Sister Cathy Campbell reflects on Jubilee

General Officer Sister Mary Beth Klingel pins a corsage onto Sister Cathy Campbell’s jacket as General Superior Sister Denise Wilkinson looks on.

Sister Cathy Campbell was one of four Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods who celebrated mightily on Saturday, June 25.

Sister Cathy and two others – Sisters Linda Thompson and Mary Jo Piccione – all celebrated 50 years with the Congregation, while Sister My Huong Pham was celebrating her 25th Jubilee.

Sister Cathy entered the Congregation in September 1966. She professed perpetual vows in October 1972. Currently, she ministers as the Coordinator of Circle of Grace Program at the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

Recently, Sister Cathy was asked to reflect on her time as a woman religious and she wanted to share those thoughts with everyone:

“As I mark this milestone, I am very grateful to Providence for inviting me into this journey 50 years ago and for sustaining me all along the way. When I entered the Sisters of Providence, I was responding to a mysterious restlessness that I had felt for several years and that I believed I could only calm by trying out religious life. I was going to give it six months and then get back to being a professional journalist. Well, God had other plans and showed me how I could use my gifts in more ways than I ever imagined in service to others. So, I just kept following the path of Providence that was in front of me trusting in grace and using Saint Mother Theodore’s wisdom to inspire me as I moved along.

General Officer Sister Mary Beth Klingel hugs Sister Cathy Campbell with General Superior Sister Denise Wilkinson in the background.

“As I mark this milestone, I am very grateful for the many Sisters of Providence, close friends, colleagues, spiritual directors, and those to and among whom I have ministered for enabling me to persevere for 50 years. One becomes a Jubilarian only through the grace of God and with the support of many companions along the way.

“When I told friends in 1966 that I was entering religious life, they told me to think about all the things that I would be giving up. What neither they nor I had any inkling of was all the adventures that Providence had in store for me. First, I was thrown into teaching teenagers at a Sisters of Providence sponsored high school. After that, I returned to journalism editing a Catholic newspaper and producing television programs. Then, Providence invited me through friends I met in those ministries to become a communications specialist for an international community of religious men. After that, I found myself in educational administration at the high school where I started and many more chapters beyond that right up to the present as I minister as an archdiocesan consultant in Indianapolis.

“What I have discovered is that saying, ‘Yes!’ to Providence will only take a person on many wild and wonderful adventures. With a spirit of openness, I am eager to discover where Providence will lead me next.”