Sister Paula Damiano: Full Circle

Sister Paula Damiano recently retired after serving as co-director of the Providence Spirituality & Conference Center (PSCC) at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods since 2012.

Retirement offered her the opportunity for a sabbatical before Providence took her in new and energizing directions. The first thing Sister Paula did was rest. Before her role at PSCC, she had served on Sisters of Providence leadership team for 10 years and before that as the Congregation’s vocation director. It took her slowing down to realize how much she needed a time of respite.

Retirement also allowed Sister Paula time to travel. Her first adventure was a trip to New Castle, Pennsylvania, where she was born and raised until age 14. There she celebrated her cousin and her husband’s 40th wedding anniversary. Sister Paula enjoyed seeing her extended family in one place at one time. She stayed with her cousin during the trip and enjoyed a special time of sharing and fantastic conversation. The visit provided a time to return to her roots and reconnect with her family.

Family and Faith

For Sister Paula, family and faith have always been intertwined. She grew up in an Italian Catholic family. All four of her grandparents were Italian immigrants. As a child, she lived next door to her paternal grandparents and several aunts, three of whom never married. Their time as a family centered around church, Holy Days, feasting and holidays. New Castle was a city of immigrants, exposing Sister Paula to various cultures.

A significant influence in Sister Paula’s life was her pediatrician, who was Jewish. He was a close family friend who attended many of their family’s important events. As a child, Sister Paula recognized that her family had a strong bond with him through faith. She noticed that he was kind and respectful of them and their traditions, regardless of religious differences. Also, growing up with the surrounding Amish community helped her understand that there was a world beyond the Catholic Church filled with other faithful followers of God. These experiences were foundational to her later involvement with the Interfaith Council of the Wabash Valley.

Admiration

Growing up in Pennsylvania, Sister Paula wanted to become a religious sister. But when she moved to California, she temporarily set that desire aside. It was during her junior year at Marywood High School, when most were planning where they would attend college that she began to reconsider becoming a sister.

She applied to multiple colleges and was accepted. But her call to join the convent persisted. She believes that her Catholic education influenced her decision to join the Sisters of Providence. The sisters who taught her in grade school were amazing. And she admired the Sisters of Providence who taught her in high school for their excellence in teaching. And she liked many of them for who they were.

Also during her sabbatical, Sister Paula got the opportunity to attend her Marywood High School class of 1967 reunion for the first time. (She had also taught at Marywood from 1972-1977.) Before the reunion, Sister Paula had not seen most of her classmates in 57 years. The reunion offered a fun and exciting time of reconnecting with friends. Sister Paula said, “Stepping back in, it felt like we were pals all over again.” Even though she did not initially recognize some of her classmates, the connections they made in high school still existed.

Sister Paula felt that the reunion was phenomenal in the sense of relationships that were formed anew. For example, she and Laura (Carroll) Bosch were roommates at the reunion and immediately hit it off, discovering shared values. They have since been in touch and continue to build their friendship. Sister Paula enjoyed hearing good things at the reunion about her classmates’ high school experience: the beauty of the campus, good education, stories about the sisters they loved and the privilege they felt in attending Marywood in California. Many classmates so enjoyed themselves at the reunion that they decided to meet more regularly via Zoom.

After the reunion, Sister Paula’s niece, Lindsay, picked her up for a week-long visit in Palo Alto. They had a grand time together filled with shared memories and the comfort of family bonds.

Her next venture was to her retreat in Gloucester, Massachusetts. While she was in the area, Sister Paula spent a few days with her nephew, Adam, who lives in Boston. The retreat was a profoundly spiritual experience, completely silent, and Sister Paula met with a spiritual director daily. Her eight days at the Jesuit-run retreat house were beyond her expectations and filled with spiritual highlights, inspiring her faith journey.

After returning home from Boston for Christmas Fun at the Woods, Sister Paula spent Christmas just outside of Bend, Oregon, with her family, including her brother Phil’s dog Bogey. One of the fun things the family did together was make homemade pasta.

From serving with her sisters at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to spending time with her biological family, Sister Paula noted that the similarity between the two is love. Both support her relationship with the other.

Sister Paula found solace in a hymn during the retreat that has since become her theme: “O Love that Will Not Let Me Go.”

God pursues us, whoever and wherever we go. In response, Sister Paula offers her life in ministry and service to others.

Now that Sister Paula has had some time to rest and reflect, she believes that new things are on the horizon for her in terms of ministry.

Sister Paula’s story reminds us of the importance of the connection between family and faith and maintaining our relationships with God and those God puts in our path. Providence has been with Sister Paula throughout her journey every step of the way and will continue to guide her as she moves forward.

Enjoy some additional photographs of Sister Paula, family and ministries.