Our Sisters

New Ministry Gifts Sister Shirley - Refugee Families

Sister Shirley Stockus, SSND, worried about her decision to retire from teaching. How would she find a ministry to replace it, and to allow her to share her whole self like teaching had done? Volunteering at a soup kitchen or food pantry was important, but Sister Shirley needed something more. A few months into her retirement, Sister Carolyn Jost, SSND, called.

Finding New Meaning Far From Home

It was my first Christmas in Bolivia. Bolivia didn't have snow. It was so poor that it looked the same on Christmas as any other day, except for one place in every home. A table in the front room held a Christmas creche and food and tiny ceramic tchotchkes. 

Santa Visited Rosary Community

“Pictures with Santa” who visited the Rosary Community recently. Photos include sisters in the Rosary Community as well as some staff and sisters who were visiting from the VA community. 

Pittsburgh Vocation Fair

On Saturday, November 11, 2023, we — Sisters Mary Roy Weiss, Phyllis McNally and Kathleen Jancuk — traveled from Cumberland, Maryland, to a vocation fair in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was the first vocation fair that the Diocese of Pittsburgh held since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

God, If You Want This, You Send Them

By Sister Barbara Paleczny, SSND

At A Better Tent City, in Kitchener, Ontario, where I organize the Clothes Closet with people who are homeless or live in tiny 7x9 foot cabins, I had offered to give neck and shoulder and/or hand massages.  

When We Prayed the Novenas Together

I don’t know if I thought so at the time, but to me, it reminded us that the Light of the World was coming. I still pray a version of the novena and think about those nights in the Motherhouse at Mequon and the beauty of the altar.

A Dream Realized

On November 9, 2023. Sister Frances Butler and I had the privilege of attending the 30th anniversary of Mother Caroline Academy, the school we helped to found in the inner city of Boston in 1993. What a thrill to witness first-hand our shy, apprehensive 5th and 6th graders stand proudly before us as mature, sophisticated lawyers, accountants, nurses, and entrepreneurs. These former students shared stories of personal transformations that led them to realize their goals and change their lives. 

Catholic Charities of Baltimore Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary of Service

Bill McCarthy, the Executive Director of Catholic Charities Baltimore, invited the School Sisters of Notre Dame to be his guests at the 100th Anniversary celebration. In attendance were Sisters Kathleen Feeley, Delia Dowling, Peggy Juskelis, Miriam Jansen, Kathy Jager, Bernice Feilinger, Raymond Lorenzen, and Mary Fitzgerald. Also in attendance were: Sisters Sharon Slear, Linda Stilling, Patricia Murphy, Grace Okon, and Sister Grace Sciamanna who had served on the Centennial Committee.

A Glorious - and Unforgettable - Autumnal Outing

White clouds dotted the  blue sky as ten eager Sisters from Villa Assumpa clamored aboard the SSND bus. Destination: the Glen Haven Farm owned by the Roderick Family. Sister Marianne’s family had all in readiness: folding aluminum tables and chairs were set up in two lines on the grass in the back of the house; one for the family members, especially the grandchildren, and one for the ten of us.
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