Sister Mary Ann Wood: Teaching Women and Children

Sister Mary Ann Wood

“I found out that life is a blessing.”

Sister Mary Ann Wood says the blessings of life have been revealing themselves since she was in the fourth grade. That is when she knew she was meant to be a sister.

“I had a great aunt who was a Mercy sister and I knew I eventually wanted to take her place,” she said.

Sister Mary Ann’s great aunt was a pharmacist at Mercy Hospital, but her life path would eventually take her in another direction. Sister Mary Ann was educated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame for grammar school and later high school at Institute of Notre Dame[LM1] in Baltimore.

In 1947, Sister Mary Ann took her vows and embarked on a lifelong journey as a teacher and School Sister of Notre Dame. She left Baltimore to teach 6th grade in Fort Lee, New Jersey but her travels were just beginning. Sister Mary Ann then spent seven years teaching in grammar school in Puerto Rico.

“I love teaching the younger grades,” she said. “I loved the little first graders because they were just flowers and they bloomed when you taught them.

With her experience in Puerto Rico, Sister Mary Ann was then called to Philadelphia. She spent several years working with children who were recent immigrants from Puerto Rico. After four years of service in Philadelphia, Sister Mary Ann volunteered for a ministry in Bolivia.

For 27 years Sister Mary Ann helped local women in Bolivia and taught life skills classes.

 

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