1 10 10 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/9ca353720ebeb78068a834f7104ca1a0.jpg 34d1253e5dc88b3bdb5d188a1a13cccc https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/a876822c2c63d8007b23a6dd08903225.pdf b9202377ff53898f62a158ea7e14a0e3 PDF Text Text Sister Ann George, SCN: A Profile …He (God) Comes, Comes, Ever Comes Have you not heard His (God’s) silent steps? He (God) comes, comes, ever comes. Every moment and every age, every day and every night he comes, comes, ever comes. Many a song have I sung in many a mood of mind, but all their notes have always proclaimed, “He comes, comes, ever comes.” … and it is the golden touch of God’s feet that makes my joy to shine. (​Ravindranath Tagore, Poem 45​) As I was getting ready to jot down the story of my life, the above poem flashed through my mind. This poem means much to me. As my story unfolds, you (the readers of my story), will recognize the “songs” I have sung, “in many a mood of mind” and how they have been the instruments of my enlightened human experiences; hence, truly my God-experiences. Now I would like to invite you to accompany me into my early childhood. Coconut and areca nut palms, banana plants and coffee bushes, mango, cashew and jackfruit trees, pineapple and tapioca plants, wild bushes and vines with red, yellow, purple and white blossoms in season, adorn a plot of land by the side of a running brook at Mallikassery in Kottayam district, Kerala, India. In the middle of this land stands a medium sized house with wide verandas on three sides of it. This is my home from the time I, Annamma Mukalel, was a year old. Earlier my family lived at another location in the same village on a small hillock overlooking the same brook and a vast expanse of paddy field with a narrow canal flowing through the middle of it. This canal known as ponnozhukan ​thodu (​ponnu = gold, ​ozhakan = flowing, ​thodu = canal) meets the brook at the northern tip of our land and eventually merges with the Meenachil River. Legend has it that this canal got its name ‘​ponnozhukan thodu’ because a large brass vessel full of gold flowed through it many, many years ago! A section of the bank of this canal close to our land has been the meeting place of several of our neighbours, especially children. They frequented the canal for bathing, swimming, washing clothes, catching fish, etc. During the summer months, the best friend of most of the children of our village also bathed in this canal every Sunday. Guess who? A huge tame elephant! There was always a good crowd to see him. The finale of his bath was worth watching. After getting his large body scrubbed by the mahout and his assistants, the elephant would stand up and breathe in a lot of water into his trunk and sprinkle it all over his body. Then, he would walk out of the canal majestically with shining skin, sparkling eyes, and partially open mouth as if to smile at all his admirers! 1 �Having situated myself at home and described my surroundings, let me introduce my family. I, Annamma, am the youngest of the seven children of Mr. Varkey and Mrs. Aleykutty Varkey Mukalel. According to seniority, we are Devasia (deceased), Mathew (deceased), Aleykutty, Sebastian (Pappachan), Mariakutty, Kunjannamma (deceased). I am fondly called Koche (baby) by my elders and siblings. My parents were grief-stricken at the loss of their three children at the tender ages of two months, seven years, and two years respectively. I did not have the privilege of being with any of them as all of them had gone to heaven before my birth. Born on January 16, 1940, I was baptised at St. Xavier’s Church, Vilakkumadom in the diocese of Chenganassery on January 20, 1940. In 1949, the Chenganassery diocese was divided, and we came under the Palai diocese. Our parish was divided in 1953, and St. Thomas Church Mallikassery became our new parish. The political situation in the world was very tense during my early childhood. Because I was born during World War II, I was given the name ‘war baby’. Since I was the youngest in the family and my older siblings were at school, I was often with my parents as they worked on our family farm for several hours every day. While they were at work, I played with the calves and kids in the field; also, went on nature rambles. During some of these nature walks, I enjoyed breaking off pineapples from our pineapple plants and eating them with my parents. Playing teacher to the coconut trees and coffee bushes around my home was a past-time for me. Wearing a lungi (a long piece of cloth) as sari, I wrote some numbers on the wooden wall of our house with charcoal and with a stick in hand, I taught the trees arithmetic. Of course, writing on the wall with charcoal didn’t go very well with my parents. Eventually, I had to scrub it off the wall and resort to teaching the trees only mental arithmetic. My parents were devout Catholics. They woke up early in the morning and prayed for a long time every day. We, children, had a shorter morning prayer. All of us prayed the evening prayer together. By the time I started school, my sister, Aleykutty, and brother, Sebastian, whom I called Appachan affectionately, had already completed their middle school education. In June 1946, I was enrolled as Annamma M.V. (Mukalel Varkey) at St. Teresa’s Middle School, Vilakkumadom, run by the Third Order of Carmelites (Discalced). My sister, Mariakutty, was already in the same school in Class II. I caught up with her in Class III because she was a slow learner. I received First Holy Communion at the age of seven. It was a memorable day. After Mass, the forty communicants had breakfast together, another joy for us. My brother, Pappachan, and my elder sister, Aleykutty, were settled in life by December 1948. My paternal grandfather was part of our family. In 1950, my youngest uncle took him to his home for a 2 �few months. While there, our grandfather fell ill suddenly and expired in a few days. My parents had a Gregorian Mass (Mass offered for a deceased person for thirty consecutive days) offered for him. I was privileged to participate in it daily. We missed our grandfather so much. Things went on smoothly for us until late 1951. During the Onam (harvest festival of Kerala) holidays, my sister, Mariakutty suffered from a fever. She was treated in the best hospital close to our home. Though the medical team did all they could to revive her, she could not be saved. We were told that she died of a brain tumour. Within a few hours her body was brought home. The school community, Sisters, teachers and students streamed to our house from early morning until late afternoon to bid goodbye to my beloved sister. It was a grand tribute to her. The funeral took place only at 5.00 pm. It took us a very long time to get over the loss of my sister. The next three years of school at St. Teresa’s were very memorable and pleasant. We were active in the Sodality and the Mission League. Helping the poor and raising funds for the missions were some of our favourite activities. We shared our lunch with children who did not bring anything to eat at tiffin time. On our way to school, I would give alms to a leprosy patient who lived in a very small hut. The Carmelite Sisters were real role models for us. Participating in the thirteen-hour adoration in the Carmelite chapel was a heavenly experience. Every year, I made the retreat for the students. We kept total silence during the retreat and prayed many rosaries and ejaculations during our free time. There was a spiritual atmosphere at home, too. During my time in the middle school, especially in Class VIII, I felt the promptings of the Spirit to become a religious. Love for the holy was nurtured in me by my family, especially by my mother, the Sisters in my school, the parish priest, friends, etc. From Class I onwards, we had catechism classes in the school on week days and on Sundays after the second Mass. One of the prizes I received in the diocesan level catechism exam was a biography of St. Teresa of Avila. This book had a great influence on me. My mother was very much devoted to St. Theresa of Lisieux (The Little Flower). The school Sisters also perpetuated the devotion to both Teresa of Avila and the Little Flower. In June 1954, I began my high school studies at St. Joseph High School, Vilakkumadom, a co-ed school with only male teachers at that time. By now, life was more interesting at home with the addition of three lively nephews. My high school headmaster was a priest. The students were well behaved and good at studies. Though there were no religious on the staff, we had catechism classes after school hours. The teachers were exemplary and helped us to imbibe sound values. We enjoyed annual cultural competitions and the Labour Week. During the Labour Week, all had to do some kind of manual work. The teachers worked along with the students. In the afternoons we had cultural programs. On one of those days, we held a “Parliament session” with the students and teachers. All enjoyed and learnt much from this activity. The three years of high school flew by, and it was time for the matriculation examination in March 1957. All students of our school passed this examination with good marks. I was privileged to be among the three students of our school who passed in First Division. Securing a First Division was a rare honour in those days. Among the 3 �twenty-one girls in our class, fourteen were Catholics and all except two joined various religious Congregations. After the publication of the matric results, one day when I went for my regular confession, the priest asked me what I was going to do next. I told him of my desire to become a religious and of my family’s financial difficulties to send me to a convent during that year, but that they would let me join any convent in the following year. The priest sent for my brother that very day. When they met, the priest told my brother that it would be better for me to join a convent that year and that he would find a way to help him out. When my brother relayed this to my parents, they also agreed to let me go to a mission the same year. Looking back, I believe that it was a direct intervention of God in my life. God called me to religious life in “God’s own time” and saw that it was done! It was June 1957. My decision to go to the missions was inspired by Sister Mary Joseph Pamplaniel, SCN who had joined the SCNs in the previous year. She was my parishioner and a member of my school. Trusting in God, I wrote a letter to Sister Lawrencetta Veeneman, requesting her to let me join the SCNs in June 1957. She responded to my request positively. I left for Mokama on July 3, 1957, the feast of St. Thomas, along with a group of nursing students of Nazareth Hospital who were on their home visit. The final goodbye to my people at the railway station was very painful but the determination to follow Jesus was stronger! The journey to Mokama was comfortable. On my arrival at Nazareth Hospital, Mokama on July 7, 1957, Sister Florence Joseph (Mary Frances Sauer) and Sister Lawrencetta extended me a warm welcome. I was accommodated with the staff nurses from Kerala for a few days. Sister Crescentia Wise took me to Nazareth Academy, Gaya, on July 12, 1957, to join the senior candidates, Annamma Joseph and Lilly Rita Thundiyil. There were six American Sisters, among them, two of the SCN pioneers – Sister Charles Miriam Holt and Sister Ann Roberta Powers. A full time teacher at Nazareth Academy, Gaya, Sister Patricia Mary Kelley was our director. She kept us well occupied in the school. Annamma Joseph (from now on Anne Marie Thayilchirayil) and Lilly Rita Thundiyil (from now on Teresa Martin) were my companions. They were in Gaya six months ahead of me. Since two of us had the name Annamma, to avoid confusion, I was called Anna Mary until I got my religious name Sister Ann George Mukalel on the day of our vestition. We, candidates, attended the science classes, taught by Sister James Leo Goldsborough along with the students of Class X. After school hours, Sister Patricia taught us classes in English, community history, and general instruction. We read several supplementary English books to improve our comprehension and vocabulary. We had piano lessons once a week, and practiced cycling, too. On January 6, 1958, we, Anne Marie, Lilly Thundiyil, Aleykutty Kuriakose, Rose Augustine and I entered postulancy at Mokama. Sister Lawrencetta was the director of postulants and novices. Our days were well-balanced with prayer, classes, manual work, recreation and games. On weekdays, we ate lunch after the reading from the Martyrology for the day, then had recreation. This reading quite often ended up in “peels of laughter”. The routine in the novitiate was almost 4 �the same as that of the postulancy except for the study of SCN Constitutions and the Book of Customs. On Sundays we also taught catechism to the women parishioners of Mokama. Once a month, we visited Catholic families in the villages. This was a small way of connecting with the parishioners. On some moon-lit nights, after supper, Sister Lawrencetta took us for a walk to the shrine to watch the different constellations of stars, and, a few times, to fish in the shrine pond with fishing rods and hooks. They were real treats for us! Sister Lawrencetta was loving, understanding and genuinely interested in those under her care. We loved her. After making an eight-day retreat, we made our first vows on the feast of St. Thomas on December 21, 1960. My first mission was to Nazareth Academy, Gaya, and my companion was Sister Ignatius Marie (Annemarie) Thayilchirayil. After a year of teaching at the Academy, we were sent to Patna Women’s College, Patna for the one-year pre-university studies. In August 1962, I, along with Ignatius Marie, was sent to the Motherhouse, Nazareth, to continue our college studies at Nazareth College, KY. Along with our college studies, we also followed the juniorate program for the temporary professed Sisters at Nazareth under the guidance of Sister Mary Rosine Callahan. She was a saintly person who went out of her way to provide us every opportunity to grow in holiness. There were eighty of us in the juniorate as we first started the program. On every first Sunday we were taken to Bellarmine College, Louisville, to attend the Biblical Institutes conducted by Father Carrol Steumuller and team. Our pre-university marks were recognized by Nazareth College. So, we completed the four-year college studies in three years. In preparation for final vows we had to make an eight-day retreat. On the feast of St. Thomas, December 21, 1965, we made our final vows in the presence of over 200 SCNs. We also had the rare privilege of eating breakfast with Mother Ann Sebastian, Mother Bertrand, Mother Lucille and the General Councillors at a specially decorated table in the middle of the Motherhouse refectory. During the first year of my graduate studies, I stayed with the college community of Sisters while attending classes at Catherine Spalding College in Louisville. I had the privilege to be with the Presentation Community during the second year. I received the Master’s Degree in Education from Catherine Spalding College in May 1967. On our way back to India, we had the privilege of visiting Rome. After a short visit home, I was assigned to Mokama to take care of the candidates. There were ten candidates in the group and I enjoyed being with them. I was appointed teacher at Nazareth Academy, Gaya in June 1968. During this assignment I taught from Classes IV to VIII in the English medium section. I began teaching as a class teacher of Class IV. The class four had such a disparity in learning ability. I asked Sister James Leo Goldsborough, the principal, to divide the class into two groups according to their scholastic ability. I took the weaker section of the students. Except for Hindi and Sanskrit, I taught them all subjects giving them various types of learning experiences. They were taught creatively, and by the end of the year, both classes performed well. This is one of my success stories as a teacher. ​In June 1970, I was happy to have Sister 5 �Anne Marie Thayilchirayil, my candidate companion, as my principal (the first Indian principal of Nazareth Academy, Gaya.) One time, I gave a project to the students of Class VI to recognize the non-teaching staff of the school. The students decided to honour them with a program and lunch. It was a great success; all appreciated it, and, for years, it continued as Worker’s Day. I also encouraged my students to help the children of the fourth class employees. We started with a boy with dwarfism and slowly had close to ten children. Later, they were incorporated into the non-formal classes conducted by Sister Sunita Vayalipara, SCN. The non-formal school has been well set up since then. I also initiated a project with the students to articulate who God was to them and the attributes they gave to God. After consulting their parents, the elders at home, and, their spiritual gurus, they enumerated the values which they hold. After a group discussion, they made the decision to hold those values which the whole class held in common. We made a creed expressing what we believe as a whole – Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. We framed it, hung it in our class, then carried it forward to the next class as I was also promoted to the next class with the same group of children. It took us almost six months to complete the project. For social and cultural awareness, they also studied the important local places such as the post office, railway station, important temples, etc. Students wrote something on each place of importance they found and made a file with the information. They also gathered autographed photographs of important national leaders. For group work, students were encouraged to write scripts for plays which they acted out. For stories, I used to give students two or three characters and they were encouraged to write a story on those characters. I was privileged to accompany this same group of students up to Class IX, and, that year, I got another ministry assignment. On one occasion, an Anglo Indian boy named Peter brought two pupae of butterflies, each of which he placed in a glass jar with tops with tiny holes and kept them on the open book shelf. After a few days, while the class was in session, Peter’s attention was on one of the pupae which was coming out of the jar. Suddenly, a beautiful butterfly came out. Peter opened the lid of the bottle and the butterfly flew around in the classroom. We closed the doors and windows and watched the newly born butterfly; within seconds we noticed a butterfly emerge in the second jar! It was still in the bottle. The children’s joy knew no bounds. All were clapping hands, talking, laughing and shouting. After ten to fifteen minutes we freed those beautiful butterflies into the open space. I put the students into groups of five where they could choose some way of expressing what they saw in poems, stories, paragraphs, little skits, etc. They showed their creations to the neighbouring class! From June 1975 to June 1978, I served as the Education Director of the India province. I visited ​all the SCN-owned and administered schools to give in-service training for the teachers who needed it. During this time there was an undertaking from the Congregation to evaluate the SCN-owned schools and to spell out our philosophy of education. It took a long time. Sister Dorothy MacDougall, SCN, was part of this process. With her help, we were able to draw up our philosophy of education. In 1978, I had a one-month renewal in Topchanji near Gomoh with a group of SCNs. 6 �I was appointed principal of Nazareth Academy, Gaya, in June 1978. Getting Nazareth Academy recognized by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was our priority at that time. The first requirement for this recognition was to obtain the “No Objection Certificate” (OBC) from the State Education Board. We had to cross many hurdles to get this done. Once the OBC was obtained, the rest of the recognition procedures were speeded up. And finally, thank goodness, the school got the recognition from CBSE, Delhi in May 1981. I tried to keep up the excellence of the school by having various activities for both the students and teachers. One year for parent’s day, students wrote original poems and recited them in front of their parents. Since it was parents’ day, the presentation was well-received. A team of our high school students won the science trophy in the inter-state science competitions held in Calcutta. Both the staff and students exhibited a high degree of cooperation, family spirit and patriotism. In January 1985, I was appointed to Nazareth Convent, Ranchi. Keeping Nazareth Convent as my base, I helped out in the ministry places where there was a need for my presence. I taught in St. Xavier’s School, Mokama, for a few months. Then, I taught at St. Michael’s School, Sale, Mahuadanr as substitute for Sister Suma Muthukattuparampil. Though many of the students were poor, they were good at studies. I enjoyed teaching them. The teachers were very cooperative. We lived in Kutuderi in a mud house. We had lots of fun in the community. Once a week, the Sisters cycled nine kilometres to Mahuadanr to purchase vegetables. We lived happily with the very minimum. In fact, if we had a ​kadhu ​(a kind of gourd) for a meal, it had the status of a feast day! I was very happy to live in the village among the local people. There was a lot of “give and take” among them. They did not hesitate to ask the neighbour to get something they actually needed. We participated whole-heartedly in the parish activities. I was very inspired by the sharing of the village catechists during their biweekly get together. Towards the end of 1985, I stayed in Mandair for a month and took part in the activities of the Sisters. Sister Philomena Kottoor used to go to very distant villages on bicycle to take care of the sick people; she also taught good health habits. Sisters Pauline Paraplackal and Hilda Lobo taught the children at the parish school. One day Sister Philomena fell from the bicycle and got a deep cut in her chin. She stitched that wound courageously by looking in a mirror. What will-power! What sacrifices the Sisters make to live in such remote areas for the sake of the poor. I used to visit the nearby villages with the Sisters. I still remember the picnic we had for the farewell that the Sisters gave their parish priest. The venue was the banks of a nearby stream close to the forest. Some young boys of our neighbourhood carried our supplies and a home-grown cock for lunch. On our way to the stream, the priest bought four birds from a group of boys who had gone hunting. Though the legs of the cock were tied with a string, the cock untied it by pecking on it while we were eating our breakfast. When we looked at the cock, we saw him walking freely and finally flying over to the other side of the stream. The priest and the boys crossed the slippery rocky stream to search for the him. After an hour they returned empty handed. The cock had gone into the thick jungle. We prepared the four birds for lunch. The funny thing was that some people close to the jungle told the boys that they could hear the crowing of the cock from a distance. For a 7 �week, the village boys looked for that cock. After a week nobody heard his crowing. It was probably eaten by a wild animal. A week later when the Sisters from Gaya entered the village for a picnic, they sang very loudly a Hindi song, ‘​Gaonwallo, apne murgi samplao’ (villagers, protect your chickens) which was very appropriate at the time. In the village, people enjoyed things in common. For example, as they walked by the peanut or corn field they would pick a head of corn or pull out a peanut plant to eat; no one minded that. Early in the morning, before the boys took the cattle for grazing they made fire in a small pot for light and warmth during winter. They carried it around and we could see these small lights coming from different directions and hear the sound of the bells tied around the neck of the cattle. From January 1986, I taught the college-going candidates in Ranchi for three years. In the same year, I spent two weeks at home with my father who was seriously ill. Since I was missing the classes for the candidates, I felt obliged to go back to Ranchi as soon as possible. So I told my father that I was thinking of going back to Ranchi soon. Then he told me, “Don’t go.” He was bed-ridden for four years. I was in a dilemma as to what to do. I left my father saying that I would return soon. I really thought in case he gets worse; surely there would be time for me to see him once more. Within two weeks, on September 1, 1986, I got word that he was no more. There was no way that I could reach home before the funeral. I, “my father’s sweet baby”, could not be with him in his last moments. Still, I have the satisfaction of having been with him for two weeks, attending to him and being with my mother, in those days of suffering. In 1988, I attended a three-month renewal program at Sadhana Institute in Lonavala, Pune. With thoughts of changing from teaching to social service, I discerned and volunteered to be in Ararghat in January 1989. Sisters Bridget Vadakeattam and Sunita Vayalipara were engaged in health, non-formal education and other social services. Before I reached there, a cow shed belonging to Mohan Murmu had been made into a liveable room. In one corner of the room, a little space was partitioned with a bamboo and straw screen for one person to stand and cook. At the other end of the room, we made a bamboo shelf to keep our rolled bedding. During the day, a chowki, the wooden bed was used by us and the people to sit. We had a wooden stool for three of us to sit on. There was a small medicine cabinet near the door to keep the emergency medicines. To fully open our tiny door we had to move the things around. Though we had very limited material things to live in, we were happy that we were one with the people in the locality. In fact, some of the people in the village had better houses than we had. There, I joined with Sister Sunita in the non-formal education of children. The villagers built a very small shed for the children to gather for classes. Some of the children were enrolled in the local school, but most were not. They all came in the morning for an hour of class. In the afternoon, the boys grazed their animals in the nearby fields sitting on their buffalos. The girls cut grass to feed the animals. We could hear them singing the nursery rhymes we had taught them. Sister Sunita conducted the government sponsored cutting and tailoring training for women and young girls in another house close by. While the mothers attended the class, I took their small 8 �children for literacy classes. We spent a lot of time in government offices for this kind of projects. We travelled by all modes of transportation such as trucks, tractors, ​tum-tum (horse cart) and, sometimes, by the very crowded buses. Our most often-travelled bus was ​Hawa-​ ​hawai​, (fast running) bus with the speed of 30 kilometres per hour. It had a few seats in the front and one long seat at the back with nothing to hold on to. By the time we could board, the bus would be almost full, and we sat on the back seat. With every brake, our head hit the ceiling. I remember falling into a mud-pot of curd. People took their animals also in the same bus. Once I saw a goat eat up a small mango plant from a man who was taking it to plant in his field. The nearest Mass station was seventy kilometres away in Saharsa at The Indian Missionary Society (IMS). Only once a month did we go for Mass since travel every week was tedious and expensive. The IMS priests were so extremely hospitable to us in that they gave us one of the two rooms they had. Their house was a second home to us during our travels. They helped us in every way possible. A year later, Sister Bridget moved out of Ararghat. The IMS priests introduced us to the district development officer of Saharsa. Though we worked in another district, we volunteered to take up the government poultry project for twenty-eight families in Saharsa district in March 1990. We organized the women to undertake the project since most of the men were alcoholics. I was the contact person between the government and the women, and Sunita continued with the programs in Ararghat. Twice a week she visited me and stayed with me for a day or two. We hired a supervisor to help the women get all the materials for making the poultry house as per the government requirement. Before dispatching the first batch of fifty chicks and feed, the women were given training to take care of the chicks. On the very first day itself, one or two families lost more than half of their chicks. Though the women had the training, they were not used to taking care of the white leghorns. A veterinary doctor ​administered some antibiotics, and the situation was under control. I moved from house to house to supervise that the right amount of feed, water and warmth was available to the chicks. The women kept questioning, “What kind of chicks are these?” They also could not understand why the chicken house had to be kept clean. The women had to clean their hands and feet before they entered the chicken house; all the feeding containers also had to be clean. Within one and a half-months, the chicks were ready for sale. There wasn’t much demand for this kind of meat. There was a middle man who really cheated them. Though I confronted him twice, he got wind of my coming and escaped. If the chickens were not sold at the right time, nobody would buy an overgrown chicken. Each family made a profit above Indian rupees 2000/- which was deposited in the women’s bank accounts. When we went there for the first time, most of the people had only one meal a day. By the time we left the place, the women could afford two decent meals a day. After the project work, we returned to Ararghat. During our free time, we visited families in our village and in nearby villages. In December 1992, I went to Nazareth, KY as a delegate for the General Assembly. There, I developed severe spondylitis and was asked to have a surgery just before I was to leave for India in January 1993. I returned to India and was under the treatment of Doctor Mukhopadhyay in Patna. 9 �Meanwhile, I got word that my only brother was seriously ill and in the intensive care unit (ICU). Hope for his recovery was minimal, and he was shifted from the ICU to the ward. Four of his charismatic friends, along with others, prayed over him. He showed signs of recovery and was shifted to the ICU where he recovered fast. When my family thanked the people who prayed for my brother, they said that one of your other family members with spondylitis is also healed. And I am that person who felt the healing touch of God through prayer. Thanks be to God! For a few days, I went back to Ararghat in February 1993, to get my things. I went to Narayan Chowk, Dharan in Nepal, to teach in the school for a year. The school was up to class three. Having a few students in a class, the atmosphere was homey and I could experiment many things with them. On parents’ day, the students received their parents, served them refreshments, and made them feel comfortable. The program was like a television broadcast. A big television was made out of a cardboard box, and all items were related to the subjects they had in the classroom. One of the drills was in geometrical shapes, right angles, squares, etc. The students dressed up as two or three famous mathematicians and interviewed them. They had the song on the solar system in the tune, “Here we go round the mulberry bush” and sang “Here we go round the glowing sun”. Parents enjoyed the program so much that it was a special parents’ day. Most of the fathers of the children worked in Hong Kong, and mothers took care of the children. I learned some Nepali to communicate with the people. In December 1993, I was elected assistant provincial of the India Province. I came to Patna in May from Dharan. June 1, 1994 was the day of installation for the new leadership team of the province. The newly elected province leadership members had a few days of team-building sessions in September. In the midst of this session, I got word that my mother expired on September 2, 1994. I did not go home for the funeral. I assisted Sister Bridget Kappalumakal as her assistant to the best of my ability. During this time, the province closed down two missions, Hilsa and Biharsharif in Bihar, and bought land in Almora. We also opened a new house in Kakkavayal in Kerala. After being in Provincial leadership, I had a six-week scripture course along with SCNs Bridget Kappalumakal and Sister Mary Joseph at the Charismatic Retreat Centre in Potta, Kerala. After a home visit, I went to Ranchi to teach in the formation program and to be in-charge of the student candidates in June 1999 for two years. In June 2001, I volunteered to go to Surkhet to be with Rosita Kavilpurayidathil, SCN. I joined her in social service programs such as self-help groups for women, cutting and tailoring for a year. In 2002, I was advised to have an angiogram done in Delhi by our doctors in Mokama. Before I left Mokama, Sister Xavier Valiakunnackal (now deceased) prayed over me. When the consultant doctor at Stephens’ Hospital, Delhi examined me, he said that I did not need an angiogram. He put me on medication and wanted to observe me for the following two months. During this waiting period, I visited Almora mission. I was fortunate to visit some of the villages in Almora and enjoyed the cool weather of the hills. 10 �I left Delhi in August 2002, and went back to Surkhet for a month. In April 2003, I was appointed teacher at Gyan Deep Vidyalaya in Birsanagar, Jamshedpur. I taught various subjects such as English and Moral Science from Classes IV to IX. It was a challenge and joy for me to be with the children of the low income group and to give them my best. Our desire was that the students work up to their abilities to become somebody in life. The teachers were excellent and had a goal to empower the children. The students, teachers and the principal worked together as one group. We developed the school philosophy, vision and mission. We got ample financial and educational support from the Tata Companies especially Telecon, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, etc. Telecon initiated a ‘​Jagriti’ (​ awakening) ​program under the leadership of Mr. Peter Banerjee for the Hindi Medium schools of Jamshedpur city. A week-long program of competitions in speech, drama, art, singing, dancing, debate, and quizzes in general knowledge and other subjects were held for those schools every year. Selected children were brought to Gyan Deep Vidyalaya for the finals. These activities made the children self-confident and developed a healthy competitive spirit. By the time the students left our school, every child was on the stage to perform confidently one time or the other. As we had a well-planned school program for the development of the students, all teachers worked hard to help them reach their goals and improve a little more than they had earlier performed. Some of the teachers sponsored the educational expenses of children from poor families. The school had built up a family spirit. I stayed in Birsanagar till 2010, and it was one of my golden years of teaching experience, and my golden jubilee year, too. In 2007, I was elected a board member. In June 2010, as part of the experimentation for the bifurcation of India Province, I stayed in Snehalayam, Trichy, for two years. Josita Eniakattu, SCN, stayed with the Chandapura community. When I had nothing special to do for the province, I helped out in St. Vincent Matriculation School till 2012. In June 2012, I joined Nazareth Academy, the new English medium school inaugurated in April during our bicentennial year as a gift for the people of Mokama. The school began with twenty-six pre-school children, senior and junior kindergarten. New students kept coming, and, by year end, we had close to forty children. Though Sister Rena Simon Fernandes, SCN, the principal, stayed in Gaya and supervised the school, very often I was the acting principal till December 2012. Classes were held in St. Xavier’s School from April to December 2012 while the old Nazareth Hospital building was being remodelled for a primary and kindergarten school. In November, when I showed the remodelled classrooms to one student’s parents, their eyes shined and faces glowed. “Can there be any school building like this in Mokama!”, they exclaimed. This was the first time that anyone had seen the inside of the building. In January 2013, students were brought to the new site and they were delighted. Children touched the fruits on the tiles of the walls and some of them kissed various interesting pictures. Sister Rena joined the school in January 2013, and the school started to function as a regular school. Every year, a class was added, and, now, the school has reached up to Class VII with over six hundred students. 11 �Every year teachers were given in-service training. We have taken it as our own responsibility to make the school the best in the locality. We wish for our students to imbibe sound values and love God and their neighbour. It was the desire of the people in Mokama to have an English School run by the Sisters. Most of the parents are non-English speaking people. From the beginning of the school until now, no leaf was left unturned to make the students academically excellent. I have been at Nazareth Academy, Mokama, from June 2012 up to the present, teaching students, mentoring teachers, organizing extra-curricular activities for students, and helping them to exhibit their talents through dramas, speeches, exhibitions, quizzes, etc. I also helped to select and purchase books for the school library and helped the librarian to organize the books. I am still attached to the school. So many golden opportunities enabled me to interact lovingly with our Sisters in the Western Province. As a junior Sister, I had the privilege of living with eighty Juniors in the Juniorate in the 1960s at Nazareth for three years. Some of them were older than I, a few others younger, and the majority were of my age! We prayed together, ate together, had recreation together; some of us attended college classes together. We had opportunities to share with one another our inner joys and struggles; also, we had opportunities to mingle with other SCNs when they came to Nazareth for summer school. We got acquainted with many of them; we also got to know some of them more closely. I got to know some of our SCN professors during informal gatherings. Experience of SCNs during our temporary missions was another way of getting strongly bonded in the SCN Family. In later years, after the college studies, there were many opportunities to meet with the SCNs from the Western Province, and the bonds became stronger. I am proud to say that I know many SCNs of the Western Province personally; it has made a great difference in my life! Thinking congregationally has become second nature to me. I thank God for the SCN Congregation! Love you all, my dear Sisters! Strong bonds exist between the SCNs of Patna and Bangalore Province, too. I don’t experience that we are in two provinces in India. Let us continue to thank God for calling us to the SCN Congregation! Books and Persons who influenced me: ​Mahatma Gandhi; Saint Alphonsa; Saint Vincent de Paul and Mother Catherine Spalding; Martin Luther King Jr.; Saint Mother Teresa of Kolkata Books:​ The Bible Books on Mother Mary Lives of Saints Seven Storey Mountains​ by Thomas Merton Man’s Search for Meaning​ by ​Viktor E. Frankl Abraham Lincoln: A Spiritual Biography​ by Elton Trueblood Inspirational Books by modern authors like Sudha Murty, Paulo Coelho, etc. Religious Life: A call to Holiness; Articles, homilies and Collection of poems/stories God Experiences: ​a) After one month retreat; b) After Confession every time; c) During Meditation; d) Sharing with friends​ ​and during hard times I resort to prayer, spiritual direction and letting go. 12 �Faith experiences: I know a woman who for over twenty years suffered from menstrual cramps. She was treated for it by various doctors, but got only temporary relief. One of the gynaecologists whom she consulted had told her that she would need a surgery by the time she would reach her mid-thirties. When she was about thirty-three years old she had an opportunity to be prayed over by a charismatic preacher, Reverend Father Jim Borst. As soon as the woman described her problem to this priest he told her, “Jesus wants you to be cured of this pain.” The woman believed that Jesus would cure her. Father Borst prayed over her for complete relief from the cramps. The woman waited in faith to experience the healing in the following month and, sure enough, the miracle took place. She was healed! Praise God! She lives with deep gratitude to God for this healing and glorifies God by telling others about the marvel Jesus wrought in her life. And who is this woman? It is none other than the narrator of this story, Sister Ann George Mukalel. One day in 1990, while I was monitoring a poultry farming project for the poor villagers of Naya Nagar in Saharsa district of Bihar, I was returning from the market in a cycle rickshaw with some chicken feed, a few vegetables and a large sum of money from the bank which belonged to the beneficiaries of the project. Before entering the village of the target group, I had to cross a short bridge on the main road. This bridge is in a lonely area. When my rickshaw crossed that bridge a short, fat young man who was hiding under the bridge walked over to my rickshaw briskly and stopped the rickshaw. There was no other soul around. I was petrified. He asked the rickshaw puller what was in the big bundle on the rickshaw. I told him that there was some chicken feed for the poultry farm and some vegetables. He stared at me for a while and then told the rickshaw that he could proceed to the village. It was a real miracle that he did not search the bags carefully. God didn’t let him see the poor people’s precious savings. God protects us when we are in vulnerable situations. Such moments of grace are in store for all of us when we place ourselves in God’s hands. An amusing, yet frightening, incident happened when I was going to the Block Development officer’s residence to get a necessary permission regarding the aforementioned poultry farming project. I had to cross a large, paddy field where cows, oxen, buffalos, goats, etc. were grazing freely. There was nobody with those animals. It was a hot day, and so, I opened my red umbrella. A buffalo began to chase me. Little did I realize that my red umbrella had stirred up fear in the buffalo causing it to chase me. Immediately, I closed the umbrella and used it as a weapon to fend myself. Suddenly, the buffalo turned the other way and ran for its life. God gave me the awareness that the red colour of the umbrella irritated that creature and once the umbrella was closed, it was at ease. My life, also, like those of most people, has had its sunny, cloudy and rainy days, especially in mid-life. Personality clashes, misunderstandings, etc. marred the tranquillity of life. Retreats, renewals, meditations, reflections and readings helped me to look at myself more realistically without condemning myself or others. Life has taught me that all have rights and duties and I need to respect them. Also, I must let others grow as they are directed by their inner voice. Living this thought pattern has helped me to love and reverence my sisters and brothers. After having had 13 �healthy dialogues with other people, I now better realize that they have the right to hold their opinions or belief systems. I try not to force my view of anything of importance on others. I keep in touch with the former students of Nazareth Academy, Gaya, and Gyan Deep Vidyalaya, Birsanagar through alumnae associations. I have gathered treasures by having relationships with strangers especially the poor en route to the village of our beneficiaries in Naya Nagar. Our mere presence made an impact in their lives. People would stop to talk to us, smile at us and even in the overcrowded bus the conductor would make place for us to sit. My two siblings Sebastian (brother) and Aleykutty (sister), went to their heavenly abode on December 4, 2013 and February 19, 2018 respectively. With this all my immediate family members are in heaven now except my sister-in-law. I look forward to sustaining the inner peace and peace in the world, and real loving relationship with one another wherever I am. And I wish the same for others, whoever they are. I have come to believe unless we are one with God, peace cannot be realized. To anyone who asks me what religious life has meant to me, I would say, “Come and stay with me.” “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind.” ​(Bob Dylan, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) Sister Ann George Mukalel, SCN Completed on February 21, 2020 Consent given to publish the story at SCN website 14 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Unknown Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Ann George Mukalel, SCN Location The location of the interview India Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ann George Mukalel, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Mukalel, Ann George, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2/21/2020 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-AnnGeorgeMukalel Sisters of Charity of Nazareth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/293e273519b1543bd4d545901050a4be.jpg 71de0b4d8487afd78c770750158ee8a7 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/797a734f1ea4ba18558c84436f98fda6.pdf 9f5063828bbc036c5444e3bb108cb255 PDF Text Text Fear not I am with you; Isaiah 5:3 My life in this Congregation has been a long and rewarding experience and I thank God for the Spiritual Journey with my Sisters and all the people of God in my life. As I recall my thirty-eight years as a professed Sister of Charity of Nazareth I can only thank God for the wonders God has done for me and through me. God was the centre of my life. I have touched a good number of people’s lives in my career as a teacher and principal in various schools. Living in multicultural communities has been a blessing as well as a challenge to know various cultures and appreciate them. The formation directors, junior directors and the provincials have helped me to grow to become the person I am today. I, Sister Blanche Correia, come from a very devout family. My father’s name was Mr. Francis Manuel Correia and my mother’s name was Luzan Francis Correia. We were nine children: three brothers and six sisters. My father worked for Air India and my mother was a house wife. My parents had only primary level education. My mother was a very religious woman. On certain days, Sunday and Wednesday, Mass was compulsory. We were expected to say the rosary daily. If we failed to do so, we did not get our supper. My father died when I was eight years old and my mother died when I was sixteen years old. Both of our parents worked hard till their death to take care of all of us. They made sure that we were �all given a proper education by which we would be able to stand on our own feet. I completed my Matriculation and Diploma in Education (D. Ed.) and taught two years in Mumbai Church School before entering the Sister of Charity of Nazareth. My call to religious life came from my mother, priests in the parish, attending vocation camps, convent education, assisting nuns in the church on Saturdays and Sundays, etc. Going to North India to join the Nazareth Sisters was a big risk as I was the first one from Vasai to join them. I did not receive any cooperation from my family except my brother-in-law, Mr. Raphael Lopes. Most of my education was in Church-run schools and college except Class I to IV which was in government school. When it came time to choose a Congregation, I attended vocation camp and met two SCNs Teresita Theruvankunnel and Mary Scaria Menonparampil at Gorai, Mumbai. They both came wearing sari, not habits. The fact that the Sisters wore the sari attracted me to join this order. I had no idea where Bihar was and my family objected to my going. They were happy with my decision to join the convent but wished I would choose one that was not so far away as Bihar. Initially I struggled a lot with homesickness but the presence of my candidate director Sister Olive Pinto, along with Sisters Shalini D’Souza and Margaret Rodericks I was able to handle �my homesickness. My eldest sister and her husband’s visit to Mokama changed the attitude of my family. They were very happy with the Sisters’ hospitality and the friendly atmosphere in the convent. Yes, I kept on missing my own culture, language, food habits -especially fish, which we used to have daily at home - family get-togethers every Sunday and many other family functions. Novitiate life was not much fun with so many rules and regulations. However, the disciplined and enthusiastic Novice Mistress, Sister Shalini, made the novitiate life joyful. I was happy with my group. We were four in our group and one left as a postulant so we were only three to make first vows. For the first vows, several of my family members visited Mokama and joined the celebration. My first mission was in Golmuri, Jamshedpurat. Sisters Teresa Madassery, Mary Julianna Tuti (deceased) and Sarala Anithottathil were my companions in the community. Sister Sarala and I were assigned to Rahargoda School and Sisters Teresa and Juliana worked for Catholic Relief Services (CRS). I was committed and enthusiastic about my mission. After the first mission in Rahargora, SCNs were asked to take up Gyan Deep Vidylaya, Birsanagar. I was appointed as the first SCN headmistress there. The then provincial, Sister Margaret Rodericks, asked me to learn cycling. I did struggle and learn. I used to go to Birsanagar daily on a cycle along with the other SCN Premila Parackattu. Staying with Sisters �Teresa and Juliana Tuti was a joyful experience. I learnt a lot from them. Here I also completed my IA, (Intermediate studies) from Ranchi University as a private student. I was appointed to Vasai, my own hometown, to work with the youth there. I was very energetic and enthusiastic about working with the youth and I gained a lot of confidence in this ministry. At that time, I was invited to go for final vow preparation. After six months of spiritual preparation, I said, ‘YES’ to God on May 4, 1985, and committed myself into the service of God’s people. It was a very joyful and memorable day for me and for my family. Graduating from Mumbai’s prestigious St. Xavier’s College in sociology was a proud moment for me. I was then sent to Bihar, to a small village called Hilsa, Nalanda District for another mission. As the Principal of Christ Jyoti School Hilsa, I totally dedicated myself to this mission. Nazareth Pre-School Gaya, gave me a lot of joy and satisfaction. Visiting and counselling the women who were in a jail was another painful experience. It was a God-given privilege for me to have that sacred experience in Gaya Central Jail. Going back to Birsanagar where I was a pioneer to take the responsibility of Gyan Deep High School was a moment of pride. Here I learnt to drive the scooter. God gave me an opportunity to reach out to the rich and invite them to serve the poor as St. Vincent did. The school flourished and many �students were admitted in the school. These students were mainly the domestic workers’ children. I have many sweet memories of this mission. Recognizing my talents, the Provincial Leadership Team (PLT) and Central Leadership Team (CLT) of that time invited me to go for further studies at Spalding University in Kentucky in the United States. I accepted the invitation and completed my Master of Education in School Administration. I considered myself fortunate as I walked on the holy ground where our co-founder, Mother Catherine Spalding, and many other great holy women walked. With gratitude and joy, I cherish those years of mine spent in Nazareth, Kentucky. I am grateful to the PLT and CLT who gave me this opportunity to educate myself in School Administration. My special thanks and gratitude goes to Sisters Mary Serra Goethals and Rose Howard who assisted and accommodated me in their home and community. As they were both educationists and principals in the schools, I profited a lot intellectually. They were my walking encyclopaedias. I was happy to be back in India in December 2007. I was assigned as the Principal of Nazareth Convent High School, Vasai beginning June 1​st​ 2008. The responsibility was great, especially working with my own people. I took up the challenge and continued my service in the field of education to the people of Vasai. As per the rule in the Maharasthra education department, I officially retired on the 1​st​ of June �2014 and my service was extended up to September 30, 2014. I am grateful to God for accompanying me all those years. This was a significant assignment and I struggled to swim through. I knew there were some personalities who did not like my way of functioning. So they instigated people against me. Yes, the management wholeheartedly supported me to clear the mess in the administration. This mission has groomed and grilled me to take up any challenges in life and fight for the truth. I was appointed as the Principal of Nazareth School from the 1​st​ of January 2015, in Banakal, affiliated with CISCE New Delhi (Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations). I accepted it joyfully as CISCE accepted my appointment. To date I am giving my service to the people of this Malnad area. I am happy here except for my health. Due to allergy in the air, heavy rain almost four to five months and uneven land and staircases has disturbed my health. I am confident God will continue to guide me in my journey. Almost twenty-eight years in school administration has kept my mind alert. I need to update myself constantly and educate myself with what is happening in the world, India etc. Being with the students has kept me very young and energetic. I lost my parents before I joined the SCNs and I lost two brothers and a sister after I joined. I consider it a huge loss in �my life. I have not yet recovered from the death of my eldest sister, who was like a mother to me. Over the years, there have been many ups and downs, misunderstandings, accusations, condemnations, and criticisms but I took it as a part of my mission. In success and failures I have experienced God at my side. God has protected me, defended me, kept me safe under His wings. Once I was caught up in a big flood and God saved me. I was returning from my college and got down at Mumbai Central station to go to the hostel. I just could not proceed due to heavy rain. The water was above my waist, I could not go further. Just then a gentleman appeared and held my hand and took me to a safe place. Surgeries of hysterectomy and spine brought me closer to God. I look forward to the future that God may continue to use me for the service of God’s people. I draw strength and nourishment through devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and daily Eucharist. My answer to any young women would be: it is worth dedicating our life for the Kingdom of God, to spread the Good News. I Can Sing Mercies of the Lord Forever I will Sing ... � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Unknown Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Blanche Correia, SCN Location The location of the interview United States Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Blanche Correia, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Correia, Blanche, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 7/9/1905 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-BlancheCorreia Sisters of Charity of Nazareth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/fe6c884c9d2a8c4f495be024491aa008.jpg 77437214b1d7af7571b42475eb497a74 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/5447b48e7a3b48bce3d6ab0463c404df.pdf 5488a1323ac9ed918c979cc6bfd6438b PDF Text Text Sister Charlotte Gambol June, 2016 (Sister is referred to by both her baptismal name ‘Leona’ and her religious name ‘Charlotte’ in this story.) Sister Charlotte Gambol feels close to Mother Catherine Spalding because they share a very similar childhood. Like Mother Catherine, Charlotte lost her mother at a young age and her father was not able to care for her. Charlotte was only five years old. Shortly before her mother’s passing, the restaurant Charlotte's father owned was robbed and he suffered a blow to the head which triggered early Parkinson's disease. He was in his early thirties. Baptized Leona Gambol, Sister was an only child. She was born in January, 1930 in Cleveland, Ohio to Andrew Gambol and Mary Vavrek. Due to her mother’s death and her father’s poor health, Leona was raised by her extended family and lived with her grandparents, aunts and uncles at different times. Leona had many cousins on her father's side of the family with whom to grow up. On her mother's side, she had only one cousin, Charlotte, and the two were close friends. Even today they remain close and Cousin Charlotte is occasionally able to come from Cleveland, Ohio to visit Sister. In 1945, Leona first came into contact with the Vincentian Sisters of Charity when she enrolled in their boarding school, Vincentian Sisters High School, as a sophomore. Not particularly fond of school, Leona focused on completing her education and moving on to new things. Early in her senior year of high school, in 1946, Leona's father passed away at the age of forty-two. She remembers that he was a very good man. At this time, her Uncle Frank became her legal guardian. Having no family obligations, she made the decision to enter the Vincentian community soon after graduating. She joined the community September 14, 1947 and entered the novitiate on August fifteenth of the following year. She took the name Charlotte in honor of her cousin. While in the novitiate, Charlotte's guardian, Uncle Frank, kept in touch and was good to her, sending her packages with candy and other treats. As a novice, Charlotte attended classes at Duquesne University on Saturdays where she took courses in Ethics, Philosophy, and Theology. She was also enrolled for summer art classes at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. At the time, Duquesne didn't have a fine arts program and Sisters were discouraged from attending secular colleges. She went on to earn both undergraduate credits and a Master of Fine Arts degree at Catholic University. Sister Jerome Nosal, novice mistress, assigned a lot of hard work scrubbing floors, doing laundry, painting, and other useful tasks. Charlotte recalls that her artistic ability occasionally got her out 1 �of some of the work because she was asked to do some other task requiring at least a little artistic ability. After spending two years in the novitiate, Charlotte made her first vows on August 13, 1950 and spent the first year of her vowed life as a nurse's aide at Villa de Marillac Nursing Home. Nursing wasn't her forte so her teaching career was initiated the following year. Over the next five years, Sister taught grades second through sixth in three different schools in Pennsylvania. Her first teaching mission was a combined fifth and sixth grade class at St. Mary School in Brownsville, PA. Later, while teaching at St. Ursula School in Allison Park, PA, Sister had a unique challenge. At that time, the playground hadn't been built at the school so the children could not go outside to play. Despite the children not being able to go outside after lunch, Sister didn't have any real problems with the class but recalled that there were three lively boys, all named Billy, who she called her “billy goats”. After lunch, before Sister Charlotte returned to her classroom, the three would run about the classroom and jump over desks. One day, Sister wasn't feeling well and decided to skip lunch. When her billy goats returned to the classroom after their lunch to find Sister resting her head on her desk, the ringleader of the three took it upon himself to take control of the classroom. He greeted every one of his classmates at the door with the instructions, "Shh! Sister's sleeping." Charlotte, of course, was not sleeping but Billy couldn't tell because her veil hid her face. Amused and touched by his caring, she let him continue to manage the classroom for a few more minutes. When she lifted her head, he had every student working quietly at their desk. She saw a different side of him that day; he was her troublemaker with heart. From elementary grades she went on to teach high school English, Art, and Religion. She did this before receiving her Bachelors in Education from Duquesne University and her MFA from C.U. Her time as a high school teacher spanned forty-three years and three different high schools. Charlotte enjoyed the whole ministry of teaching, both the ups and downs, and having good school principals with which to work made the missions go smoothly. At age seventy, she retired from teaching but didn't abandon the classroom. She went back to school; this time she was the student. Entering a field that she knew nothing about but that she wisely perceived would be beneficial to the community, Charlotte studied cosmetology. After eight months she graduated and became a licensed cosmetologist. She remembers that it was quite an experience, mingling with young adults whose ideas were so different from her own. They were chiefly concerned with their social life and who was dating whom. Sister Charlotte listened to all their talk on these matters and when a feast day came along, she got her turn to share topics which interested her. Every feast day she 2 �would give the young people in her class a lecture on the occasion and why the feast day was celebrated. Working through such a foreign field of study with individuals whose interests were so different was worth it. Charlotte opened a small beauty parlor on the basement floor of Marian Hall. The Sisters were very grateful for what she did for them, especially the older Sisters who had difficulty getting around. She was always sure to remind them that she just knew the basics of hair styling and they should not expect miracles. In addition to hair styling, Charlotte spent time shopping at the area thrift stores. It was like a treasure hunt and sometimes like a mission, especially when Sisters requested she look for a particular object or piece of clothing. She was often able to find exactly what someone was looking for. After thirteen years, Charlotte retired from cosmetology. Today she continues to make Christmas carolers that she first crafted while teaching an art class in 1975 at Quigley High School. Some students wanted to make a gift to take home for Christmas so Charlotte designed the carolers out of bottles and foam balls which are then painted and decorated to look like Christmas carolers. She also decorates some as Pittsburgh Steelers fans cheering on their team. She gets many orders for her carolers every year and stays busy working on them. Charlotte enjoys working with many different mediums ranging from paint to silver to crocheting. Sister also crochets mats for the homeless out of recycled plastic grocery bags and cares for a beautiful young maple tree that she has raised from a sapling. While Sister Charlotte enjoyed the habit while the Sisters had it, she wasn't opposed to the gradual change from habit to a shorter, modified habit; to black suits; and finally to secular clothes. In the end she believes, "it's not what you look like, it's what you are". Charlotte feels blessed in many ways and owes Almighty God a heart-felt thank you for having chosen her out of so many others who she believes are holier and more qualified. Despite the changes in the lives of women religious over the years and the decrease in vocations, Sister has hope for the future. She feels that the work done by women religious in the past is gradually being done on a broader basis by lay people. No matter what, "God does not abandon us". Interviewed by Kelly McDaniels, Archivist 3 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Kelly McDaniels, SCNA Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Charlotte Gambol, SCN Location The location of the interview Pittsburgh, PA, USA Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Charlotte Gambol, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Gambol, Charlotte, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 6/1/2016 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-CarlotteGambol Sisters of Charity of Nazareth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/e515871b930ac059113a292876ffb868.jpg 33055efb910310c95dcfa1ba110198cc https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/f3cc7516c484063fb5b39f53cc107da8.pdf dce7ca48d900d5b275c3bfd9a5edf663 PDF Text Text Sister Eileen Marcinko March 30, 2017 Florence Marcinko was born on a cold wintry day, the second of February, 1928—the feast of the Purification-Candlemas Day—the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. Sister Eileen writes, “I was an answer to my mother’s prayers.” Florence, (Sister Eileen) was born on her mother’s thirty-fourth birthday. Florence was told that when her mother first held her, in her joy she offered her to God. God took her mother at her word and eighteen years later--- to her parent’s dismay, on the very same day, February second, 1946, she entered the novitiate of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity. Florence’s mother was Elizabeth Racho, born in1894, and her father was Paul Marcinko was born in 1893. Her mother’s birthplace was Hazleton, PA. Her father was born in Wilkes Barre, PA, was raised in Europe, and returned to this country in 1910. Her mother was Greek Catholic. Elizabeth had a first marriage at age sixteen and was a World War I widow at age eighteen. She had one son, Joe Dropcik. Elizabeth, herself, had family in the United States and came to this country in 1920. She was indentured to a priest. She was a professional housekeeper and worked for a Jewish family for two years. Florence’s father, likewise, had a first marriage, but his wife died after six years. Paul was left to care for his three children. A marriage was arranged between Elizabeth and Paul. (Today this is called a “blended” family with four children from two different sets of parents.) This beginning family was composed of Paul’s children, age four, six, eight and Elizabeth’s one, Joe, age eight. Paul and Elizabeth had three more children. The names of all are: Big Joe Dropchik, Helen, John, Joseph (Joey), Paul, Jr., Florence and Tim (Thomas) Marcinko. Sister Eileen grew up in a Catholic and Greek Catholic neighborhood in Munhall, Pennsylvania. She remembers her mother and the women of that neighborhood gathering to quilt and to share friendship and conversation 1 �among themselves. Her mother knew all the Jewish Holidays and what the traditions were. Elizabeth‘s life had certainly been enriched by exposure to different cultures. Her father was a rigger at US steel and cleaned the big chimneys. Sister Eileen said that they knew when the unions had represented the steel workers because her father came home cleaner. The union had negotiated the installation of showers for the workers. She and her mother still had to wash the dirty clothes her father wore, but her father did not have coal dust on his person. The laundry process started with soaking the clothes on Sunday night, Monday washing, Tuesday ironing. Wednesday patching and sewing, Thursday baking, Friday, clean the top of the house, and Saturday, the lower part of the house. Sister Eileen was introduced to the Vincentian Sisters in 1935. Her grade school, with eighth graders divided into boy and girl classes, was a very strict Catholic school. Sister Columba Mihalek, who later became Frances Louise, (Frannie Lou), was her wonderful eighth grade teacher. Sister Columba was not as strict as others and allowed the girls to wear knee socks and gave them more freedom in their dress. The eighth graders went to the Motherhouse for retreat and Florence was very impressed with the Academy girls. She decided that she wanted to go to the Academy. Her parents were opposed, but her big brother said,” Let her go.” He believed that she would not last very long and would come back home. Sister Eileen now remembers that being at the Academy was a hard adjustment. She was so homesick, but it did get easier. She began to enjoy the all girls’ school. In fact, it got so easy and attractive that she joined the VSC Community. She entered on her eighteenth birthday. The hardest thing she had to give up was her pretty clothes. She says, “wearing all that black” was so depressing. In her years as a Sister, she has gone through five changes of habit. She was grateful for the years of learning to sew, since Sisters made their habits and other clothing. After making vows in 1948, she taught elementary school for six years. During these years, she took classes from Duquesne University. She 2 �received her BA in Education in 1958; by 1967 she had her Masters in American History, also from Duquesne. During these years, she taught all elementary school grades and by 1968 she would begin teaching all high school grades. From 1963 to 1965, her ministry was in Montgomery, AL where she taught history, English, religion, social studies and was the liaison for the student council at St Jude’s High School (Catholic). St. Jude Educational Institute was a ​private​, R ​ oman Catholic​ high school in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. It was located in the ​Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile​, and was built as part of the ​City of St. Jude​ by Father Harold Purcell for the advancement of the Negro people. St. Jude was opened in 1946 and offered a full college preparatory program as well as basic skills and trade programs at night for adults. She was there during the famous Selma to Montgomery march to register voters in Alabama in 1965. The marchers stayed on the campus of the City of St Jude. The Vincentian Sisters allowed them to use the facilities and some of the marchers were treated at the their Hospital emergency room for injuries sustained during the 54 mile walk….walking for 12 hours a day and sleeping in fields along the way. The "Stars for Freedom" rally was held, featuring singers ​Harry Belafonte​, ​Peter, Paul and Mary​, and ​Tony Bennett​, and comedian ​Sammy Davis Jr.​ The campus was listed on the ​National Register of Historic Places​ in 1990, and is part of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, created in 1996. Sister Eileen wondered, “What did I know about segregation?” While attending a meeting of local student councils from St Jude’s, George Washington Carver, and Booker T Washington High Schools, she learned what is was to be a minority. Those in attendance, teachers, high school students, and high school staff were all African American, she was the only white attendee. All participants were very polite and she felt no discrimination from them. 3 �There was a one year stint as a Novice Director and then nine years as secondary school teacher. In 1969, she served as a Coordinator for the House in Johnstown, PA, and taught US history at Bishop McCort High School. She returned to teach at Vincentian Academy for six years. In 1984, she became Junior Directress and Vocation Director at the VSC Motherhouse for four years. Her first year as Coordinator in Johnstown was the first year that the Vincentian Sisters would have to take turns doing their own cooking. Before there were older sisters who would do the cooking for a house. Some Sisters knew how to cook, but Sister Eileen was not one of those. Learning to manage the cooking was a new experience and Sister Agatha Ferenchak helped with her new found chore. This new chore helped to turn Sister Eileen into a “gourmet cook.” Cooking for 10 Sisters was quite a challenge and making sure you did not waste any food or make meals unappetizing for the house was an even larger challenge. Each summer when returning to the Motherhouse campus, Sister Eileen would cook for the priests on campus for three weeks. She delighted in making meals for them and testing new recipes. Her motto has been, “cook simply and serve elegantly.” She still has a Redemptorist priest friend who remembers her good cooking and keeps in touch on holidays. Sister Eileen made the decision that it was time for no more secondary teaching for her. She served in St Lawrence Grade School in Monett, Missouri from 1988-1993. Altogether Sister Eileen served God’s people for forty years, twenty years in elementary school and twenty in high school. She had taught in all grades, one through twelve. Her next mission was to be a part of the formation team for five years. After that ministry she served for eighteen years as parish secretary and charity coordinator in Wauchula, Florida. Sister Eileen worked with the Redemptorist priests at St Michael’s, which was the only Catholic parish in the county. There were, however, two Spanish mission churches within the parish boundaries. At St. Michael’s she served with Sister Barbara Makar, pastoral minister, Sister Bernice Rechtorek, catechetical minister, and, and Sister Mildred Minosky. St Michael’s has a large congregation in the winter 4 �where there are twelve RV parks with the “snowbirds”, (persons coming just for the winter) swelling the resident parish attendance. . Sister Eileen reflects on her life missions, “As a child I went to St Michael’s School in Munhall, Pennsylvania, my first assignment was St Michael’s School in Braddock, PA and I feel I have come full circle: ending at St Michael Church in Wauchula, FL. It is with confidence and trust in the Lord that I rise to meet the challenges of each day.” Sister Eileen is also proud of her niece Eileen Marcinko, who as a Vincentian Academy freshman in 1966 and entered the Voice for America contest. She placed second in the State competition and won a full scholarship to University of Pittsburgh. Sister Eileen has retired to St Louise Convent….but still is active and interested in everything…… Sister Eileen will have been here at Lourdes Hall on May 12 for six years--she has read 115 books and pieced innumerable puzzles. She is currently reading a book on Woodrow Wilson--- 750 pages and loving it! ​(What else would a retired history teacher love to do?) Interviewed by Mary Gene Frank, SCNA Comments by the interviewer are in ​italics March 30, 2017 5 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Mary Gene Frank, SCNA Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Eileen Marcinko, SCN Location The location of the interview Pittsburgh, PA, USA Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eileen Marcinko, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Marcinko, Eileen, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 3/30/2017 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-EileenMarcinko Sisters of Charity of Nazareth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/e440cbea2ed322aceaec3944ba827260.jpg 22d705eec3c1a25aeb67609ae4dc1806 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/dfe894636ca7d20c030e19ceafe95ed6.pdf fd3f54bae62bf41d4fda0b485f3e093d PDF Text Text Sister Elaine McCarron, SCN September, 2015 (​This interviewer’s remarks/observations are in italics. Let me share with you the story of Sister Elaine McCarron. As I sat with this quiet , unassuming woman and learned her story I could only marvel at” What God has wrought “ in her life and her generous ministry for the Church.) Elaine was baptized Helen Elaine and had the SCN name Sister Michael Maria until January, 1968. Elaine ‘s father, James Joseph(Joe) came to Washington, D.C. from Farmersville, Illinois with his parents at age two. He was the oldest of eight children born to Elizabeth Jordan McCarron and John Francis McCarron. John came to D.C. in order to take a job in the U.S. Congress as a congressman’s secretary while also attending law school. Elaine’s father Joe followed the career path of his father and graduated from Georgetown University and Columbus Law School in Washington, D.C. Elaine’s maternal family (McNally) had migrated from Ireland to Canada, then to Chicago and finally to Washington, D.C. Jobs in the U.S. Government lured the McNally family and many others to Washington, D.C. Elaine’s mother, Mary McNally, was one of six children. The oldest, Viola, died at age six before the family moved to Washington. Next came three boys, George, Roland , and William , a soldier who served in combat in the Pacific during World War II. Elaine’s mother was next and the youngest was Vincent. All worked for the U.S. Government Elaine grew up in Washington with four siblings – Mary Dolores, Jimmy, Joan and Maureen. Even the briefest of conversations with Elaine lets you know the joy and closeness of her extended family. She remembers many happy family celebrations with grandparents, aunts, uncles, numerous cousins and neighbors. These are some of Elaine’s memories: 1 �” In those days my father would take us every Sunday to Maryland University. The ride was a treat and we had ice cream, too. Every Thursday during the summer my father would take us to a beach on the Chesapeake Bay to swim and picnic. My father was always able to wave in for free because he had won a court case for the grateful beach owner. We lived very close to Catholic University. Every year my parents would take us to services at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (now a Basilica) during the January week of Church Unity. We went to plays and to ball games, as well, at Catholic University.. My grandmother McNally took us on summer boat rides to Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s home and Marshall Hall, site of the home of Thomas Marshall, Revolutionary patriot. Every Sunday the McCarron children visited the catacombs, the gardens with beautiful flowers , Lourdes Shrine, the statues of the Franciscan monastery which was close by. After our visit there we would stop by some friends of my mother and grandmother for a visit. I am sure they had plenty to do but we were always graciously received. Some Sundays we would take the bus and visit historical sites in downtown Washington. Sometimes adults went with us but often we children went alone. Our sister, Mary Dolores, was designated the one in charge. We had to give an account of our visit when we returned home.” When Elaine was eight years old her father was killed in a tragic car/train collision.. Later a safety crossing was installed at the site but this was a terrible loss for a young mother with five children. Mary McCarron was fortunate to move in with her parents and to get a position with the General Accounting Office (GAO) through the kindness of a friend of Joe McCarron. In 1921 the GAO had been established to investigate and oversee the activities of the Government. One of its tasks was to take care of the President’s checks. Mary McCarron would tell her children sometimes “The President’s check came through today.” Mary always kept alive the memory of their father for her children. His law degree and other plaques hung on the wall in the dining room. She would say to them when something good happened in their lives, especially some personal achievement,” Your father would be so proud of you.” 2 �Elaine went to St. Anthony Elementary School for grades one through eight. She was taught by the Benedictine Sisters and holds them in high esteem. The school was just two blocks from her home and the McCarron children went home each day for lunch. For high school Elaine attended Notre Dame Academy in downtown Washington where eight McCarron girls – herself, her sisters, and four aunts –had been students. Looking back Elaine realizes the faculty, lay and religious, were excellent instructors .The curriculum included four years of Latin, three years of French, theater and music. Science and mathematics, although not Elaine’s favorite subjects, were also on the curriculum. The Notre Dame Sisters and the Jesuits staffed the entire complex which encompassed St. Aloysius Church and Grade School, Gonzaga High School, and Notre Dame Academy. After high school Elaine attended for one year Dumbarton College staffed by the Sisters of the Holy Cross . Then, in September of 1950, Elaine entered the Novitiate of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. (This thought came to me ,”How did this young woman come to know of the SCNs ?” ) Elaine explains,” I learned of the SCN Community from a priest when I told him I was thinking of entering the convent. He told me to visit the SCNs who staffed Georgetown Hospital and Nursing School , saying ‘They have a simplicity about them’.I did know that some of my classmates from Notre Dame Academy attended the Georgetown School of Nursing. This was helpful . I decided to enter the SCN Community after much discerning – go, do not go, back and forth, over and over. I told my mother, ” Just tell me to stay home and help you and I will.’ Her wise mother replied,’ You do what God wants you to do.’ Sister Moira Rose Marks, so kind and good, was my postulant director. There was a challenge for her and us in that she was sent to Bardstown to teach at St. Joseph’s plus her responsibility to guide us. She seemed to love her ministry with postulants and was probably a great teacher, as well.” For two years Sister Helen Frances Sheeran was the novice director for Elaine’s class. Basically very kind, Sister could come across as rather strict and severe. Above all, she wanted the novices to understand the rules and regulations of 3 �religious life. After she left her ministry in the Novitiate she kept up a very admirable work of continual correspondence with many in prison. After making first vows in March, 1953 , most of Elaine’s Novitiate class stayed at Nazareth for three months’ study, having such fine teachers as Sister Margaret Gertrude Murphy in SCN history and Marietta Grimes in Philosophy. Her first mission was a three year assignment to teach one of the first grades at St. Cecilia School in Louisville. The next mission was at Cathedral Grade School in Richmond, Virginia where she taught either first or second grade or a combination. This mission lasted eleven years and would be a highlight in Elaine’s remembrance of ministries. When asked “ Why so?” her answer was this.” Cathedral School was very interesting because of its diversity. There were poor children who had migrated from Appalachia, there were African American children, there were upper middle class children who had been bussed in from the suburbs” (What a challenge and a joy to show children of diverse backgrounds how to live and learn together!) She remembers ,”During this time, when Sister Mary Naomi Elder was principal and both of us taught at Cathedral, we were located near Monsignor Richard Burke, Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Richmond. He came to ask certain educational questions of us and to listen to our advice on various school matters. Both of us had the advantage of having been in the Louisville Archdiocese and profiting by having a school supervisor and knowing many excellent teachers .” In 1966 Elaine was assigned as principal and teacher at St. Mary’s School also in Richmond. Elaine was grateful that this mission was hers for at least a year. At the close of this year she received a call from Sister Helen Frances, now the SCN Regional Superior in the East, saying that Elaine was to go to the Richmond Diocesan Office of Education the following year. This mission of supervisor would be hers for the next eleven years. She had the responsibility of visiting classrooms, giving workshops for teachers, speaking at PTA meetings, etc. At the same time Elaine began study for a Masters of Science degree in Education at Fordham University in New York City. She achieved this in four summers. 4 �Elaine would go on to St. Michael’s College in Toronto, Canada,under the Toronto School of Theology, for a Master in Divinity which included three years of fulltime study. Elaine’s direction in ministry would change significantly. She became a Director of Religious Education in Virginia Beach, Virginia. After that, she made the first of several trips she would make to Belize; she was the Minister of Religious Education at St. Brigid’s in Richmond, Virginia for one year. In 1990 she was invited to be the Representative for Catechesis and Multicultural Concerns for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, D.C. . The invitation came from Sister Lourdes Sheehan, RSM, who was the Secretary of Education for the USCCB. She and Lourdes had been in ministry together in the Diocese of Richmond. Elaine served in this position for eight years (​I wish there were some way to include all the positions, the publications, the travel that Elaine had in her various Church/ parish ministries from 1990 onward. It would take many more pages. I shall content myself with naming just a few. The complete and impressive listing is available in the Archives,) ● At the request of the USCCB Office to Aid the Church in Eastern Europe Elaine taught catechesis to seminarians, school teachers , catechists in Riga, Latvia with Fordham University Professor Gloria Durka (1996)’ ● Elaine was Adjunct Professor in Catechesis , Toronto School of Theology for Summers - 1984,1986,1990,1994,1998. ● She attended a conference at the Vatican with 200 international attendees for the inaugural presentation of the ​General Directory for Catechesis,​ 1997. ● She was a speaker at National Catholic Education Association (NCEA), Convention, at National Conference of Catechetical Leadership (NCCL) Conference, at the Los Angeles Congress for Religious Education, at the Diocesan Religious Education Conference in Jackson, Mississippi, at the Diocesan Meeting of DREs in Charlotte, North Carolina as well as a number of other meetings and conferences. 5 �● She has written and published articles / chapters for books such as Gathering God’s​ P ​ eople: Signs of a Successful Parish, Beginning the Journey :From Infant​ ​Baptism to First Eucharist​, Winner of the Catholic Press Association Award in Book Category 1994, ​Evangelization​ ​and numerous others. She was the writer for ​Becoming Disciples, a​ K-8 curriculum for the Office of Religious Education for the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware. In 1998 Elaine became a member of a parish ministry team of three religious Sisters for the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware (inclusive of the Eastern Shore of Maryland). The mission of the team was religious education and training for six parishes. Elaine chose ministry at two parishes -Sacred Heart Parish in Chestertown, Maryland founded in 1705 and Mother of Sorrows Parish, a farming community, in Centreville, Maryland. In these two parishes she continued to share her experience and expertise while working on the Religious Education Curriculum (K-8), ​Becoming Disciples,​ for the Wilmington Diocese. (As I finish Elaine’s short bio I am thinking of how proud and grateful her family, her SCN Community and the broader Church can be of this talented, generous woman.) Maria V. Brocato, SCN September, 2015 6 �7 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Maria Vincent Brocato, SCN Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Elaine McCarron, SCN Location The location of the interview Nazareth, KY, USA Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Elaine McCarron, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource McCarron, Elaine, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 9/1/2015 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-ElaineMcCarron Sisters of Charity of Nazareth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/358e2399a44ebbb97536178a31fca847.jpg 85ae24ee12b2d16e319c9dfa112d5a32 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/1625221d1993e6e75ea4486a4c323dd9.pdf 669a463a32647c90bb8c38472f6298e9 PDF Text Text Sister Jean Kulangara I was born on the 2​nd​ of June, 1947 to my parents K.P. George Kulangara and Mary George Kulangara. My father was a merchant and my mother a housewife. I lost my mother at a young age. To some extent, I played the role of a mother to my younger siblings, especially my youngest brother, Sunny. We are seven children and I am the fourth in line. I have four brothers and two sisters. All of my siblings are married and well settled in life. Both my father and mother were very religious minded people. They encouraged us to go for daily Mass and weekly confession. I was very regular in religious activities in the church and in the school. Every evening, the family gathered together to say evening prayer which lasted one hour. Unlike any other children from my childhood, I had a special liking for prayer. Both my parents had devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. My mother convinced me of Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist. From my childhood, I wanted to be a religious and cherished that desire. In my childhood, I used to pray to Mother Mary to make me a Sister – a good Sister. Surprisingly, on the 1​st​ of January 1962, a priest I did not know told me that God was calling me to be a religious, and I should say “Yes” to Him. I felt that this priest was God’s angel to me. I was so excited and happy about this message because it was what I had been asking God and Mother Mary. June 1966, I left home for Mokama. Everything was totally new for me - the language, food, culture, weather, etc. None of these things mattered to me because my desire to be a missionary was great. I did miss home and my family members, but I was mostly concerned about learning English and Hindi. As I learned the language, I was happy because I could communicate with the people of Mokama. I made my first profession in 1970 and final vows in 1975. I was extremely happy on both occasions. My first mission was in Mahuadanr. I felt happy that I could teach well in the school. I was very active and used my talents to teach, dance, and sing. In the evenings, after a day of teaching, we went out to the villages to visit the people. I liked the simple life style of the village and mission. In Mahuadanr, Sisters Marianne Puthoor, Rosemarie Lakra, and I were asked to help out in the retreat for the students. I counselled a few students and conducted prayer services with them. I felt it was a rare privilege to share an experience of God with the students. From my teaching job, I was appointed as the principal of the school. I have been both teacher and principal in different schools and I feel that I have been successful in my career as a teacher and principal. Although I did not volunteer to go to Nepal, I was happy that I was chosen to go. Initially, I spent a few months learning Nepali. I learned the language fast because I like to talk to people and spend time with them. I worked as a social worker and taught Nepali, sewing, knitting, etc. Thus, many girls were helped to earn their livelihood. I was a pioneer in Dharan and continued similar work helping the poor women and girls. Later, I was the vice principal of the school. I enjoyed working in the school, though we 1 �had to face a lot of problems with Maoists in that area. God helped us, and we experienced God’s protection every moment of our life. Here I would like to say that I am an easygoing person and God has gifted me with a gentle and pleasant approach to people. When anything happens, I take a “let it be” attitude. So much so that people say, “Jean is cool as cucumber”! I did not go through any big crisis in my life except my mother’s death when I was fourteen years old. I love my SCN community. I was and am happy in my mission wherever I was and am. I was happy to be chosen to serve in another foreign country when I was sent to Belize. There I did pastoral ministry in the parish in Belize City. I worked as a counsellor in the school and parish. I helped the women to read and write and do some art work like making baskets. I prepared a group of boys and girls to write class X exam. Later, one of the boys who got a job working in USA, told one of the Sisters “It is because of Sister Jean I have reached here”. I was delighted to hear this and thanked God for using me to help people. For two years, I worked in Nazareth Hospital in Mokama as a counsellor and pastoral Sister. I consider these years especially blessed because I was able to give an experience of God to people by my gentle, loving listening. I hope and pray that God will use me to touch many more hearts and to be able to give and experience of God to more people by my gentle, loving presence and listening. I call myself a “Jack of all trades and master of none”. I have had a tangible experience of God, especially during my retreats. I felt Jesus was walking with me, or I was walking along with Him. I particularly like to recount one such experience in Ranchi. Toward the end of the retreat, some of us fasted for three days. The third day I spent a lot of time in prayer. It was midnight, and no one else was around. I was alone in the chapel. All of a sudden I began to pray in tongues, praising and thanking God without my being aware of it. I experienced God and was overjoyed and peaceful. I am happy that we care for both physically and mentally challenged, and work for the welfare of children and women. We must continue these ministries and take up providing homes for the aged and care for the poor and marginalized, as well. My wish for the SCNs would be that people see us as praying Sisters rather than professionals running good schools, hospitals, etc. People do not see us as simple, maybe because of our dress which is not simple in appearance. I wonder if people see us as religious. As I look back, these are few of my reflections on life and the SCNs: When I was small and even in my high school days, I thought religious life was to pray because I used to see Sisters praying a lot. Later, I realized that Jesus said to us “Love God and love one another”. For this I need to pray and be united with God. Jesus also said “Give the good news to all”. This means give Jesus to all, through my life and ministry. 2 �For me, religious life is a pleasant experience. I have enjoyed my life in the SCN community. It is where I have experienced a lot of joy and happiness, though I faced difficulties and problems in few places. Today, as I look back at my life, I can say I have forgiven all and feel assured of forgiveness from others. I worked in the capacity of coordinator, teacher, principal and administrator and I feel I have done my best. My motto in life was and is “To live and let others live”. For me, prayer and community life are very important and are two pillars of my religious life. If my life is built on these two pillars, my mission will prosper and my life will automatically be a Good News to all. My message to the young members is that we need to be a praying community to help us in community living – where love and care is experienced. This will automatically flow out to our mission, and our mission will flourish. Loved and strengthened in community, we move out to our mission to love and strengthen others. 3 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Unknown Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Jean Kulangara, SCN Location The location of the interview India Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jean Kulangara, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Kulangara, Jean, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 7/11/1905 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-JeanKulangara Sisters of Charity of Nazareth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/421a446f30cfff484a2209062dfe67da.jpg af328ce2244d49957f3e15fe0bf4a381 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/26bd8a2221ea7a2ac3d8245b844e08e9.pdf 3ff843e374f045185e57fd60dfba51c3 PDF Text Text My Life Story    I,  Chinnamma  was  born  on  February  20,  1944  to  Mathai  and  Mariam  Urumpil  in a small parish called Thodanal, Kottayam District, Kerala State.  We  were  eleven  children  in  our  family  -  seven  boys  and  four  girls.  My  parents  lost  two  sons  before  I  was  born.  In  chronological  order  they  are:  Mathai;  late  Annamma;  late  Chacko;  Sebastian;  late  Joseph;  late  Chacko,  CMI;  late  Devasia;  Thomas;  Chinnamma,  (Joel,  SCN);  Mary  (late  Sunanda,  SCN)  and  Philo.  In  1991,  Sister  Sunanda  died  unexpectedly  of  cerebral  malaria  while  serving  in  Sale,  Mahuadanr.  We  belonged  to  an  ordinary  peasant family.  My mother was only five years old when her parents passed  away.  She had also a three-year old sister and their grandmother managed  to  bring  them  up.  Sadly  my  father  was  put  out  of  his  home  by  his  elder  brother.  For a couple of years he worked as a daily wage labourer near my  mother’s  place.  Later he married my mother and settled in her home since  she  had  no  brothers.  My  father  was  simple  and  devoted  to  the  family  especially to my mother who being an orphan needed the extra affection and  care which my father provided.  My brothers and father worked very hard to  provide for us with basic minimum facilities.     Like most children, I had a carefree childhood and enjoyed playing outdoors  with my five brothers.  My brothers tried to discipline me but I wanted to be  equal  with  them.  I  played  freely  with  the  children  in  the  neighbourhood  regardless of their caste or religion.  As I grew older I took care of the goats  and helped on the farm.  My mother and sisters-in-law did all the household  work  and  I  did  not  have  to  help  them  out  in  any  way.  My  mother  was  sociable  and  a  friend  to  the  poor  and  she  was  popular  among  the  neighbours.  To me she was like a friend or an older sister.  Once I forgot to  take  my  tiffin  (midday  meal)  to  school  and  she  brought  it  to  me  walking  three kilometres.  A beggar used to come to our home once a month and my  parents treated him like a member of our own family.      One  of  the  outstanding  memories  of  my  childhood  is  my  First  Holy  Communion day.  The teacher asked me to get flowers from the neighbour’s  garden  to  make  the wreaths.  Also, since I was good in singing, I was given  the  privilege  of  leading  the  hymn just after receiving Communion.  Another  happy  memory  of  mine  is  that  of  spending  time  with  my  father  and  the  workers  in  the  field  planting  ginger  and  doing  other kinds of work.  Eating  with them in the open field was a picnic for me.  I also enjoyed playing in the  stream,  plucking  wild  flowers  and  reading  some  books  on  St.  Francis  of  Assisi.    ​Since  I  was  not  very  strong  physically,  I  also  wanted  to  prove  to  others that I could do anything like everybody else.      1 �I  had  my  primary  education  in  our  parish  school.  I  went  to  N.S.S.  (Nair  Service  Society)  Middle  School,  Poovarani  run  by  Nairs,  a  Hindu  group.  Though I was a Catholic the teachers liked and encouraged me.  I was good  in  my  mother  tongue,  Malayalam  and  sports.  I  had  many  friends  in  the  school.      For  Class  VIII  I  went  to  a  school  run  by  the  Adoration  Sisters  at  Kanjiramattom.  My father, however, wanted to stop me from further studies  after  my  passing  Class  VIII.  I  was  not  very  happy  about  it  because  my  father allowed my older brother to continue his studies even though he had  failed in Class VIII.  I was very angry with my father and refused to eat for a  whole  day.  But  that  did  not  work.  Two  weeks  later,  the  Sisters  sent  a  teacher  to  our  home  to  find  out  why  I  was  absent.  Though  they  tried  to  persuade  my  father  it  was  my  brother  Chacko’s  strong  argument  that  changed  his mind.  I was the first girl to pass matriculation examination in  1961.  The  same  brother  arranged  for  me  to  go  to  Mokama  for  nurses’  training  that  year.  I  was  the  first  girl  to  leave  our village for studies and I  was  overjoyed.  I  also  wanted  to  get  out  of  my  home  soon  because  I  was  afraid that they would marry me off at any time, as was the custom.      I  found  it  difficult  to  adjust  to  the  way  of  life  in  Bihar  especially  the  food  habits.  We  had  to  learn  two  new  languages  (English  and  Hindi)  simultaneously.  The  misery  of  the  people  around  Mokama  moved  me  to  tears.  As I ate my normal food in the hostel after my training, the thought of  people  who  were  starving  often  came  to  my  mind.  From  then  on  I  had  a  desire to work with the poor after my training.      My  call  to  religious life may have its beginning with the singing and square  dance practices that Mary Jude Howard, SCN, conducted for the nurses, the  candidates and novices.  I was happy about this opportunity to mingle with  the youngsters in SCN formation.  Seeing me in action, our nursing director,  Sister  Veronica  Maria  (Ora  Mae)  Brownfield  told  Sister  Marita  Ann  (Teresa  Rose) Nabholz, the candidate director, that I might have a religious vocation.  One day Sister Teresa Rose asked me if I was interested in joining the SCNs.  It was as though I was waiting for an invitation and I said, “Yes.”  One of my  brothers was very angry when he heard about it.      I  joined  the  candidacy  in  September  1962  while  I  continued  my  nursing  studies.  My companions were Maria Palathingal, Lucia Thuluvanickel (now  deceased) and Karuna Thottumarickal, also nursing students. As candidates  we used to go to the villages with the public health department.  Every time I  was  with  the  very  poor  people  I  felt  uncomfortable  as I had the privilege of  having everything I needed. My urge to work with them continued.    2 �  Teresa Xavier Ponnazhath, a trained teacher and Rosemarie Lakra, already a  trained staff nurse, joined our group.  Since we were older, our group had a  shorter  period  of  postulancy  than  others.  We  were  a  close  knit group and  have been together for the last fifty-six years.  It was a sad day for us when  Sister Lucia was called to eternal life on November 10, 2017.      Sister  Teresa  Rose was our director through the candidacy, postulancy and  novitiate.  Other  teachers  were  Sisters  Patricia  Mary  Kelley,  Rita  Puthenkalam,  Margaret  Rodericks  and  Mary  Celeste  (Gail)  Collins.  Sister  Josephine  Naduvilekunnel  who  later  discontinued  taught  us  Hindi.  Sister  Mary  Jude  took  us  for  singing  and  spoken  English.  We  were  twenty-four  postulants  and  novices,  at  one  time.  Sister  Teresa  Rose  encouraged  us  to  write  short  stories.  I  believe  one  of  my  stories  written  in  Malayalam  influenced one of our Sisters to join the SCNs.  Our formative years were the  happiest when we were moulded by experienced SCNs who were like potters  at their wheels.      During  our  novitiate  days  we  had  strict  discipline  of  keeping  silence,  responding  to  our  duties  by  the  ringing  of  a  bell,  common  recreation,  etc.  On  visiting  Sundays  we  were  allowed  to  mingle with the nurses and senior  Sisters  for  an  hour  or  so.  During  recreation  we  made  rosaries,  sorted  out  used  stamps  and  there  was  plenty  of  singing.  We  would  wait  for  the  day  when we were allowed to write letters to our family.  The six of us were also  given the duty of helping the new candidates and postulants to get adjusted  to  religious  life.  We  were  also  given  time  to  read  books,  practice  dramas,  dance,  debate,  etc.  I  liked  the  books  on  the  lives  of  saints  such  as  Br.  Martin  de  Porres,  St.  Therese  of  ​Lisieux​,  St.  Joseph,  the  Worker  and  whatever books were available on St. Francis of Assisi.      I  made  my  First  Vows  on  July  19,  1968.  I  was  ready  to  give  myself  completely  to  God,  to  go  to  the ends of the earth and serve the poor.  After  six  months  of  juniorate  training  in  Ranchi  I  was  sent  for  Public  Health  Nursing  at  Lady  Reading  School  of  Nursing,  Delhi.  My  companion  was  Bridget  Vadakeattam,  SCN.  This  study  again  re-enforced  my  attraction  to  work among the under privileged and oppressed.    My  first  assignment  was  to  be  one  of  the  pioneers  in  our  Bakhtiarpur  mission with Sisters Mary Frances Sauer and Lucia Thuluvanickel in 1971.  Although  I  had  completed  my  Public  Health  Nursing,  I  had  no  practical  experience but I was ready, enthusiastic to do anything.  I was put in charge  of the tuberculosis (TB) control/eradication program along with the Medical  Mission  Sisters (MMS) at Maner.  Those were hectic days with a lot of work  3 �to do.  Dealing with the flood victims was an annual feature of our ministry  but it was a very satisfying work.      Sister  Mary  Frances  was  the  administrator  of  our  health  centre  in  Bakhtiarpur.  She  was  my  mentor  and  a  loving  older  Sister  who  loved  the  poor.  At  times  we  found  her  impatient  but  she  always  made  sure  to  ask  pardon  from  anyone  who  may  have  been  offended  by  her.  Her  spirit  of  humility  was  an inspiration to all of us.  On Saturdays Rev. Father William  Goudreau,  SJ,  was  a  welcome  guest  for  prayer  and  supper.  We  shared  freely  about  our  ministry  together.  We  worked  together  as  people  in  one  mission with the sole purpose of helping the poor.  They guided me to lead  an exemplary missionary life.  Once we found a sick beggar woman with her  son  on  the  railway  platform.  Sister  Mary  Frances  and  I  carried her to our  clinic  and  ministered  to  her  for  four  days.  The  lady  was  very upset in the  beginning  but  as  the  time  came  closer  to  her  death  she  became  very  calm  and she died in our arms.  During the emergency, I became interested in the  work  of  the  social  activists.  I  was  allowed  to  travel  to  Chaibasa  alone  to  attend  their  (underground)  meetings.  There  were  both  lay  and  religious  people in the group.    At  the  end  of  the  five-year  TB  program.  I  myself  became  a  victim  of  the  sickness and was advised to take rest in Mokama.  After that I worked in the  Public  Health  Centre  there  for  two  years.  I  initiated  the  “Village  Health  Workers  Program”  in  and  around  Mokama.  In  expanding  the  clinic,  more  facilities  were  provided  at  a  low  cost  for  the  poor.  I  got  help  from  Sister  Xavier  Valiakunnackal,  SCN,  (deceased)  in  conducting  family  counselling  and singing for the village women.      My  pioneering  in  the  Nepal  mission  in  April  1979  was  another  important  chapter  in  my  life  and  a  faith  experience.  I  learnt  to  adjust  to  living  in  a  foreign country with a new group of people, their language, culture, extreme  weather  conditions,  etc.  I  understood  what  daring  and  risk  taking  meant  when  I  walked  for  three  days  at  a  stretch  and  spent  the  nights  at wayside  shelters.  I  did  not  feel  burdened  because  it  was  my  choice  to  visit  a  few  Christians  who  lived  on  the  mountains.  After  visiting  many  villages  away  from  Kathmandu,  we,  Anne  Marie  Thayilchirayil,  Jean  Kulangara  and  I  decided to work in a village in Godavari near St. Xavier’s School.      One day, Rev. Father Alan Starr visited us and he shared with us the plight  of the Christians scattered throughout the valley.  They were Catholics from  Darjeeling in India who had migrated to Nepal looking for jobs.  Since Nepal  was  a  Hindu  kingdom  at  that  time  they  were  afraid  that  they  would  lose  their  jobs  if  the  government  came  to  know  about  their  religion.  They  4 �hesitated  to  attend any Church services conducted by the Jesuit priests on  Saturdays which is a holiday in Nepal.  And yet, a few came quietly for Mass  to  a small, narrow hall at St. Xavier’s which was used as a church.  Father  Alan  mentioned  that  there  was  no  one  to  visit  them,  pray  with  them  or  to  take care of their spiritual needs.  While listening to him I felt a deep urge in  me  to  look  for  those  scattered  Catholics.  The  next  day  I  talked  with  the  Maryknoll  Fathers  who  were  ready  to  employ  me  as a nurse.  They had no  problem about my choice to work in the parish.  To begin my work, I would  daily commute to Kathmandu by bus.  Seeing my plight of daily travel to the  city,  the  I.B.M.V.  Sisters  gave  me  a  room  in  their  convent  in  Jawalakhel  where I could spend the weekends with the Catholic families.      Searching  for  the  scattered  Catholics  in  the  Valley  was  a  real  challenge.  I  went  with a woman companion to help me to find their houses.  At the end  of two years, we were able to organise our Catholics into a faith community  and we began to have Mass at different centres.  The Maryknoll Fathers had  helped  me  to  introduce  the  concept  of  basic  Christian  community  among  our  people.  I  taught  regular  catechism  classes  for  the  students  of  St.  Xavier’s  School  and  a  few  parish  children.  I  can  proudly  say  that  the  pastoral ministry in Kathmandu was begun by the SCNs with the support of  Father  Alan.  After  four  years  of  ministry  in  Kathmandu  Valley,  Father  Casper  Miller, SJ, who was appointed as the episcopal vicar of Nepal asked  us if we were ready to leave the Valley to look after the spiritual needs of the  Tribal Catholics in East Nepal.  They had migrated from India to work in the  vast tea gardens there.      In  February  1983,  with  SCNs  Francine  Moozhil,  (deceased)  and  Rosemarie  Lakra, I moved to Damak village situated six miles away from the bus stand  in the town.  I did socio-medical work among the people of tea gardens and  in  our  village  for  four  years.  Sister  Francine  stayed  home  with  me  and  helped  me  with  knitting  classes  for  the  women  and  medical  work.  There  were also Santhal Tribals in East Nepal and since Sister Francine knew their  language  she  chose  to  work  among  them.  Sister  Rosemarie  opted  to  visit  the  tea  gardens  on  foot,  for  the  most  part,  to  take  care  of  the  people’s  spiritual needs.     While  working  with  the  Santhals,  Sisters  Anne  Marie  and  Francine  invited  Gracy Thombrakudy, SCN, from India to give a retreat to the people.  Sister  Gracy asked Father Thomas Vettickal to accompany her.  During the retreat  a  group  of  Nepali  policemen  arrested  the  two  of  them  along  with  the  catechist  and  Sister  Francine,  accusing  them of proselytization.  They were  hand-cuffed  and  made  to  walk  all  the  way to Biratnagar in the hot sun for  5 �two  hours.  Their  imprisonment  was  a  real  blow  to  all  of  us  and  going  to  meet them in the prison was a harrowing experience.     While in Nepal, I had a fifteen day renewal program at Godavari Ashram, in  Kathmandu  guided  by  Rev.  Father  Pius  Thekemurry  ​and  Dr.  Vinayan  (a  Hindu  activist)  in  1985.  The  retreat  was  based  on  socio-political  analysis  with reference to the gospel of Luke.     In  1986 I joined the Bihar ​Dalit Vikas Samiti (B.D.V.S.) in Barh with Sheela  Palamoottil,  SCN.  Here  I  learned  to  work  with  a  lay  person  who  was  my  boss.  After  about  two  years  of  work  there  I  felt  the  need  to  be  more  systematic in my approach to social work and so I went to the Indian Social  Institute  (ISI)  in  Bangalore  for  a  three-month  course  on  socio-political  analysis.  This  course  changed  my  life  and  gave  me  a  new  vision  and  perspective  as  a  religious/follower  of  Jesus.  I  wanted  to  bring  about  a  radical  change  in  the  existing  system  of  exploiting  the  poor  and  the  marginalized in our society.  At ISI I was also able to explore the true nature  of God as an inner source of power in my life and all of creation.      In  1988,  with  the  blessing  from  my  provincial,  Shalini  D’Souza,  SCN,  I  joined  Sister  Marie  Tobin,  MMS,  and  a  group  of  lay  people  led  by  Sri (Mr.)  Vinay  Senger  at  Hunterganj  block,  Chatra.  A  Dalit  family  shared  their  limited  space  in  their  village  house  in  Khutikewal  with  Sister  Marie  Tobin  and me.  Since Hunterganj was an entirely non-Christian village I decided to  change  my  name  to  Jyoti  Behen, (sister of light) as Marie Tobin and others  had  done.  We  became  one  with  the  people  even  though  they  were  prejudiced against Christians in the beginning.      My  experience  of  working  in  the  liberation  movement  in  Bihar  in  the  seventies and eighties with Philip Manthara, Rob Currie, Stan Lourdswamy,  all  Jesuits,  had  helped me in my choice in moving to Hunterganj.  ​In those  days  the  SCNs  were  already  involved  in  working  with  the  deprived  in  the  villages  thus  it  was  not  difficult  for  me  to  get  permission  to  live  and  work  with a lay group.  Sister Marie Tobin was a blessing for me as she supported  me whole-heartedly until she left for a leadership position in her community.      My  father  who  was  in  his  eighties  passed  away  in  August  1990.  He  was  bedridden  for  nine  months.  Before  he died he told my brother, “Take good  care  of  your  mother”.  At  his  funeral,  our  parish  priest  narrated  how  my  father accepted everything as good without a word of complaint.  Even if the  food was too pungent or bland, he would always remark, “O, how tasty it is!”  I remember him telling us, “Be what you are, and do not try to imitate your  rich  friends.  Everyone  knows  you  belong  to Urumpil family.”  He was very  6 �much  appreciated  in  our  area.  After  his  death  a  rolling  trophy  was  instituted in his honour to promote sports.  My mother also passed away on  September 20, 1993 in her 80s.  She was also bedridden like my father and  could  not  speak  or  eat  by  herself  in  the  days  leading  up to her death.  My  sisters-in-law were heroic in serving our mother!  I could not attend either of  my parents’ funerals because I was living in the interior villages in Chatra.      The  twenty-nine  years  I spent in Hunterganj were hectic, risky, challenging  and yet fulfilling.  Feelings of isolation from the community were part of it all  and I learned to depend upon the generosity of the people in every way.  The  Bhuia  community,  the  lowest  rung  of  the  social  ladder  in  particular,  were  enabled  to  find  their  rightful  place  in  the  society.  For  the  first  time,  the  women were organized and girls’ education was promoted.  Before this time  the  women  were  not  treated  with  dignity.  Quarrels  in  the  family  were  common and they were not allowed to attend any kind of meetings.  I joined  in  their  struggle  against  the  landlords.  The  landlords  around  the  area  had  captured the unused government land and the landless people now became  aware  that  they  could  recapture  it.  It  was  possible  for  them  to  do  so  because  all  of  us  supported  them  from  behind  the  scenes.  In  spite  of  the  murder  of  four  of our leaders, the people stood together and fought against  the landlords.  They captured around 2500 acres of land from the landlords  and  then  the men went underground to escape from the landlords, Maoists  and  the  police.  The women and old people were left behind to work on the  land.  I  needed  a  local  woman  to  work  with  me  but  no  one  was  willing  to  take up such a job at that time.       After  we  became  a  well-organised  group,  we  named  our  ​voluntary  organization  as  ‘​Chetna Bharti  (awakening  women)  and  got  it  registered  in  1993.  ​We  felt  the  registration  was  essential  for  our  survival  because  the  government had termed us as terrorists and for the Maoists we were agents  of the police.      As  the  land  was  distributed among the people, a piece of land was used by  us and we put up a mud house and named it as Khutikewal Ashram.  Life at  the  ashram  was  not  all  that  easy  for  me  as  I  was  the  only  woman  in  the  team  and  the  people  were  still  patriarchal  in  their thinking.  At times I felt  side-lined  as  a  woman.  I knew that I had to leave my feeling aside and set  up my priorities if I wanted to live and work with the people.  Being reflective  by  nature  I  depended on the Bible and the life of Jesus to give me strength  and  light.  This  spiritual  experience  enabled  me  in  my  analysis  of  the  suffering  people.  I saw all religions merging into one reality in our struggle  to  change  the  oppressive  world  order.  Also I found more meaning in living  out my religious life in the context of the people with whom I was working.   7 �   In the history of SCN ministry the initiative that I took in Hunterganj was a  first  of  its  kind.  Initially  I  was  reluctant  to  share  about  my  work  with the  Sisters  in  the  community  at  large.  I  felt  that  they  would  not  fully  understand my radical involvement with the people.  At times I had felt that  I was all alone and even thought of leaving the community.  I talked to Sister  Teresa  Rose  about  it  before  I  approached  the  provincial.  Sister  Teresa  helped  me  to  change  my  decision.  Gradually  the  leadership  in  the  community  accepted  my  choice  of  ministry  and  began  to  send novices and  some  junior  Sisters  for  short  periods  of  exposure  programs.  Other  SCNs  Joyce  Kalapurayil  ​who  later  discontinued  and  Gracy  Thombrakudy  had  joined me for short periods.      Another  section  of  the  society  which  drew  my  attention  was  the  girls  who  were  left  behind  in homes to fend for themselves while the parents worked.  The  society  and  their  families  considered  their  existence  as  a  burden  and  parents  were  glad  to  get  rid  of  them  as  early  as  possible,  dead  or  alive.  Seeing  their  pathetic  condition  I  began  to  collect  these  children  and  adolescent  girls  and bring them to Chatra, often against the wishes of their  parents.  Thus  our  organization  became  the  first  in  Chatra  district  to  give  priority to the education of Bhuia girls.     An unexpected gift I got from God recently was in the person of Sister Anna  Joseph,  a  member  of  the  Society  of  St.  Joseph  of  Cluny  who  joined  us  in  June  2016.  She knew no Hindi as she had worked for twenty-two years in  North  Karnataka  and  Tamil  Nadu  with  various  groups.  This  was  her  first  exposure  to  life  in  North  India.  She  wanted  to  have  a  new  experience  of  living  with  a  mixed  group  of  both secular and religious.  Having Anna with  us is a blessing for our group.     After living and working in Chatra district for close to three decades, I see a  world  of  positive  change  in  the  women,  girl  children,  adolescents  and  the  Bhuia community, in general.  Systemic change has occurred in small ways,  thanks  to  the  women  who  played  a  major  role  in  their  development.  They  have  formed,  ​Mahila Mukti Sangharsh Samiti  an  organization  for  women’s  emancipation.     Living  in  the  villages  with  the  people  I  have  learned  the  meaning  of  my  commitment;  experienced  its  joys  and  sorrows  and  how  women  can  be  empowered.  When I joined the men at the cremation ground to pay my last  respects  to  our  slain  leader,  I  had  defied  the  local  custom  of  women  not  being  allowed  to  be  present  at  a  funeral  pyre.  I  also  experienced  what  it  means  to  be  detained  in  a  dingy  police lock up almost the whole night.  At  8 �another  time,  I  was  surrounded  by  over  thirty  Maoists  with  their  ammunitions in a remote forest village.  In all of the above I have answered  the call of Jesus to the best of my ability.      My attendance at various seminars on national and international levels has  helped  me  immensely  to  empower  myself to continue the good work that is  being accomplished among the impoverished and neglected people.    My  hope  for  the  future  is  that those of us who are working on the margins  be  fully  supported  by  our  fellow  religious  in  institutional  ministry  and  the  Church,  as  a  whole.  Since  they  have  the  means and contacts to influence  the  society  in  general  it  is  good  for  all  of  us  to  work  hand-in-hand to save  our people from oppression and exploitation.       Incidents that have led me closer to God    As a young Sister missioned in Bakhtiarpur, Sister Mary Frances sent a new  candidate  with  me  to  the  Block  Development  Office  (BDO)  to  find  out if he  needed any help with the flood relief work.  He said, “Yes,” and, as a team of  doctors  from  Patna Medical College Hospital was ready to get into the boat,  he  invited  us  to  join  them.  I  told  him  that  I  would  have  to  inform  my  superior  about  it.  He  assured  me  that  he  would  do  so.  My  next  problem  was that we had no food or clothing for an over-night stay.  The official told  us  not  to  worry  about  it  because  the  people  were  there  to  provide  us  with  whatever  we  needed.  We  went  with  them  and  were  able  to  return  to  Bakhtiarpur  only  after  five  days.  We  were  somewhat  frightened  when  we  came to know that the BDO had not informed Sister Mary Frances about us.  To our surprise, she welcomed us back happily.      In  the  midst  of  our  struggle  to acquire land for the poor in Hunterganj two  policemen came to our Ashram to arrest the activist leader.  We had already  helped  him  to  escape  from  the  scene.  After  about  half  an  hour,  fifteen  to  twenty  policemen  led  by  their  officer  in  charge  came  to the village.  I knew  that  they  would  come  and  I  was  wondering  how  I  would  answer  their  questions.  The officer told me that I was hiding a culprit.  In response I told  him  that  I  was  only  protecting  an  innocent  man.  I  know  it’s  your  duty  to  catch the culprit and mine is to save the innocent.  Humbly, I told him that I  was  only doing my ​dharma (duty) and if he found me guilty he could arrest  me.  The officer looked at me for a while, turned to the rest of the police and  ordered  them  to  retreat.  I  remembered  the  words  in the Bible, ​"I have put  My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand,  to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, 'You are My  people.”​ ​(Is. 51.16).  9 �    The insights I have gained   Jesus has gifted all of us with life and He wants us to become perfect as the  heavenly God is perfect.  This process of becoming God-like is accomplished  by  little  steps  each  day.  I  carry  with  me  all  persons,  events  and  natural  forces in this becoming process.  My role is not to make anybody better or to  tell other people what they should be doing.  I need to keep my goal renewed  constantly like the breath I take.  I need not plan for my death just as I had  nothing  to  do  with  my  birth.  My  life  is  part  of  the  on-going  process  of  creation and renewal of life on this planet.     The  sudden  deaths  of  both  my  brother,  Chacko,  CMI and sister, Sunanda,  SCN, were very difficult for me to accept.  In the case of Sunanda it took me  two  years  to  overcome  my  sorrow.  My CMI religious Brother who had kept  good  health  all  along,  died  suddenly in 2015, at the age of 80.  ​He ​was the  one  who  saw  to  my  education,  helped  me  to  come  to  North  India  and who  always  accompanied  me  whenever  I  went  home.  To  this  day  I  feel  his  absence.       The biggest challenge I see at present in the community/church    Tension  between  the  institutional  works  versus  the  social  activists’  world view   Growing corruption in our country and the world, at large    Our inadequate planning in meeting the needs of the  exploited/marginalized  Greediness and consumerism of the people especially the well-to-do   How  to form the young especially the religious to become more aware  of the people at the periphery     Experiences of prayer that have helped me over the years   Routine  family  prayer,  daily  Mass  and  other  rituals  during  my  growing  up  years  were  a  great  source  of  grace  for  me.  While  living  in  community  I  enjoyed  group  prayer.  I  have  experienced  God  deep  within  me,  in  nature  and  its  beauty  and  in  the  struggles  and  suffering  of  people.  As  an  older  religious  I  have  begun  to  enjoy  contemplative  prayer,  experiencing  God  as  presence  in  the depth of my being.  Some of the most powerful moments of  prayer/God  experience  for  me  were  at  times  of  loneliness,  suffering  and  living among the exploited people.    Most significant events in the community   10 �I was trusted and given the privilege of working in a non-structured ministry  among  secular  people.  I  was  listened  to  by  the  community  whenever  I  raised issues at meetings and often decisions were made accordingly.  What makes me feel proud to be an SCN  The  community  has  provided  me  with  needed  opportunities  to  change  myself  into  a  wholesome  person  reaching  out  to  the  needy  at  all  times.  SCNs  have  enabled  me  to  follow  my  dream  to  live  like  Jesus  among  the  oppressed and dispossessed.     My dreams & hopes for the Congregation.  One of my dreams is that we have an intentional community living including  SCNs,  members  of  other  Congregations,  lay  people  and  others  who  have  similar  vision like ours and contribute to the building up of the God’s reign  in  our  world.  My hope for the future is that we  ​live a more disciplined and  balanced life which will lead us to contemplation in action.     My  religious  life  enables  me  to  live  my  life  fully  as  a  woman  with freedom,  dignity  and  caring  love  which  perhaps  I  would  not  have  had  out  in  the  world.  I  have  been  a  mother,  sister,  companion  and  mentor  to  countless  persons.  The  freedom  I  experienced  from  the  community  to  live  with  the  oppressed/marginalized has made me happy.      In  conclusion  I  would  like  to  share  my understanding of what my personal  call is.  When I am happy and enthusiastic about my ministry I know that I  am  following  God’s  call.  What seems impossible at times becomes possible  with God’s grace.  In the process of living this call I forget all the sufferings I  have endured and whatever I had to give up in life in order to become what  God  wants  me  to  be.  I  can  truly  say  that with God’s grace, the support of  the  SCN  community  and  the  goodwill  of  the  people  that  I  am  ministering  with, I am being liberated from the many shackles of life.  I wait for the day  when my joy shall be complete.    Joel Urumpil, SCN (Jyoti Behen)    Written on 23. 3. 2018   Edited on April 17, 2018  Consent given orally to publish the story on April 17, 2018     11 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Joel Urumpil, SCN (Self-Interview) Location The location of the interview India Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joel Urumpil, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Urumpil, Joel, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 4/17/2018 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-JoelUrumpil Sisters of Charity of Nazareth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/15dd1b8dbeb950134b17817cee8db0be.jpg 336daaa46bc4c5f1a35ce7339d255656 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/2871295f715684981ecbbfd8b2da1a61.pdf d4137833f2cc21e137680bc89ca6d4ea PDF Text Text Interview of Sister Mary Elizabeth Middendorf Final copy October 2018 by Sharon Cecil, SCNA Mary Elizabeth Middendorf was born on July 30, 1926 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Clement Joseph and Hedwig Elizabeth Olding Middendorf. Whenever a child was born in the Middendorf family; Mary’s grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Olding, for whom Mary was named came and helped with the family . Mary’s brother, Ronald, was not happy when Mary was born. He told his grandmother to get that girl out of here. He did not want to share his parents. Eventually, Mary’s family grew by two sisters, Ruth Elaine and Martha Louise, and another brother, Thomas. Mary grew up in Cincinnati during the 1930 Depression. Her father who worked at a furniture company lost his job when the company closed due to the Depression. Her father went bankrupt and he began working odd jobs in order to provide for his family; he did this for three years. By 1937 her father had lost everything. He then found a janitorial job with the public school system. In 1937 Mary’s mother decided to go to work to help with the family finances. She did house work in various homes. At this time Mary was the oldest at home because her older brother had gone to the seminary. Therefore, Mary had the responsibility of caring for her siblings. She was about ten years old and accepted the challenge willingly. Growing up in Cincinnati, Mary was an avid Cincinnati Reds (baseball team) fan. Actually, she never went to a game but listened to the games on the radio. Mary and her siblings developed “home shows” of singing and dancing to entertain their family. Also, the neighborhood children gathered and performed shows for their mothers for a nickel. Mary gave the money that was collected to her mother. She bought 1 �the children some candy which was a real treat because they seldom had candy. The streets were the playground for Mary, her siblings and neighbors. Some of the games they played were red rover, hide and seek, baseball, jump rope and tag. The games were lots of fun and enjoyed by all. Mary went to Resurrection School for grades one through six and Holy Family School for grades seven through eight. The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati taught in both schools. When Mary went to register at Seton High School she did not know that money for books was required but she did not have any. She did not ask her mother for it because she knew she did not have it. Her mother told her if she had asked her for the money she would have found it for her. In the fall Mary went to Commercial High School, one of five technical schools in the public system. The classes were business oriented but Mary also took a Basic English class. She graduated after two years. While in high school Mary’s neighbor, Myrtle Doll, made clothes for her younger sister, Martha. She taught Mary how to cut and follow a pattern. This proved beneficial later in life. Mary was from a family of musicians. Her father played the violin and she had two aunts who played the piano and an uncle who played the clarinet. “ When I told my mother I was thinking about piano lessons, she suggested the Franciscan Sisters because she was taught music by them and thought they were good teachers. I had graduated from Commercial High School and was working full time at Trumble Electric so my lessons were after supper. After about three or four lessons Sister said to me, ‘I think I will keep you here.’ On the way home I thought about what Sister said and came to the conclusion that no one was going to make a nun out of me. I called Sister the next week and 2 �told her I was not going to continue the lessons anymore and gave some excuse.” In 1942 Mary was hired at Trumble Electric Company that was making war materials. Mary worked in the payroll office and had to prepare the factory workers’ payroll cards which had to be key punched with each workers’ number. Then the cards were sorted and the hours each worker worked were added. Mary found this very tedious and time consuming. During WWII Mary also worked as an Air Raid Warden for her street. In 1944, Mary’s friend and co-worker, Maxine, decided to enter nurse’s training. Mary thought she would like to do this too, but when she applied she was not accepted because she did not have basic high school courses. Again, Mary was denied an educational opportunity. But this did not deter Mary; she started night classes taking Chemistry and History. She continued to work and volunteer at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati. Mary believed that this set the path for her career in nursing. In January of 1945, Saint Elizabeth Hospital in Covington, Kentucky was looking for young women to enter into the Cadet Nurse Training Program. Mary thought she would not be accepted because she did not have a traditional high school diploma. She was told that would not be a problem. She was accepted into the Cadet Training Program. The government paid for classes, uniforms and gave the cadets a stipend. This was a three year program but the last six months were to be completed working at various locations. The program ended and Mary was not obligated to go to a workplace. 3 �When Mary was a student nurse, a patient, Father George Donnelly deceased, from Saint Patrick’s in Covington, Kentucky asked Mary, “Why are you not at Nazareth?” She replied. “What is Nazareth?” Father George told her about Nazareth. Later, she met some Sisters of Charity of Nazareth when they came to see Father George. “In May of 1947 while working on the floor; I had some time off in the afternoon and on the spur of the moment I went to Father Donnelly and told him I wanted to go to Nazareth in September or I wasn’t going at all.” Father George sent her message to Mother Ann Sebastian Sullivan. He received a response telling Mary to come. Sister Mary shared, “Today the thought came to me, ‘You have not chosen Me but I have chosen You.’” Mary did not inform her family or friends she was going to the convent until she received the acceptance letter from Mother Ann Sebastian. She gave the letter to her parents. Both parents responded, “Do whatever you want.” Her friends did not say much. Mary’s parents did not drive so when it was time to go to Nazareth, Mary caught the streetcar to the bus station in Cincinnati. She rode a Greyhound bus to Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. She met a group of young women who were going to Nazareth. A driver from the hospital drove five of them to Nazareth. Mary entered the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth on September 24, 1947. She received the habit on March 25, 1948, and was given the religious name, George Maria. Father George had told Mother Ann Sebastin he wanted that name for Mary as he had led Mary to the community. Later, Mary returned to her baptismal name when it was allowed. 4 �The novitiate years were not difficult for Sister Mary. She attributed this to her being older and that she had completed two and a half years of nurse’s training. She was used to structure and went with the flow. In March of 1950 Sister Mary completed the novitiate. Sister Mary made first vows on March 25, 1950 and final vows on July 19, 1953. Sister Mary’s first mission was at Saint Joseph Infirmary in Louisville, Kentucky as a senior student nurse. Sister Mary had to have work outside of her classes. She worked at a clinic for the Louisville Health Department. She gave immunizations and physicals for children and made follow-up visits with them at home to make sure they did not have any reactions. She was responsible for the health care needs of her patients. After she graduated she had to take the State Boards and she passed. Then she received her Registered Nurse Certification. She continued to work on the floor at St. Joseph until October, 1951, when she was transferred to Marymount Hospital in London, Kentucky. She was nurse supervisor there until August of 1953. One morning at breakfast her superior informed her that she was to go to Saint Andrew School, and teach grades one through four. Sister Mary said, “I knew as much about teaching as a drop in the bucket!” She also had to prepare lunch for the students. Sister Mary had worked in the emergency room until after midnight. She felt that she was not fit to teach the children, but she did as she was directed. In a few days a Sister was sent to teach so Sister Mary happily returned to her nursing duties. Sister Mary was missioned at various places for only a year each; which at times she found challenging. Eventually, in August of 1953, Sister Mary transferred to Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee until 5 �November of 1954. She was night duty nurse supervisor. The doctor occasionally ordered a mixed prescription; and she had to call the pharmacist, and he directed her how to mix the medicine. In the beginning Sister Mary found this a bit of a challenge. In November of 1954, Sister Mary was moved to Saint Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she ministered for almost seven years. When Sister Mary arrived at the old Saint Vincent Infirmary, she was only there about three days before she moved to the new hospital. It was chaotic because the move occurred while they kept the hospital operating. The Sisters’ residence in the hospital was not ready. They were given patient beds temporarily but were moved about because their rooms were needed for patients. When the Sisters’ rooms were finished they were allowed to settle into their new home. Saints Mary and Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville was where Sister Mary was assigned in August of 1961. She worked as a nurse on the floor and also went to school. Although Sister Mary was certified as an RN she did not have a college degree. She began taking classes in 1961, at Catherine Spalding College in Louisville. A requirement for the class was to work in a health facility. Sister Robert Ann Cash would not allow Sister Mary to be a visiting nurse because Sisters were not to mix with the laity. Therefore, she worked in the Louisville Public Health Department. She gave immunizations, examined the babies and made home visits. In May of 1964 a Bachelor of Science in Nursing was conferred upon Sister Mary at the graduation ceremony. “In 1964 a superior came to me while I was at Spalding and said they wanted me to go to Catholic University and get a degree in Public Health Nursing as they needed someone to teach Public Health Nursing in the collegiate program. My response was, ‘You’re kidding, I don’t 6 �want to teach.’ I don’t like teaching. I finally gave in.” Sister Mary moved to Washington D.C. in August of 1964 where she pursued a Master in Public Health Nursing at Catholic University. She completed her required work and received her degree in August of 1966. Sister Mary received grants that paid for her education. In August of 1966 Sister Mary began teaching in the collegiate nurses training program at Catherine Spalding College. She taught a Public Health Nurse course and had speakers do presentations for the class. She told the students that their exam would be from information presented by the speakers. The students did not pay attention to speakers therefore they all failed the class. Sister Agnes Miriam Payne required Sister Mary to create another exam so the students would pass. Reluctantly, Sister Mary did as she was directed. In the end the students passed the class. She taught there f​ or ​two years. Then she returned to Saint Vincent Infirmary for a year before she returned to Saint Joseph Infirmary in August of 1968. She remained there until it was announced that St Joseph Infirmary was closing in 1970. Sister Mary started searching for what she was going to do next. It did not take long before Sister Mary embarked on another nursing ministry. She began working for Project H.O.P.E which was Health Opportunities for People Everywhere. Sister Mary and Sister Agnes Regina Siracusa began this ministry in September, 1970 on the Navajo Reservation in Ganado, Arizona. She was in charge of a clinic under the direction of a doctor thirty five miles away. She gave medications prescribed by the doctor to patients, gave physicals and referred people to the hospital if needed. Sister Mary had a good working 7 �relationship with the doctor at the hospital whom she called if she needed assistance. Sister Mary’s assistant, Rosita Curley, helped her learn the customs of the Navajo life on the reservation. One Navajo grandmother came daily for a cup of coffee. She was happy that Sister Mary called her “Granma.” Sister Mary and Sister Agnes Regina left the reservation in December of 1971 and returned to Louisville. Sister Mary was not still for long before she and Sister Agnes Regina set sail with Project H.O.P.E. in January 1972 and headed to Brazil. She departed on the SS HOPE, a hospital ship, from a port in Baltimore, Maryland. Once they boarded the ship, they were given life jackets and instructions on how to wear them. Also, they were given information about the ship. It took seven days to reach Brazil. Sister Mary recalled that on the way several of them got sea sick. After a few days of not eating; they were given anti-nausea pills each morning before breakfast. The pills solved the problem. Sister Mary did not have all leisure time on the ship. The group cleaned and painted the ship while on the trip. They also had classes in Portuguese and instructions on Brazilian culture. There was an initiation when they crossed the equator that was called “Captain Neptune”. They painted their faces and participated in various games to celebrate the crossing. A card was given to them so whenever they crossed the equator again, they would not have to be initiated. When the SS HOPE arrived at the Rio Grande de Norte, the mouth of the Potenji River, the natives had to dig out a channel of the river for the ship to fit. The ship docked at Natal, Brazil. Over two thousand people welcomed the ship. 8 �On the first day they were taken to see the hospital in Natal. There were no sheets on the beds and no panes in the windows, curtains covered the openings. They also went to a leprosarium and talked with a patient. They saw a man whose fingers were half gone due to leprosy. There were Sisters from five different religious communities working on the ship. The first night they arrived one of the doctors took them all to a restaurant for the evening meal. The Sisters discovered that purses were not allowed on the floor so they had to put them on chairs. At different times groups would go on excursions, one was to see the Amazon River. Sister Mary’s office was on the ship and Sister Agnes Regina worked in the operating room on the ship. They also lived on the ship and would share meals with the workers. A native driver and an interpreter drove Sister Mary to the interior of Natal, Brazil. She observed that the people lived in huts and all the cooking was done outside. The people slept in hammocks. Sister Mary visited, checked and addressed the patients’ health needs. If they had been in the hospital Sister Mary would check their vitals and medications. She taught them how to care for themselves. Occasionally, the priest went with Sister Mary on her visits. One morning at 10:00 A.M. when visiting a family, Sister Mary was offered a beer. She told Father that she did not like beer. He told her she had better drink it; because if she did not their feelings would be hurt. This was a first for Sister Mary, a warm beer in the morning! Sister Mary’s mission in Natal, Brazil was completed in December of 1972. Sister Mary loved her time in Natal. Sister Mary remembers that 9 �when SS HOPE began the return trip to the United States a severe storm occurred on their way home. They were given life jackets and given definite directions of what to do until the storm subsided. The ship was tossed back and forth by the huge waves. Sister Mary recalled that it was a very scary experience! She was very happy when the ship arrived at the port in Baltimore. Sister Mary returned to Louisville, December 20, 1972 from Brazil. She wasted no time before she took a position at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Louisville. Sister Mary provided one on one care for the veterans. If veterans were sent to a nursing home she explained to them how to care for themselves once they left the medical center. Later, Sister Mary followed up with the veterans in the nursing home. It bothered her that some of the veterans did not get the care they needed there. After a year Sister Mary left the Veterans Medical Center and worked at Health Care of Louisville. She worked in a clinic located at St. George’s School on Eighteenth Street. In August 1975 Sister Mary became a student in the Family Nurse Practitioner program in Indiana. The classes were in an area on the University of Indiana campus that was just for those studying to become Nurse Practitioners. Her Anatomy course was an in depth study of all the parts of the human body. She worked with another Nurse Practitioner and they gave physicals for the patients in a doctor’s office. Sister Mary completed the requirements for certification, and after passing State Boards she was certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Later, Sister Mary received certification in Geriatrics. Sister Mary worked at Nazareth Home in Louisville from 1976-1992 as a Nurse Practitioner. Sister Mary had an exam room in her office. 10 �“When I began as a Nurse Practitioner, the State required all employees to have physical exams to work in a nursing home. I did the physicals on the employees. Flu shots were given to employees and all residents if they wished.” When Sister Mary was Nurse Practitioner at Nazareth Home she was in charge of all health care for the Sisters. In the clinic she would prepare the Sisters for the doctor visits. The doctor came once a week and Sister Mary consulted with him if she needed something. Doctor Russell May, Director of Medical Care and Doctor Deitz Wolfe, his assistant, were very supportive of Sister’s Mary work at Nazareth Home. Sister Mary began a sabbatical in August 1992. She participated in a program offered by the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. The participants were priests, Sisters and brothers who lived together in one building. They took turns preparing liturgies. They took Theology and Philosophy classes. In their free time the group went on various outings. Some of the outings included a trip to Padre Island, an orchard, a San Antonio river walk and to a Mexican market. Sister Mary enjoyed the time shared on their trips. Sister Mary completed the program and the remainder of her sabbatical was spent in Louisville. Sister Mary became the campus nurse for Spalding University in October, 1993. She had a mini clinic where she gave flu shots after she received the prescriptions from the doctor at Nazareth Home. Sister Mary cared for the minor health needs of Spalding students for four years. On October 1997 Sister Mary retired from a nursing career of over forty years. Sister Mary was not one to be idle; after a few months of leisure she volunteered at the Family Scholar House in Louisville. She worked with 11 �the Project Women program that was formed to break the cycle of poverty for single mothers through college education. The program helped the women with various needs such as housing and finding jobs. When Sister Mary began in October of 1997 she filed and updated forms and typed minutes from meetings and prepared them for the next meeting. In the later years she only did the bookkeeping. Sister Mary enjoyed her work because she knew it was for a good cause. Sister Mary volunteered for twenty years with Project Women. Project Women was not the only group who benefitted from Sister Mary’s volunteerism. She was a quilter for Saint Agnes Church and the Little Sisters of the Poor both located in Louisville. She helped make quilts for their fundraisers to continue their ministries. Today, Sister Mary has a quilt on her bed that she quilted. It is beautiful. Sister Mary moved to the Motherhouse at Nazareth in March of 2017. I asked Sister Mary how she spent her time now that she is retired. She replied, “I am working on a lap quilt and a larger quilt, too.” Sister Mary continued by stating that everything is provided for her. She walks about outside with her “Jitney” (walker on wheels) and participates in exercise classes with Tootsie Gish. She also does a lot of reading of various types of books and participates in any activities that are offered. She is willing to help wherever there is a need. Sister Mary shared that the poverty she saw in Natal, Brazil left a lasting impression on her. She has never seen such poverty anywhere else in her life. Sister Mary described her life as a Sister, “It’s A Good Life.” She has not been limited and has done what she wanted throughout her life. 12 �Sister Mary concluded by saying, “The Blessed Mother has taken care of me throughout my life and as long as I have the Blessed Mother taking care of me I don’t worry.” “In all that has happened I feel that God has been directing my life without me knowing it.” . 13 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sharon Cecil, SCN Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Mary Elizabeth Middendorf, SCN Location The location of the interview Nazareth, KY, USA Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mary Elizabeth Middendorf, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Middendorf, Mary Elizabeth, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/1/2018 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-MaryElizabethMiddendorf Sisters of Charity of Nazareth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/6b3f9438cee9509c119b057c83d96d72.jpg da9291610fb07d84a38ded4c9607c832 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/4610385620c4ee9283339af209921684.pdf 27d72736a665e16f1dd14552657b2784 PDF Text Text Sister Patricia Haley, SCN November, 2018 (The remarks of the editor are in italics. Sister Patricia Haley, “Pat”, holds the distinction of being the first Sister of Charity of Nazareth who can claim African American descent. She was an honored and cherished member of the SCN Community as well as a religious woman appreciated in wider American Church circles. Especially impressive was her founding membership in the National Black Sisters Conference. Her story here is adapted from her interview with Sister Therese Arru, SCN,​ w ​ ith gratitude to Cherrylle Coleman, Archival Center volunteer, for her work transcribing the interview. This interview in its full and enjoyable entirety may be read in the Nazareth Archives or accessed at this link:___________.) Pat Haley was born in Columbus, Georgia in 1945. Her mother was Blanche Miles Haley and her birth father was John Manuel. It was Julius Haley, a Louisiana Catholic, who “was the father I grew up with and the Dad I know.” Pat had three sisters: Joyce, Sheila and Debra, whom Julius Haley adopted. Julius had one son, Henry, who became stepbrother to Pat and her sisters. (​Sadly, all three of her sisters died young. Sheila and Debra died in their fifties. Joyce died at age twenty-nine and left two small children.) Julius was a chef and taught them all how to cook. One of the places where Julius was employed was the Morrison Cafeteria chain. When he was transferred to Montgomery, Alabama the family moved with him. Pat enrolled at St. Jude’s School staffed by the Vincentian Sisters of Charity (VSC), now members of the SCN Community. Pat had first met the Vincentians while in the second grade at Mother Mary Mission in Phenix City, AL. A fellow St. Jude student, Norma, later entered the VSCs and became Sister Julian. Pat’s mother, Blanche, went to Tuskegee Institute and then graduated from Alabama A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical University). She had excellent math skills and was a 1 �wise mentor and disciplinarian for her children. Blanche was the only girl among four brothers. She was proud that her brother George was a trained Tuskegee Airman. Pat shares, “My mother was a member of Dr. Martin Luther King’s church in Montgomery. She and my Dad participated in the civil rights marches and bus boycotts.” Pat’s maternal grandmother was Daisy Miles White and Daisy’s husband, Howard White. Pat was close to them both, following Howard around “like a shadow.” Her maternal great grandmother, Mary Boikins – “Big Momma” she was called - had Cherokee and African American relatives in her ancestry, (There are memories of childhood, some of spankings, which Pat told with humor and no hurt feelings. I shall share and use her own words.) “From time to time we would go to church with our grandparents. What they always used to say was that Baptists shouted and Methodists just waved their hands. Well, my grandmother was a shouting Methodist and my mama and Great-gran and were a hand waving Baptists! I had many fun memories of my Great-gran since she babysat us most of the time while our mother and grandmother worked…. I remember the spankings I got. There were three good ones from my Great-gran which I will never forget. One of them I remember was that a crew of girls and I were supposed to be friends but we were bullying one another. Great-gran was watching us, called us all in to tell her what we were doing. She listened and said, ‘I am going to give all of you a spanking – some because you were doing something to a girl who was supposed to be your friend, and to you (the girl who was bullied), because all you had to do was come in and tell me.’ When Great-gran gave a spanking she always ended with, ‘In the name of the Father God (womp!), in the name of the Mother God, Jesus’ mama (womp!), in the name of Jesus Christ (womp,womp!!) and in the name of the Holy Ghost (womp, womp!!).’ I would try to talk Big Momma out of it but it didn’t work. I’d say, ‘Jesus Christ was ONE and the Holy Ghost was ONE’. Another memory I have is that the same little group of girls decided that we were going to collect some money and pretend it was for the Church fundraiser that was going on. 2 �We collected a few nickels and dimes. We spread out our little handkerchiefs with the coins in them but we were just kindergarteners’ so we couldn’t count. When Great-gran saw us she counted it for us and complimented us on raising money for the Church. She told the pastor and the next Sunday we had to walk down the Church aisle and put the money in the collection basket. We weren’t happy about that. I remember that dues at church were five cents a Sunday. I would stop at a grocery on the way and buy myself a little Johnny Cake and have a few pennies left for church. Later a note would come home about my dues and what was still owed; I got a spanking about that and the usual womps.” Pat became a Catholic when she was in the eighth grade although she had had instruction class from the second grade. She was dismissed from instruction class because of her many questions about beliefs which just didn’t make sense to her. The pastor finally gave in and Pat was baptized. The pastor commented, “Baptize the child ‘cause she isn’t going to get any better.” She argued for her name of “Patricia”; instead she was given “Ann.” (​In the SCN Community, when receiving the habit, she would also request “Patricia”. In addition she added “Ann Barbara” to her request list. She received the latter but in 1969 changed back to “Patricia”.) Growing up, Pat wanted to take piano lessons but her mother chose drama and public speaking which Pat was happy about later in life. Her parents were excellent dancers and the Haley girls learned from them. From her Great-gran she learned to listen to the church choir. She and several other little girls thought that they had learned the hymn, “Nearer, my God to Thee”, except that when the deacon called them up to sing in their little Sunday dresses what they sang was, “Nero, my God , to Thee.” From her Great-gran Pat leaned many things and missed her terribly after she died when Pat was in the tenth grade. The cooking Pat learned from her father she kept as a skill all her life. She remembered, “He taught us first how to make cornbread. I thought that you made biscuits the same way. When I finished making biscuits, they were a gorgeous brown and hard as a brick. Water wouldn’t even soak through them. He also taught us how to iron and make our 3 �beds. He had definite ideas about how our house should run. All seven of us were made to feel responsible. He showed us the way by caring for his own clothes, making beds and tending to the youngest ones. His Navy training truly showed. I loved him dearly and would grieve his loss even though he lived to the age of ninety-seven.” “I remember that the first thing in the morning,” Pat shared, “we got up, hit our knees, said a prayer and made our beds. On Sundays there was a children’s Mass at 9:00 A.M., which we all, including my Mom and Dad, attended. We would then go home, have breakfast and go to my mother’s church at 11:30”. In Montgomery, Pat remembers the kind Vincentian Sisters mentioning religious vocation even though the students were small. When they moved to the Birmingham area because of her father’s work, Pat first met the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth at Holy Family High School, Ensley. SCNs also staffed a small hospital in the same location. After grade school, which the Felician Sisters staffed, Pat attended Holy Family. She was on a work study program and remembers the name of the Sister staff there: Mary Timothy Holland, James Teresa Hagan, Ruth Edward Speer, and Charles Benedict Greenwell. The latter the students teasingly called “Sister Huck” after Huckleberry Hound whose floppy ears reminded them of Sister’s floppy bows on her bonnet. Pat and her friends became candy stripers at Holy Family Hospital and called themselves “Ben Casey girls” after a popular TV character. They made friends with the Sisters at the hospital, especially Sister Ann Jude Whitty. Pat’s friends even became nurses, one of them a head nurse at the University of Alabama Hospital even though as a candy striper she screamed and ran from the room when she found a patient had died. Pat’s plans were different. She was in the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) and actually signed up with the Marines, planning to become an attorney in that branch of Military Service. Her older sister had joined the Air Force and Pat knew that before she could join the Marines she needed to graduate high school and then get her parents’ signature. 4 �Pat continued, “My high school years were good. My Mom and Dad often chaperoned our dances. The Haleys – my Mom and Dad, my brother, and me – were always there, chaperoning and dancing.” Pat admired her mother and the wise ways she had for keeping the family’s finances. She also taught her children that the family shared responsibility for its upkeep. Any small monies the children would acquire were expected to be put into the family fund. Pat’s mother said to them, “Everybody is working for the family and everyone has to share.” Each family member took turns counting out the cash from the parents’ paychecks plus the children’s small contributions. Everyone knew about the family’s financial status. Further, the member in need received the item necessary. All knew that need was the priority. Allowances, on the other hand, were to be spent as desired. During her high school years Pat took part in civil rights activities. She had the experience of water hoses, torn clothing and dirty cattle trucks. Her very wise mother impressed on her daughter how serious the civil rights issue was and how important the consequences. She shares, “My mother died of a massive heart attack at age fifty-four. Heart issues run on the female side of our family. Her aunts, great aunts, grandmother, great grandmother and sisters all died off either heart attacks or strokes. The financial burden that came with those illnesses was often devastating.” When Pat was a junior in high school and a member of the Young Christian Leadership group, she had the opportunity to go to Kentucky for the “Holy Land” tour. She remembered, “That’s when I saw the Nazareth Motherhouse. It might have been then when I started thinking of letting go of the Marines and choosing religious life. Other communities of Sisters had given us vocation talks but I didn’t care for their European roots.” Sister Mary Lucia Flowers was the SCN who began to talk seriously to Pat about entering religious life. With Father Gilbert Kroger,​ ​C.P.’s recommendation, Pat took the life-changing step of applying to the SCN Community. She shared, “Mother Lucille 5 �Russell came down to introduce herself to me and to let me know that I might not be really received by some of the Sisters. I told her that I knew that. When I told my Gran and Great-gran, they said to me, ‘Are you going to go to school?’ I said, ‘Yes, ma’am’. They replied, ‘You can go.’ They were concerned about education and continued talking, ‘You have been in the Civil Rights Movement and now are going to be with all white folks.” Again, I said, ‘Yes, ma’am’. Their response was, ‘You can take care of yourself, so you will be all right.’ They were very supportive and didn’t try to stop me.” There were forty-five young women who entered the community with Pat in 1963. Now these Sisters remain - Sisters Betty Blandford, Marie Becker, Rebecca Miles and Eleanor Martin. They gather several times a year and are joined by former members who can attend. Sister Kay Glunk, formerly a Vincentian Sister of Charity, is considered a member of their group. Pat had good memories of Novice Director Sister Constance Mueller and has many novitiate stories to tell​. (Her stories are so heartwarming and enjoyable. They may be accessed in the original interview, pp.11 to 15. We shall content ourselves with just a few here.) These are Pat’s words, “When we got to Nazareth as postulants we were assigned duties. I was assigned to the white men’s dining room. I thought, ‘There’s no way I’m gonna do that.’ Mother Lucille was coming down the hall, and although I knew I wasn’t supposed to, I stopped her. I asked for a meeting with her and her Council ‘because I am assigned a duty I simply will not do.’ The next day Sister Constance said that the meeting would take place that afternoon. I told the Council, ‘It is not right to be segregated in a place like this. I just spent my years in high school and earlier fighting segregation. I know I was coming into a white world, but there is no excuse for this.’ Sister Mary Ransom Burke, bless her heart said, ‘What would you suggest we do?’ I looked at her and said, ‘It’s just a partition between two dining rooms. If you have a ladder and screwdriver, I’ll take it down….Mother Lucille said, ‘We will have to have a conversation with the workers.’ I said ‘You didn’t have a conversation with them before. 6 �It was decided by the Council. I will not work in a segregated dining room, obedience or no obedience.’ Nothing else was said but in a week the partition was down and I took the duty. Many of the workers did not like it but it was down. In the hallway there was a white water fountain and a colored fountain. I said you also need to do something about those two fountains. So they did. Sister Mary Ransom later said ‘Thank you’ to me and so did Mother Lucille.” A really comical story is that Pat’s novitiate class had to wait until an older group had their share of a pizza treat prepared by Sister Margaret Patrick Gallagher. There was almost none left for Pat and her class. Much grinning came from them when they realized that the treat was actually liver pizza. Another story shows Pat’s confidence joined to her unselfishness. Pat asked Sister Constance if her novitiate class could swim in the pool in the Nazareth College gym. After settling on old-fashioned swimsuits from the Fitzpatrick religious garb catalog, Sister gave permission but looked puzzled when Pat was not swimming. Pat explained, “Sister Constance, you didn’t say anything but I don’t swim. I wasn’t asking permission for myself. I just never learned how to swim because back in segregation days there were no pools for black kids. I never did learn and I wasn’t going down to a river where my brother went​.” (In the letters she and her sister Joyce exchanged –Joyce was in boot camp- she learned that Joyce learned to swim by being tossed into the water, a not always advisable way to learn swimming. Pat also shared stories about 5:00 A.M. convent rising, quick wash and dressing and getting to the Chapel. Pat says, “I told her we were learning how to sleep during meditation.”) Pat made vows in August 1966 and remained at Nazareth for Juniorate training until 1968. Her first mission away was at St. Ladislas School in Columbus, Ohio. Pat said this, “When I was assured that there were black children in school, I agreed to go. There were only ten in the whole school and three of them were in my second grade class. I 7 �stayed only a year but I have good memories of this assignment and remember well the Sisters with whom I lived: Andrew Maria Gass, Louise Smith, Wilma Ross, Mary Jane Sappington, Martha Clan, Anselma Trimborn.” A sad memory is that during the time she was missioned at St. Ladislas, Dr. King was assassinated and yet the pastor didn’t mention it until Sister Anselma told him. At the same time Pat was also in a preaching ministry. When she flew to various places and was given a deck of cards by the airline stewardess, she brought them home to her “card playing ladies” at St. Ladislas. Pat went to Louisville in June 1969 where she would teach at various times at these schools: St. Matthias, St. Brigid and Immaculate Heart of Mary. She studied Urban Development and Government Administration at the University of Louisville but became ill and did not complete her Master’s degree​. (Pat had already received a Bachelor of Science in Education at Nazareth College, Nazareth.​ ) During this time of study she lived at St. Thomas-St. Vincent Home. When the Federal Government passed Title IX legislation, the law that opened education opportunities without discrimination of gender, Pat signed up to go to Washington, D.C. to learn more about it. She donned a pinstripe suit, had a brand new brief case and took her place with others learning about the new law. When she returned, she was able to apply her knowledge of Title IX to benefit students at Immaculate Heart of Mary School. Pat recalled a trip to the Bahamas where she and other African American religious were hosted by Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte. They hoped that the Sisters from the States could influence the Bahamian Sisters and priests to get interested in politics. She feels that, at least initially, they were not successful. That led Pat and other Sisters to form the National Black Sisters Conference. Besides being a founding member, Pat was also on the first board. (​This summer, 2018, Sister Pat, despite serious health problems, attended the 50​th​ anniversary of the Conference, held in New Orleans.) 8 �Sister Barbara Thomas, Superior General, gave Pat the approval to answer her call to teach and speak about black history whenever she could, as well as giving workshops and participating in revivals. In the 1960’s and 1970’s there not many SCNs who were willing to live in an all-black neighborhood. Pat knew that she didn’t want to live in an all-white neighborhood. Pat, with a group of Sisters, did move to the West End of Louisville. Besides Pat, the group was comprised of Sisters Kathleen Flaherty, Mary Kathleen Sheehan, Janet Daugherty, Ann Kateri Kenyon, Sister Peggy Corbett and Barbara Houston, a Sister of Notre Dame who transferred to the SCN Community, but later withdrew. At the invitation of Fathers Tony Heitzman and Charles Mackin, they moved into the former Sacred Heart Church rectory, located at 18​th​ Street and Broadway. While Sister Pat was away in Indianapolis marching with a civil rights group, the other Sisters, at the urging of the Tenants Union, tore down a dilapidated, abandoned house in the area. They were arrested for throwing debris into the street and blocking traffic on Dixie Highway. When their mug shots were taken, the Sisters refused to be sad and even asked the police officer, “Could I have another picture for my parents?” The officer said he never wanted to see them again for anything. A trial date was set for March 10, 1972 and, to the displeasure of the judge, the Sisters asked for individual trials. Two busloads of persons came from the Plymouth Settlement House as well a busload of Sisters, including Mother Lucille, from Nazareth. Sister Pat brought children in, carrying balloons and singing, “We shall overcome.” Mother Lucille was the first character witness and the Sisters showed their support by saying “Amen” whenever there was a “So help me God.” Some were saying the rosary​. (In Pat’s words, “It was a show.” For those of us there, it was indeed a memorable happening, humorous but serious in its consequence.) ​The prosecution sent the jury out and one juror just left the scene because he knew what the outcome was bound to be. When the judge said “case dismissed’ for Kathleen Flaherty, they decided to settle out of court rather than parade the other Sisters through the charade. 9 �Pat moved into a home for abused women and children on Brook Street, one of several for women in need which Father John Morgan had established. She shared, “While I was there I was traveling, doing workshops and revivals. I was graced to get to the Islands. I got to Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, St. Vincent, the Bahamas, and others. I did workshops on each one of those….I would start a song and the people would pick it up singing in their own way, different from the States. I thoroughly enjoyed that and the food too.” Pat was one of the first teachers in the Black Catholic Studies program at Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana and taught there for twenty-eight summers. In 1982, she went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she worked with the police department. She described her role in this way, “They had a family service unit with real social workers. They had truant kids and those who were not social workers were assigned to deal with those kids. I worked there for eight years until they closed the unit. From there I went to Our Lady of Souls Parish where the pastor wanted me to be a choir director. I told him I was not prepared for that but he said I knew how to wave my hands up and down.” Her role in the parish was Director of the Spiritual Vocation Center and, after four years, she worked in the Office of Black Catholics, still in Philadelphia. In 2000, Pat went to Tampa, Florida in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, where she again was at the Office of Black Catholics and in parish social ministry. She remained in Florida eleven years, living with a family where the wife was from India and husband from Trinidad. In 2011, Pat came to the Motherhouse at Nazareth. Her health was a great challenge for her but, whenever she was able, she sang at Mass, many times composing the songs herself according to the liturgy of the day. (​As I complete this narrative of a quite unusual life, the news of Sister Pat’s death has been sent to us. She was a gift to the SCN Community and to God’s people, especially championing the rights of our brothers and sisters in the black community. We have to admire Pat’s courage in entering a then all-white community and then bravely calling our Community to remember that racism has no place among us. We know that we 10 �have promised to follow the Gospel mandate that “We are all one.” We can thank God for the example of her life and courage.) Therese Arru, SCN, Interviewer Maria V. Brocato, SCN, Editor 11 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Therese Arru, SCN Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Patricia Haley, SCN Location The location of the interview Nazareth, KY, USA Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Patricia Haley, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Haley, Patricia, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/1/2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Maria Vincent Brocato, SCN, Editor Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-PatriciaHaley Sisters of Charity of Nazareth https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/4449f57f69072501dfcb2aa0d2006199.jpg be996a2fb6ee46ad1c9ac6d797387ce1 https://scfederationarchives.org/files/original/c286a077aab85b235be2196a5bf706af.pdf 52d841a8fb48498c2fa25b9e072aa113 PDF Text Text Rosemarie Lakra, SCN    Born on September 15, 1937, in Sirsi village and Katkahi parish, in Ranchi  diocese  and  district,  I,  Celestina  Lakra,  am  the  fourth  child  of  my  father,  Patras  Lakra  and  mother,  Louisa  Xalxo.  We  were seven girls and one boy.  In  the  order  of  birth  they  are  Albertina,  (later  Sister  Agatha),  Alexius,  Anasthasia,  Celestina,  Mary  Constantina,  Anna  Rosalia,  Albina  Julita  and  Henerietta.  The  second  youngest  girl,  Albina  Julita,  died  when  she  was  three  years  old.  My  good  Catholic  parents  saw  to  it  that  we  had  daily  prayers  and  attended  Mass  whenever  possible.  My father was trained as a  Cathechist and a teacher.  We were a middle class joint family.  My brother,  Alexius,  married  young and had three children.  There was a severe famine  in  the  early  1950s.  One  after  the  other,  many calamities such as death of  cattle  and  horses,  failing  family  business,  and  a  theft  took  place  in  our  family.  Suddenly,  like  Job  in  the  Bible,  we  lost  everything  and  we  became  very poor.  Alexius, my beloved brother died on July 31, 1957 and his three  children  died  within a short span of one and a half years.  My sister-in-law  married  again  and  moved  out  of  my  home.  She,  too,  died  in  1961.  My  cousin brother also died during this time.      My  eldest  sister,  Albertina,  a  trained  teacher,  after  working  for  four  years,  joined  the  Ursuline  Sisters.  My  sisters,  Anasthasia,  Mary  Constantina,  Anna Rosalia and Henerietta are married.     Due  to  financial  difficulties,  my  parents  found  it  difficult  to  provide  an  education  for  me.  I  went  to  the  Mahuadanr  parish  primary  school  which  had  classes  only  up  to  Class  V.  With  financial  help  from  the  Mahuadanr  parish  priest,  I  studied  up  to  Class  VII  at  St.  Teresa’s  School  run  by  the  Holy Cross Sisters.  There was no high school close by, nor road or buses to  commute.  The  only  high  school  was  the  Ursuline  Convent  Girls’  High  School  in  Gumla,  five  days  walk  away.  I  had  a  great  desire  to  study  and  against my parents' wishes I went to that school for my studies.  Each year,  I  had  to  face  obstacles  but  I  managed to finish my matriculation (Class XI)  in the year 1957.     The Holy Cross Sisters invited me to join them and the Ursulines invited me  to study in their college.  Finally with the help of my uncle, a Jesuit priest, I  was  able  to  continue  my  studies  at Xavier’s College staying at the Ursuline  convent hostel.  Because of ill health, I was not able to complete the college.  I also had a desire to become a nurse and so I went to Holy Family Hospital  in Mandar, Ranchi, for General Nursing.  I did the Midwifery from Kurji Holy  1 �Family  Hospital,  Patna  and  I  returned  to  Mandar  Holy  Family  Hospital.  I  worked  full-time  there  for  one  and  a  half  years  before  joining  the  SCN  Congregation.     No  Sisters  were  in our parish until I was in Class IV.  When the Daughters  of St. Anne came to our parish in Rajawal, the villagers waited for them with  garlands.  I also joined them in welcoming and garlanding the Sisters.  As I  saw them, I felt like some current passing through my body, possibly a sign  for  my  desire  to  become  a  religious.  I  grew  up  keeping  that longing in my  mind.      As good Christians, my parents had deep faith and they were very prayerful.  They  influenced  me  very much.  While I was working as a nurse, I met one  of  my  classmates  who  was  joining  the  Ursuline  Sisters  in  Ranchi.  From  then  on,  my  inner  voice  began  to  push  me  and  I  heard  a  voice  telling  me,  "Go  right  now,  and  do  not  delay".  Soon after that, I sought the advice of a  priest who suggested to me that I join a group of Sisters in the Ranchi area.  I  declined  to  follow  this  advice because I wanted to go to a far place.  Then  he  began  to  name  some  of  the  Congregations  to  which  I  kept  saying  “no”,  until I heard him say SCN Congregation.  To that I said “yes”, though I had  no idea about this particular Congregation.  I, being a nurse and the Sisters  having  a  hospital,  I  thought  that  I  would  fit  in  with  them  well.  As  I  look  back, it was God’s Spirit who helped me to choose the SCN Congregation.      When  some  priests  and  Sisters  heard  that  I  was  going  to  join  the  SCN  Congregation in Mokama, they discouraged me with the information that all  the  Sisters  there  were  from  South  India.  They  frightened  me  saying  that,  "You  will be the only one from Ranchi" and in reply I said, "Well, if I have a  real vocation for God's service and mission, I will face it and go ahead.  God  will give me the grace."    I  travelled  alone  and  reached  Mokama  on  August  2, 1965.  As I met Sister  Lawrencetta  I  knew  Mokama  was  the  right  place  for  me.  I  worked  until  October  at  Nazareth  Hospital.  On  December  27,  1965,  I  entered  the  postulancy  with  four  other  candidates  who  had  also  finished  their  nurses'  training.  One of the candidates, Thankamma Xavier, a trained teacher from  Kerala, who had arrived just before me also entered postulancy with us.      One  of  my  happiest  moments  was  receiving  the  holy  religious  habit  and  experiencing  the  hair  cutting  ceremony  on  the  previous  night  of  July  19,  1966,  our  vestition  day.  I  felt  that I sacrificed my hair, offered my life and  my  all  for  the  service  of  God's  people.  Many  Sisters  asked  me  to keep my  2 �maiden name, Celestina.  I told them that if I am changing my way of life, I  would  also  like  to  change  my  name.  I  was  given  the  name,  Sister  Rosemarie.  Teresa  Rose  Nabholz,  SCN  was  our  postulant  and  novice  director.  During the last three months of our novitiate, Patricia Mary Kelley,  SCN  took care of us since Sister Teresa Rose was appointed as the regional  superior.     The six of us took our First Vows on July 19, 1968.  I experienced great joy  as  I  was  giving  myself  totally  to  God.  We  had  a  few months of a juniorate  program  in  Ranchi.  I  took  some  art  classes  in  drawing,  painting  and  making  baskets  from  bamboo  and  cane  at  Yogada  Mutt,  a  Hindu  ashram,  opposite to our convent.      As  a  Sister,  I  was  happy  to  be  assigned  to  Nazareth Hospital from October  1968  where  I  worked  in  the  public  health  department.  I  prepared  visual  aids  like  health  charts  for  teaching  the  public.  I  also  went  with  other  student  nurses  to  visit  the  villages.  We  walked  to  the  nearby  villages  and  used a vehicle to reach the far off villages.  The most common diseases that  we  treated  were  diarrhoea,  dysentery,  fever,  cold,  cough,  typhoid,  tuberculosis,  leprosy,  scabies,  anaemia,  etc.  Miss  Mary  Paul,  an  experienced nurse who studied in Mokama was our supervisor and was very  good to all of us.  Whenever we got an emergency call of a cholera out-break,  we immediately rushed to the area with vaccine and other medicines.  Every  month  we visited a mission station of Patna Diocese to attend to the health  needs  of  the  people  extending  up  to  the  border  of  Nepal  in  North  Bihar.  Most of these mission stations did not have a dispensary or religious Sisters  to attend to the sick at that time.      As  a  young  Sister,  in  June  1969,  I  was  chosen  to  be  with  Sisters  Ann  Roberta Powers and Anne Philip Gnavally to begin a new mission in Chatra.  We  had  a  large  rocky compound and in the cool of the evening, we enjoyed  sitting on rocks to pray together. We named our house, Nazareth Niketan.      Initially  we  had  only  three  rooms  with  an  asbestos  roof.  We  used  one  of  those rooms as our living quarters.  The Blessed Sacrament was kept in the  tabernacle in one corner with a kerosene lamp and it was partitioned with a  curtain.  Our  personal  belongings  as  well  as  the  household  articles  were  kept  in  the  same  room.  For  dining,  we  used  a  folding  table.  The  bathing  room  and  toilet  were  outside.  There  was  a  small  outside  room  which  we  used as our kitchen, cooking on firewood.     3 �We  visited  the  people  in  the  villages  to  encourage  them  to  send all of their  children to school but they were interested in educating only their sons.  We  persuaded  them  to  educate their daughters also by saying unless you send  your  girls  to  school  we  will  not  admit  your  boys.  On  July  8,  we  formally  opened  the  new  school  and  named  it  Nazareth  Vidya  Niketan.  On  the  opening day we had thirty-six children for pre-primary and Class I.  We used  the  two  rooms  and  the  veranda  for  conducting  the  classes.  All three of us  taught in the school.      One  day,  Sister  Ann  Roberta  began  to  bleed  heavily  from  her  nose  and we  were  frightened  and  did  not  know  how  to  prevent  it.  I  gave  her  first  aid,  then  gave  an  injection  and  finally  the  bleeding  was  controlled.  Every  now  and then she had the same problem.  We had no hospitals close by and we  did not know any doctor in the locality.  There were no travel facilities except  an occasional bus service.  We were so happy to see the Gaya jeep stopping  by  one  day.  Sister  Ann  Roberta  travelled  with  them  for  a  check-up  and  treatment in Mokama.     Once  when  Sister  Ann  Roberta had gone to Gaya for some school work, we  heard  a  tiger  roaring  close  to our house during the night.  Anne Philip was  not aware of it, though our beds were close by.  I woke her up and asked her  if  she  had  heard  the  sound.  She  said  that  some  cow  must  be making the  noise.  I  told  her  it  was  a tiger roaring and she responded, "Oh, tiger” and,  unperturbed, she went back to sleep.    From  Chatra,  ​I  went  to  Lady  Reading  Hospital  in  Delhi  ​for  a  year  of  community health nursing in 1970.  ​When ​I returned to Chatra to continue  the  same  ministry,  I  was  asked  to  do  the pastoral ministry for which there  was a great need.  To prepare for the same I went to Tongo in Ranchi diocese  for  catechetical  training.  SCNs  Mary  Juliana  Tuti  and  Ann  Moylan  were  with me for the same training.  It was not easy for me to give up the nursing  profession to take up the pastoral ministry as a full-time job.  I experienced  an inner struggle of being pulled between the two ministries.  Besides, many  of our Sisters were not convinced why a qualified nurse had to be in pastoral  ministry.  The hospital community would have liked me to serve at Nazareth  Hospital.  Sisters  Ann  Roberta  and  Teresa  Rose  supported  me  in  my  decision.  Finally,  I  became  the  first  and  only  full-time  pastoral  Sister  in  1971.      We  were  very  happy  and  felt  privileged  to have our Mother General, Lucille  Russell  visit  Chatra mission in October 1971.  Since we had only one room  4 �for  everything  and  as  we  were  playing  cards  together,  Mother  Lucille  said  that  she  had never experienced eating, playing, sleeping, recreating, etc. all  in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  We all had a good laugh.  Along with my  companions, I made my Final Vows on July 2, 1972 in Mokama.      We  had  CRS  (Catholic  Relief  Services)  'food  for  work'  supplies  for  developmental  work.  We also distributed some of the warm clothes we had  gathered  to  the  people.  We  visited  the  homes  of  the  students  as  well  as  other houses in the villages, taking care of the sick and suffering.  We meant  a  great  deal  to  the  people  and  they  approached  us  whenever  they  were  in  any need, during day or night. I enjoyed my five years of ministry in Chatra.      People used to gather in someone’s house when any priest from Hazaribagh  came  to  offer  Mass  and  administer  Sacraments.  Chatra  parish  with  a  resident  priest  was  not  established  until  1974.  From  the  time  we  were  in  Chatra  we  took  care  of  all  the  spiritual  and  other  needs  of  the  people  including the burial services for the dead.  All three of us had permission to  distribute Holy Communion to the people.  Each Sunday, we had ​gaon girja  (village  church)  para-liturgical  services  with  the  people.  Once  in  a  while a  priest  from  Hazaribagh  would  come  to  offer  Mass  and  consecrate  enough  hosts for the following weeks.     My  third  assignment  was  to  pioneer  a  new  mission  house  in  Sale,  Mahuadanr  in  1974  along  with  SCNs  Jean  Kulangara,  Marianne  Puthoor.  Teresa  Rose  Nabholz,  SCN,  regional  superior,  accompanied  us  on  our  long  journey.  For  the  blessing  and  inauguration  of  the  new  mission,  a  huge  crowd  of  more  than  3,000  people  gathered  on  October  13,  1974.  Most  Reverend  George  Saupin,  SJ,  the  bishop  of  Daltonganj,  officiated  at  the  Eucharistic  celebration.  As  Sister  Teresa  Rose  and  our  guests  left  we  felt  lonely  and  held  on  to  each  other  and  wept.  Mahuadanr,  which  had  no  paved roads in those days, was our farthest village mission.      In  the  beginning,  we  taught  in  the  Jesuit  village  school  along  with  doing  medical  and  pastoral  work.  We  were  not  very  familiar with the area so we  did  not  know  how  to  get  to  places.  We  helped with the retreat for Class X  girls  in  the ​gaon girja near our convent.  One night as we were taking back  the  Blessed  Sacrament  to  the  parish  through  the  fields  we  lost  our  way.  After  walking  for  a  long  distance,  we  noticed  a  light  and  thought  we  had  arrived at the parish.  We chuckled when we found out that it was our own  house  where  the  village  girls  were  practicing  a  dance  for  the  harvest  feast  Mass.  After a year of our being there, a resident priest was appointed to the  parish.    5 �   In April 1975, Father Phil Crotty, SJ, the parish priest of Mahuadanr asked  me  if  I  could  do  some  medical  relief  work  in  Sabagh village on top of a hill  where many people were affected by a rare disease.  Many lives were lost in  that area and some of the villages had not a single person living.  Many had  to  go  on  foot  for  treatment  to  the  only  medical  facility  in  the  area,  the  Carmel  Hospital  in  Mahuadanr,  run  by  the  Carmelite  Sisters  from  Kerala.  The  doctors  could  not  discover  what  was  causing  the  many  deaths.  The  Carmel  Sisters  had  taken  a  few  patients  to  ‘All  India  Medical  Science  Hospital' in Delhi for investigation and treatment.  Since they had no Sisters  to accompany me to the villages, I went with a girl as my companion to stay  in  that  village.  Father  Crotty  came  with  us  with  food  supplies  and  medicines provided by CRS.  Father also carried the Blessed Sacrament with  him.  The people gave us an empty house in which to stay.  I made a place  for the Blessed Sacrament in one corner of the room.  Every month, a team  of  medical  personnel  from  the  hospital  came  to  the  villages  to  treat  the  people.  For  four  months  I  stayed  in  that  village  to  look  after  the  patients  and  feed  the  people.  They  were  instructed  not  to  eat  any  food  other  than  what we provided because no one knew the cause of the many deaths.  The  epidemic  drew  the  attention  of  the  central  government  in  Delhi  and  supported the untiring efforts of the doctors and Sisters at Carmel Hospital.  Research points to the toxic seed of the Gondli grain (a type of millet) being  the cause of the epidemic. The poor of the region use the grain for food.      In  1975,  the  first  parish priest, Father Barry, SJ, two catechists and I took  interest  in  the  Birjias,  a  primitive  tribe  who  were  very  poor  and  illiterate.  After  five  years  of  our  contact  and religious instructions, we had a Mass in  the  village  with  Baptism,  marriage  blessing  and  Confirmation.  Now  they  have  a  parish  of  their  own  in  their  area.  Children are being educated and  they  have  improved  economically.  One  of  them  is  with  us,  Sushila  Telra,  SCN.    I  stayed  in  the  villages  with  the  catechists  for  a  couple  of  days  at  a  time.  Every  evening,  we  gathered  different  groups  of  people,  youth,  women  and  men,  separately.  We  prayed  with  them  and  had  discussions  about  their  problems  and  what  they  could  do  together  to  solve  them.  We  organised  various  groups  such  as  Sodality  for  youth and Catholic ​Sabha (council) for  people  in  general  and  ​Mahila (​ women) Sangh  (group)  for  women  to  deepen  their  faith.  We  also  conducted  retreats  for  them  from  time  to  time.  I was  appointed  coordinator  of  the  Catholic  Women's  Group  in  the  deanery  and  the Daltonganj Diocese.  I was one of the three religious Sisters appointed as  consult members of the diocese.    6 �  In  1980  I  was  sent  to  Bakhtiarpur  Community  Health  Centre  to  conduct  programs such as 'mother and child health', school health, village out-reach,  home visits and vaccination at the centre, schools and in the villages.  I also  helped  to conduct deliveries and to take night on-calls at the centre for two  years.     In  1982,  I  went  to  Sudeep, Bangalore for a three-month renewal.  After the  renewal,  Sister  Marietta  Saldanha,  SCN,  the  coordinator  of  Sudeep,  asked  me to help out in the day-to-day running of the place and I stayed there for  seven months.      The  royal  family  members  and  other  well  to  do  people  of  Nepal  sent  their  children  to  study  in  Darjeeling,  India,  where  there  were  good  Catholic  schools.  Because  of  the  quality  education  they  received  in  Darjeeling,  in  1950,  King  Mahendra  of  Nepal  invited  the  Jesuits  of  Patna  to  open  an  English  medium  boarding  school  in  Kathmandu.  The  Jesuits  in  turn,  invited  the  IBMV  (Institute  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary) Sisters, now known  as  CJ,  (Congregation  of  Jesus)  to  begin  an  all  girls’  school  in  a  property  adjacent  to  theirs.  That  was  the  beginning  of  Catholic  presence  in  Nepal.  The  two  boarding  schools  were  known  as  St.  Xavier’s  and  St.  Mary’s  respectively.  There  was  no  other  Catholic  presence  in  the  whole  of  Nepal  before the SCNs were invited to Nepal by the Jesuits in 1979.    When  I  was  called  to  discern  for  the  mission  in  Nepal,  Sister  Margaret  Rodericks,  provincial,  told  me  that  there  were  some  Tribal  Catholics  of  Indian  origin  in  East  Nepal  who  were,  “like  sheep  without  a  shepherd.”  Since  the  SCNs  had  not  yet  gone  to  East  Nepal,  I  joined  the  Kathmandu  community in January 1983 to learn Nepali and to get to know the people’s  culture.  SCNs  were  in  discernment  to  move  to  East  Nepal  from  Godavari  and Kathmandu at the request of Father Cap Miller, SJ, the episcopal vicar  to  Nepal.  In  February  1983, SCNs Anne Marie Thayilchirayil, Ann Murphy  from the US, Jean Kulangara and Tara Ekka moved to East Nepal.  For four  months,  staying  with  Joel  Urumpil,  SCN,  in  Kathmandu  I  attended  a  training  program  to  work  with  the  mentally  handicapped  children.  I  also  had an attack of pneumonia so I stayed in Kathmandu for a few more weeks  to recover.      Wanting to wind up her pastoral ministry in Kathmandu, Sister Joel stayed  a  few  more  months  before  we  moved  to  Dharan.  Joel  wanted  to  set  up  a  dispensary  and  do  some  developmental  work  among  the people in Dharan.  Since  that  was  not  feasible,  Joel  and  I  went  to  a  village  in  Damak  where  7 �there were many Indian Tribal Catholics working in the tea gardens.  I began  my  pastoral  ministry  with  them  and  discovered  there  were  many  more  tea  gardens  in  East  Nepal  with  a  Catholic  population.  They  consisted  of  Uraons,  Santhals,  Mundas  and  Kharias  who had migrated to Nepal several  decades  ago.  People  used  to  live  in  small  mud  huts  around  the  gardens.  They  came  together  every  Sunday to pray and had the ​gaon girja without a  priest.  Occasionally  a  priest  came  from  Purnia  parish  from  neighbouring  India to offer Mass.  Once in a while, Reverend Cap Miller from Kathmandu  also  came  for  Mass.  Whenever  we  had  the  Mass,  plenty  of  hosts  were  consecrated  for  distribution  during  the  para-liturgical  services.  I  prepared  the  people  for  different  sacraments.  Whenever  we  had  Mass,  the  priest  administered the sacraments in each of these places.  I began to keep family  records  of  all  the  people  who  received  the  Sacraments.  When  I  stayed  overnight  in  the  villages,  they  were  very  hospitable  and  gave  me  their  best  corner in the room.  I slept on a burlap mat on the floor which was cleaned  with fresh cow-dung, not yet dry.      On Ash Wednesdays, I prepared ashes from burning the coconut leaves and  blessed it to take to the people in the villages and the tea gardens to remind  them that it's the special season of Lent for prayer, sacrifice, confession and  reconciliation, etc.      One Holy Thursday, the priest could not come for the services.  We ourselves  conducted the services of the day with washing of the feet of six men and six  women,  a  custom  that  did  not  exist  in  the  Catholic  Church  at  that  time.  Whenever  a  priest  was  available  during  the  Holy  Week,  we  had  Masses  in  four different tea gardens on Holy Saturday.      SCNs  Anne  Marie  and Ann Murphy were in Ilam, in the hills and Jean and  Sarita  Manavalan were based in Dharan.  When Father Miller came to offer  Mass  in  Damak,  we  got  the  opportunity  to  visit  our  Sisters  in  Dharan.  In  Dharan we also went to the British camp for Mass with Father Miller.      After Joel and I began taking serious patients to the Dharan camp hospital,  I  got  a  free  pass  to  enter  the  camp  any  day.  The  matron  of  the  hospital,  Miss  Stella  Mary,  became  friendly  with  us  and  she  took  good  care  of  our  patients.  She  also  liked  to  stay  with  us  in  Damak  during  her  breaks.  Whenever  I  was  home  in  Damak,  I  helped  Joel  with  home  deliveries  and  literacy work.     One  of  my  deep  faith  experiences  is  that  whenever  people were in any dire  need, God took me to be with them.  This was especially true when someone  8 �became seriously ill, near death or in any other trouble.  I also helped them  financially  from  the  travel  money  I  got  from  Father  Miller.  Many  of  them  returned that money with gratitude.  I worked for six years in Damak.  I am  proud  to  hear that now in each of those six places, there is a parish with a  resident  priest  and  several  groups  of  religious  Sisters  are  working  among  them.    In  May 1986, I was assigned back to Nazareth Hospital in Mokama to work  with  Sister Lucia Thuluvanickel and Reverend Dan Rice, SJ in the spiritual  care  department.  For  the  first  time,  SCNs  had  established  a pastoral care  department in the hospital.  In January 1987, Sister Mary Lynn Fields, SCN,  helped  us  to  make  a  mission  statement  and  goals  for  the  spiritual  care  department.  Our mission was to care for the total well-being of the patients  and  their  family  members,  staff,  students,  employees,  criminals,  drug-addicts,  alcoholics,  and  whoever  was  in  need.  This  experience  really  was very enriching for my own personal growth.    When there was a crisis in our Barauni mission I was one of the Sisters who  was  asked  to  go for the flood relief work to Khagaria and Mansi for a week.  We  had  lost  Sandhya  Baxla,  SCN,  during  the  flood  relief  work  in  Mansi  in  August 1986.     On  the  night  of  the  first  death  anniversary  of  Sandhya,  there was a rather  major  earthquake  in  which  many  houses  and  properties  were  destroyed in  North  Bihar.  The  administrator,  Sister  Bridget Kappalumakal, SCN, asked  me  to  join  the  Catholic  Health  Association  of India group from Patna along  with our health personnel to do relief work in Darbhanga for a week.      I  coordinated  the  regular  8.30 am Masses and Holy Hour on Fridays in the  hospital.  I  counselled  the  patients  both  at  their  bedside  and  in  my  office.  Patients  were  extremely  happy  with  the  over-all  healing  they  experienced  within  themselves.  All these experiences brought me closer to God and the  people.      In 1989, I was transferred to Sokho, a remote village mission in Bihar.  I was  the coordinator of the house and in-charge of the pastoral and medical care.  I also enjoyed gardening and cultivation.  Most of the time, the parish priest  was  out  of  station  and  I  took  care  of  the  pastoral  needs  of  the  people.  In  visiting  the  families in the villages I reached out to both the Christians and  the  non-Christians,  alike.  I  prepared  the  married  couples  in  rectifying the  inter-religious  marriages  and  brought  them  to  the  Catholic  fold.  I  also  conducted  retreats  for  the  people  to  deepen  their  faith.  By  being  with  the  9 �people  I  learnt  the  customs, practices and their language, Santali.  We had  two distinct groups of people to minister to, the Santhals and the Kharwars,  a  very  primitive  group.  In  order  to  accommodate  both  groups,  we  had  Sunday Masses either in Hindi or Santali.     While  the  Bhagalpur  diocese  was  building  a  concrete  house  for  us,  we  stayed  in  the  dispensary  as  our  mud-house  was  demolished.  After  the  blessing  and  inauguration  of  the  new  house,  Nazareth  Sadan,  by  Most  Reverend Bishop Saupin in January 1993, the Sisters, the parish priest and  a priest from Belatanr mission, drove me to Mandair for my next mission.      Mandair  is  situated  in  a  coal  mine  area.  We  stayed  in  a  village  house  in  Manjalitard  away  from  the  parish  and  the  main  road.  I  worked  as  the  pastoral Sister in the parish, helped in the small dispensary and also taught  in  the  school,  according  to  the  need.  Various  Tribal  groups  had  migrated  and  settled  there.  With  their varied backgrounds it was not easy for me to  work  among  them.  At  this  time,  many  problems cropped up in our parish  and  it  was  about  to  be  closed  down.  We  conducted  several  meetings  with  the  people  and  at  the  end  it  was  decided  that  they  wanted  the  parish  to  remain.     Seeing  our  struggle  to  reach  different  villages  with  no  proper  road,  the  parish  priest,  Reverend  M.D.  Abraham,  asked  the  SCN  provincial  whether  the  Sisters  would  like  to  move  closer  to  the  parish.  He  gave  us  an  option  that  the  parish  would  exchange  our  land  with  theirs  to  give  us  a  more  suitable site near the road.  A concrete building was made for dispensary in  the new place while we lived in Manjalitard village.      In  1996​,  I  was  transferred  to  Biharsharif  for  pastoral  ministry.  Besides  being coordinator of the community I took care of the hostel girls and taught  Moral  Science  in  the  parish  school.  I also visited the nearby villages alone  and  the  catechist  accompanied  me  to  go  to  the  far  off  villages  for  Mass.  I  took  care  of  the  Catholic  women's  group  in  the  parish.  Biharsharif  was  a  challenging mission for me as I did not get the needed cooperation from the  parish priest.      In 1999, from May to October, I helped out in the '​kishori' (​ adolescent girls)  training program in Almora. After the training was completed I came back  once again to the Spiritual Care department at Nazareth Hospital, Mokama.  The hospital had no chaplain and I had to depend on the parish priest for  Mass and Sacraments. When the hospital took the initiative to begin a ward  to care for the HIV/AIDS afflicted persons in collaboration with the  10 �government and other NGOs in 2003, I took a counselling course in  HIV/AIDS in Mumbai, Maharashtra in 2008 to work with them.      Through  the  spiritual care department, I was privileged to serve all types of  patients  and  their  relatives  until  the  decision  was  made  that  certain  departments  of  the  hospital  would  be  closed  temporarily  from  June  2012.  Sisters  Philomena  Kottoor,  vice-provincial,  and  Usha  Saldanha,  the  administrator,  officially  asked  me  to  resign  from  the  hospital  in  August  2012.  After having spent a total of sixteen and a half years in the spiritual  care department it was very painful for me to move out of the hospital.  I felt  my gifts in bringing healing and solace to the sick would be wasted away.  In  fact,  I  felt  a  kind  of  uselessness  within  me,  belonging  neither  in  the  community  nor  in  the  hospital.  It  took  me  some  time  to  overcome  those  feelings  and  move  on  in  life.  I  continue  to  reside  at  Ashirvad  South  community  in  the  hospital  campus.  I  like  to  work  in  the vegetable garden  and  keep  myself  busy  with  the  visitors  who  come  to  our  house.  Occasionally  I  am  called  to  the  hospital  for  counselling  patients  and  continue  to  take  care  of  the  hospital chapel and the weekly Mass and Holy  Hour.      Ever  since  I  entered  the  community  in  1965,  I  have  been  happy  working  with  people  of  many  different  languages  and  cultures.  I was well accepted  by them.  I experienced God's presence, grace and blessings with me always.  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  having  had  good  and successful ministries.  I am  very  happy  that  God  helped  me  and  directed  me  to  enter  the  SCN  Congregation and I am proud to be an SCN.      In  my  fifty  years  of  religious  life,  God  has  walked  with  me  very  closely.  I  recall  the  many  experiences  of  Jesus  being  with me and accompanying me  from village to village, one tea garden to the next and from person to person  wherever I went.  It was an assurance that Jesus is using me to carry on His  mission here and now.     I  am  so  very  grateful  to  my  God  and  my  community  for  giving  me  many  opportunities  to  be  in  varied  ministries  and  places.  I  am  lost  for words to  thank  God  enough  for  the  support,  encouragement  and  deep  trust  the  community leadership has placed in me.      Religious  life  is  a total self-giving and an offering of ourselves to God in the  service  of  people.  In  living  out  my  vows, I lived a life of commitment, deep  faith  and  brought  many  people  close  to  God.  I  have  always  tried  to  be  faithful  to  God  and  my  community.  My  religious  life  is  based  on  prayer,  11 �sacraments,  deep  faith  and  trust  in  Christ and Mother Mary.  They are my  source of life itself and from whom I draw constant strength and courage.      Now  I  spend  a  good  bit  of  my  time  in  prayer  and  I  pray  very  specially  for  each  Sister  and  her  family, needs of the Congregation, people in formation,  Church and the world.    Rosemarie Lakra, SCN      Consent given orally to publish the story on August 16, 2017    12 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Rosemarie Lakra, SCN (Self-Interview) Location The location of the interview India Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rosemarie Lakra, SCN Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Lakra, Rosemarie, SCN; Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource SCN Archival Center Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived SCN Archival Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 8/16/2017 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission for any type of publication of archival materials, including text, photographs, video, or audio must be secured from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Archival Center before publication. Contact archives staff for appropriate forms and contact information. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MMC-RosemarieLakra India Sisters of Charity of Nazareth