History of the Order of the Sisters of St. Basil the Great

The Sisters of St. Basil the Great, a religious order of the Eastern Catholic Church, was founded in the 4th century by St. Basil and his sister St. Macrina.  The Basilian Sisters came to the United States from Ukraine in 1941, establishing a monastery in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Rev. Mother M. Macrina came from Philadelphia and founded Our Lady of Perpetual Help Province in Cleveland in 1921.  Initially, the small community took care of orphaned children.  Then, in 1927, the community moved to a 170-acre farm in Factoryville, Pa.   The next move took the Sisters to their current home in Uniontown, Pa.  They acquired the former estate of millionaire coal baron Josiah Van Kirk Thompson.  The mansion on the property was dedicated as the new monastery on September 3, 1934, and and named Mt. St. Macrina in honor of St. Macrina.  The mansion, which is now the House of Prayer, serves as a center for spiritual retreat and renewal. 

Our Lady of Perpetual Help membership reached a height of 145 in the 1960s.  Today, with over 70 members, the Uniontown Province is currently the second largest of the Order's 17 mission centers around the world.