By Sister Laurentilla Back
After seeing the parish SSND Sisters walking from their convent to Mass and then to the St. Wenceslaus School building, my favorite game was putting a towel on my head and teaching an empty chair. Once I entered kindergarten, I was the student who always raised her hand when asked who would like to be a sister. In the eighth grade, I was encouraged by Sister Joella Sluka to attend the Juniorate in Ft. Lee, NJ. That was in 1946. As the youngest of six children - four of whom had been in the military and a fifth who had married a serviceman - my parents generously arranged for my entrance into the Juniorate and the candidature.
I became a candidate on Monday, August 28, and on Friday, September 1 I was on my way to Cumberland, MD, to begin teaching a class of third graders starting September 5. Sixteen years later I received my first college degree. I had a variety of teaching experiences, including on that took me out of the province to Mankato, MD, and to a year's teaching experience as a principal in Florida. Then I felt a restlessness that led me to pursue more education in Pastoral Ministry and subsequent certification as a Pastoral Associate with a concentration in healthcare ministry. I was invited to apply for a position as Associate Pastoral Service chaplain at Bon Secours Hospital in Baltimore. Six months later I became the Religious Services Director there.
While engaged in that ministry, I continued to seek Chaplaincy training (when Catholic women were not called "Chaplain" because they could not be ordained). Eventually, the women took the title, much in the same way they did away with head coverings in such. I continued my education while working as Director of the Pastoral Care Department at Bon Secours. I became certified as a Chaplain and as a Chaplain Supervisor, and after other assignments, I became a CPE Chaplain Supervisor, ministering in Knoxville, TN.
At that time, I also became certified by the National Association of Chaplains, as Catholics and Protestants became more collaborative. My chaplaincy ministry spanned thirty years, and my happiest memories are from the last active ministry I shared with a pastoral team in Tulsa, OK. At that time, I had retired from all management responsibilities and was Chaplain for women and children. I worked with an inclusive team under a Sister of the Sorrowful Mother who was well-educated and a competent director of the department. I felt that God saved the best for last.
In 2009, I retired to Villa Assumpta, where I try to be of service as needed.
