The Ursuline Sisters of Louisville leadership team initiated a conversation with Sacred Heart Schools (SHS) about our shared commitment to Laudato Si’ and asked them to dream big. Big dreaming and strategic vision have developed into plans for a 6,000-square-foot Ursuline Innovation STEM Center, marking a transformative new chapter in innovation and environmental stewardship at SHS. The Center will be housed in the building that the Sisters once used for their laundry! It has also been used a garage, a craft center, and a storage building.

The Sacred Heart Model School and Sacred Heart Academy students will benefit greatly from the Ursuline Innovation STEM Center starting in the 2025-26 school year, which will be the first comprehensive facility of its kind in our region.

Sister Jean Anne Zappa, president of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, stated, “We are excited that our commitment to Laudato Si’ is becoming a reality with the creation of the Ursuline Environmental Education Program and Innovation STEM Center. It is our hope that this learning facility will prove to be fruitful ground for Sacred Heart students, as they experience first-hand the love of creation as Pope Francis envisioned. Our vision is that they in turn share this love of creation with their families and others in ever-expanding circles of connection.”

L-R: Ursuline President Jean Anne Zappa, Archbishop Fabre, SHS President Karen McNay and SHS Board Chair Mary Ashlock.

On September 24, Archbishop Shelton Fabre blessed the new Ursuline Innovation STEM Center during a special liturgy and ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Sacred Heart Schools and the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville. The 6,000 square-foot facility, housed in the historic Ursuline Sisters Laundry Building behind the Motherhouse, represents a collaborative vision launched from discussions between the Ursuline Sisters’ leadership team and Sacred Heart’s President Dr. Karen McNay about their shared commitment to Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. Archbishop Fabre spoke to those gathered, saying the Center “will soon be a busy hub of activity where students, faculty, and staff may come to study, to learn, to share fellowship, and to give witness to our faith in Jesus Christ and our wise use of all that he has entrusted to our care.”

The Center features the Ursuline Environmental Education Program and the Ann Cowley Wells Design Lab, offering K-12 students hands-on learning experiences in environmental science, engineering, sustainability, and technology through a Catholic lens. Sister Jean Anne Zappa, President of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, said, “We are excited that our commitment to Laudato Si’ is becoming a reality with the creation of the Ursuline Environmental Education Program and Ursuline Innovation STEM Center. It is our hope that this learning facility will prove to be fruitful ground for Sacred Heart students, as they experience first-hand the love of creation as Pope Francis envisioned. Our vision is that they in turn share this love of creation with their families and others in ever-expanding circles of connection.” The Center opens this fall.