

Facing the plight of other orders with declining numbers and aging membership, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament also announced Tuesday it would sell more than 2,200 acres in Virginia, where two schools for black students founded by Saint Katharine had been located.

"The properties are too large for our current and future needs, and for our financial resources," Sister Donna Breslin, the order's president, said in a telephone interview. She said the decision to sell was made "after prayer, study and reflection."

The motherhouse in Bensalem holds the tomb for Saint Katharine, who established the religious order in 1891, died in 1955 and was canonized in 2000."

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