Also during the program, eight associates who previously made lifetime commitments with the Ursulines of Paola, Kan., became lifetime associates of Mount Saint Joseph.

Associates from Paola, Kan., read their commitments to become lifetime Associates of Mount Saint Joseph.

Ursuline Associates and Sisters reach out their hands in welcome to the associates from Paola who were becoming lifetime associates of Mount Saint Joseph.

Associate Mary Ann Schilling, of Hancock County, Ky., pins a Mount Saint Joseph Associate pin on Harriet Jack,
of Paola, Kan.

As part of the celebration melding the communities of Mount Saint Joseph, Paola, and Belleville, Ill., which merged with Mount Saint Joseph in 2005, associates representing all groups around the country brought soil to be mixed together. Then a vine from Brescia, Italy, birthplace of the Ursuline Sisters, was planted in the new soil.

John Wood, an associate from Ballard County, Ky., pours soil from his community into a bowl as Marian Bennett, director of Ursuline Partnerships, calls out names of others to bring their soil.

Gail Davenport brings soil from Muhlenberg County, Ky.

Gary Mesnier brings soil from St. Louis.

Marcy Bufalini, from Silver Spring, Md., brings the soil representing associates from across the country who are not part of groups.

Carol O’Keefe, an associate from Paola, Kan., cultivates the mixtures of soils.

Sister Marie William Blyth, left, a former Ursuline of Paola, Kan., Marian Bennett, director of Ursuline Partnerships at Mount Saint Joseph, and Sister Catherine Kaufman, a former Ursuline of Belleville, Ill., plant a vine that came from Brescia, Italy, into the newly mixed soil, melding the three communities and their associates.