Divine Providence Directs The Way, Part II

In this excerpt, we see that the Sisters, after careful consideration and authorization by Archbishop Elder, follow through on their plans to purchase the Kneipp Sanatorium from Dr. Geiermann and expand the facility as had been suggested by the young doctor and Father John Noll.

According to their own testimony 5 years previous to the first Our Lady of America apparition, the Sisters of The Precious Blood had claimed Divine Providence was at work from the very inception of this elegant facility.

A special commemoration is made to honor Father Dominic Duehmig for his role in bringing Dr. Geiermann to the Rome City area back in 1895 and, with the savvy business advice of the Seminarian from Fort Wayne named John Noll, initiated what would become the thriving Kneipp Sanatorium in Rome City, IN.

To harken back to an earlier series of articles (The Immaculate Connection) in which the connection between Rome City and the National Shrine to The Immaculate Conception were linked, another interesting link to the Immaculate Conception interjects itself at this moment in history. Fr. Duehmig, as the local parish priest, was instrumental in coaxing Dr. Geiermann to the Rome City area, an area served by his Kendallville parish church...The Church of The Immaculate Conception which had been founded in 1867. This was the same parish that Fr. John Noll would eventually be assigned when he was serving as spiritual advisor and chaplain at Kneipp Sanatorium beginning in 1901 when the Sisters purchase the property.

Encountering financial difficulties in 1901, Dr. Geiermann appealed to the Sisters of The Precious Blood for help and received a ready hearing. In spite of the fact that the old dilapidated buildings made no favorable impression on the Sisters, they, nevertheless, recognized in the location an ideal spot for a health resort for the sick and infirm members of the Congregation, and for an asylum for poor children and for a home for the aged. After consulting proper authorities and receiving Archbishop Elder's hearty approval in the words, "I thank God for opening to you this great opportunity of advancing His glory and benefiting your Congregation," Mother Emma purchased the Kneipp Sanatorium on December 11, 1901 for $25,000.






Although Sister Margaret's studying the Kneipp System in Europe and Dr. Geiermann's opening his Kneipp Sanatorium the same year may seem a far-fetched coincidence, it is, nevertheless an outstanding proof of the workings of Divine Providence, "Man proposes; God disposes," still remains true.

Gratitude prompts the Sisters, on this happy occasion to voice a special tribute of prayerful thanks to one of their greatest, but least known benefactors--the Reverend Dominic Duehmig--for it was he who started the Kneipp Water-Cure Sanatorium in 1894 under the auspices of Dr. Geiermann, and it was he who kept it under Catholic guidance until purchased by the Sisters. May his memory be blessed forever.