Dominican Sisters Celebrate 143 Years Serving Hudson Valley

The Dominican Sisters of Hope welcomed hundreds of friends, family, and community members to their Center at Mariandale in Newburgh for an afternoon that celebrated more than a century of service and connection.

The Hope Family Reunion on July 18 brought together current sisters, alumni, trustees, and supporters for barbecue, live music, and art displays. The gathering honored relationships built through decades of education and community work across the Hudson Valley.

The celebration takes on special meaning when you know the origin story. In April 1883, four Sisters of Saint Dominic boarded a steamboat called the Mary Powell in New York City and sailed north up the Hudson River with a simple mission: open an elementary school in Newburgh.

They succeeded beyond what those four travelers could have imagined. That first school on Gidney Avenue grew into a lasting educational presence, and the sisters later founded Mount Saint Mary College, which became a four-year liberal arts institution in 1959.

Among those at the reunion were Mount Saint Mary College President Dr. Robert Gervasi and several sisters who serve as college trustees, including Prioress Sr. Patricia Magee. Their presence showed the continuing partnership between the sisters and the college they created.

The Ripple Effect

The impact of four women on a steamboat has cascaded through generations. Thousands of students have graduated from schools the Dominican Sisters founded or supported, carrying forward values of education and service into their own communities.

Today, Mount Saint Mary College and the schools the sisters helped establish continue operating under the Four Dominican Pillars: prayer, study, community, and service. These principles, rooted in centuries of Dominican tradition, guide how the institutions approach education and student development.

The reunion itself embodied these pillars, bringing people together in community to celebrate shared values and connection. Attendees represented different eras and relationships with the sisters, but gathered as one extended family.

What began with courage and faith on a Hudson River steamboat continues strengthening the region more than 140 years later.