By Sister Joan Doyle (as told to Associate Pat Stortz)
Ask me if I enjoyed living and ministering in the Generalate in Rome. My answer is an unequivocal “Yes, for many reasons.”
Living at the Generalate in Rome is an opportunity to experience SSND life in a multi-cultural environment. In any given year, I formed community with Sisters from provinces across the congregation. Daily life had a flavor and character that I thoroughly enjoyed. Something as simple as a table conversation could open windows on cultures about which I knew so little. Sunday liturgy, especially once the congregational novitiate came, might offer music, readings and prayer in languages as diverse as Spanish, Polish, Japanese or Kiswahili. Sometimes dance enriched the ritual. Just as important were deeper learnings about differing ways of relating, processing, problem solving or having fun. Intercultural living was not entirely new to me, but this re-enforced certain values that my international heart cherished.
For my first five years, I served as secretary to Sister Mary Maher, our General Superior. In that position, I had the privilege of witnessing and being immersed, to some degree, in the broad spectrum of responsibilities that make up the life of a General Council. Whether typing, filing, doing research projects or whatever was needed, I felt I could contribute my knowledge and skills to the overall work of God’s mission in and through SSND.
Because I learned enough Italian to manage conversations, I was asked to be the SSND representative with Centro Astalli, a part of the Italian Jesuit Relief plan for the re-settlement of refugees and asylum seekers. The Generalate opened both houses on our property and welcomed families. Becoming a small link in the long, hard journey of these families toward a newer and hopefully better life was a challenge and a joy.
My last two years in Rome were quite different. I continued my contact with the asylum-seeking families, but my major ministry was joining with Sister Rosemary Howarth to welcome our second group of novices to the Congregational Novitiate. For me, it was a blessing to be with younger women who sense a call to serve God and God’s people in their lives and ask to journey within SSND as they discern this. So much more could be said about all that this experience meant to me. Suffice it to say that living and walking with the 13 novices and five professed sisters was a sacred experience. It's one that I cherish and for which I am grateful to God and the community.
Now ask me if I enjoyed living in Italy and in Rome itself, where Pope Francis was just beginning his pontificate…That's a resounding “yes!” I fell in love with the country, its people, food and the Italian love of life. With some Italian, I could interact more freely in most situations in or outside of the Generalate. That was a bonus. There was so much to see, learn, appreciate and drink in, not only in Rome but in small quaint towns and villages close to the city. Visits to places like Assisi, Florence or Venice were wonderful. The countryside, in varied parts of Italy, offers vistas of sheer beauty: rolling hills, vineyards as far as the eye can see, ocean views that can take your breath away. I was stretched, nourished and delighted by these.
COVID accompanied us through much of my last year in Rome. Enough said!
