Sister educators reminisce about Sisters of Providence Schools

Several Sisters of Providence recently took a walk down memory lane reminiscing about Sisters of Providence Schools where we once taught.

“Our goal always was to empower the students. My goal as a journalism and English teacher was to help them find their own voice and to figure out how they could make their own imprint on the world,” Sister Cathy Campbell (formerly Sister Christian) said of the students she served in Chicago and elsewhere.

Instilling values

Sister Diane Mason (formerly Sister Ann Vianney) hopes the Sisters of Providence former students “have learned to be just and faith-filled … To be prayerful individuals … To be honest with themselves and others … To be fair in all of their dealings with humanity … To have the courage to truly know themselves deeply and honor who they are and who they are becoming — for growth is always ongoing.”

“One of my favorite parts of ministering as an English teacher was discussing literature with the girls. Many life lessons could be incorporated,” recalls Sister Mary Catherine Guiler (formerly Sister Martha Patrick) of her years at Immaculata High School in Washington, D.C., and other high schools.

Legacy of a saint

“Our goal always was to carry on the legacy of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. The words she placed on the seal of her first school were ‘Knowledge and Virtue United.’ That has been our goal in every school in which we have ministered for nearly 180 years: to provide a quality education with knowledge and virtue united,” says Sister Marie Grace Molloy who taught elementary school children for many years in the Indianapolis area.

Sister Denise Wilkinson (formerly Sister Jessica) says she hopes her students carried away the importance of some kind of expression of faith or prayer or spirituality in their lives. “I hope they carried away the conviction that creating a community and working for the good of all people is possible and desired.”

Providence Associate Barb Linton shared some of what she took away from her time attending high school at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. “I took away from there a sense of self. An awareness, appreciation and development of the spiritual life and my relationship with God and my fellow students. Deep friendships, which have endured to this day. Gratitude too, for so many Sisters of Providence who were a vital example in my spiritual formation. A deep and abiding love for the Woods … her beauty, peace and warmth.”

Continued mission of love and caring

The Sisters of Providence mission of love and caring continues today. We may not be as often directly in classrooms, but we are still present. Serving those in need. Offering God’s loving care. Working for justice. Imparting wisdom and love.

And in this moment we need you. Many of our former teachers from Sisters of Providence Schools are aging and in need of specialized care. Congregations of women religious are not funded by the Catholic Church. We are funded by loving people like you. Loving donors who help us to care for our aging sisters while continuing our ministry of reaching out in loving care to people in need today.

YOU make the mission happen

You are a vital part of that mission. When you donate you help ensure that the wisdom and guidance of the Sisters of Providence continue to help others, both now and into the future. You become a part of the legacy of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, our Congregation’s first fundraiser.

Will you visit Giving.SistersofProvidence.org to share your memories and to donate to help make this world a better place?