2022 Jubilarians

Sister Marie’s idea of being a Dominican includes being joyful, honest, and truthful with God, with self, and with others, and she feels that it is more important how you teach than what you teach. “Who and how you are in your ministry, your ways of dealing with others, is always displaying the mission and charism of Dominic,” she said. Sister Marie began her long service as a teacher at Mount St. Dominic Academy in the 1970s. Before long she embarked on one of her favorite memories: her first mission trip outside the United States to Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas, where she enjoyed living and learning in a community far from home. While in Abaco, she taught at St. Francis de Sales and the College of the Bahamas. After returning to Caldwell, Sister Marie joined the faculty at Lacordaire Academy in Upper Montclair, teaching mathematics and serving as department chair while engaging students in learning to sew, quilt, and work on crafts. She then served as the mathematics department chair and taught at St. Dominic Academy in Jersey City. In the mid-80s, Sister Marie became an associate mathematics professor at Caldwell University and eventually became Dean of Student Life. She was principal of St. Peter the Apostle School in Parsippany before returning to St. Dominic Academy and then Lacordaire Academy. She has traveled the world with her students to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Iceland, helping students with a context for learning about other peoples and cultures. Within the congregation, Sister Marie has ministered as vocation director, candidate director, and currently as a member of the Leadership Team. Her greatest challenge, she said, has been balancing the active spiritual parts of her life with her work life, and she looks to nature and quiet time to achieve that much-needed balance. The wisdom Sister Marie leans on and shares with others: Listen to and trust the God within, and you will never go wrong.

Education: Caldwell University, Caldwell, NJ; St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO, Master of Arts in Mathematics; Iona College, New Rochelle, NY, Master of Science in Pastoral Counseling
 

One of Sister Lois’ early memories of women religious involved her fifth-grade teacher who taught her to crochet a Christmas gift for her mother. From the simple gift, Sister Lois says, “I cannot count or measure how many MILES of yarn I have turned into gifts. The crochet hook and yarn continue to coax out new stitches.” Indeed, Sister Lois has been sharing her gifts in ministry for 65 years. She was a teacher for nineteen years at the following schools: St. Boniface School in Jersey City; Blessed Sacrament School in Bridgeport, CT; St. Ann School in Newark; Mount St. Dominic Academy in Caldwell; and St. Margaret School in Bayou La Batre, AL. In 1980, Sister Lois’ ministerial focus shifted when she became a pastoral associate at St. Raphael Parish in Livingston and an editor and author at RENEW for the Archdiocese of Newark. She then served as an associate pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Westover, WV and as a pastoral associate at St. Virgil Parish in Morris Plains. For sixteen years, Sister Lois was the pastoral administrator for Resurrection Parish in Illiopolis, IL. When she returned to New Jersey, she served in pastoral ministry at Siena Village in Wayne. Sister Lois has reflected on her past 65 years of ministry during this jubilee year, but she continues to celebrate “the now and live into the tomorrow.” This sentiment is captured in the scripture quote she shares: “Desire my words; long for them and you shall be instructed.” (Wisdom 6:11)

Education: Caldwell University, Caldwell, NJ; Assumption College, Worcester, MA, Master of Arts in Teaching; Fordham University, New York City, NY, Master of Arts in Pastoral/Parish Ministry and Church Leadership
 

Sister Barbara looks at her 65th jubilee year as a celebration of thanksgiving for all that God has given to her to be shared with others. And shared she has! From her first ministry as a teacher at St. Elizabeth School in Linden (some students still keep in touch!) to her last at Caldwell University as a professor of theology and chair of the theology/philosophy department, Sister Barbara has found her students to be great sources of joy while seeing them become fine women and men. Sister Barbara also taught at the following schools: St. Boniface School, Jersey City; St. Dominic Academy, Jersey City; St. Joseph School, Union City; Lacordaire Academy, Upper Montclair; and St. Mary High School, Rutherford. She was also the director of religious education at St. Cassian Parish in Upper Montclair. While life might not be as fast paced as it was during Sister Barbara’s years at Caldwell University, she likes reading, conversing with others, and enjoying the movements of the natural world. She takes her words of wisdom from an Army soldier in Vietnam: “‘Never give up!’ Find a way over, under, around, through—take a timeout but don’t give up.”

Education: Caldwell University, Caldwell, NJ; Providence College, Providence, RI, Master of Arts in Religious Studies; Fordham University, New York City, NY, Master of Arts in Theology; Drew University, Madison, NJ, Doctor of Ministry
 

This year is special to Sr. Ann Monica because it encompasses 65 years of God’s love and grace at work in her daily life. The greatest joy of her religious life, she says, is in “giving to others the fruits of her contemplation every day, which prayerfully draws them closer to God.” Sister Ann Monica has been giving the fruits of her labor to others since her first ministry as a teacher at St. John the Apostle School in Clark. She then served as a teacher in St. Catherine School in Mobile, AL, St. Mary School in Wharton, Mount St. Dominic Grade School in Caldwell, and St. Agnes School in Clark. In 1969, Sister Ann Monica began a ministry of love and kindness that stretched 43 years, first as a nurse’s aide and licensed practical nurse at St. Catherine’s Healthcare Center in Caldwell and then as a registered nurse at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck. In 2013, she joined the support staff in the congregation’s Development office. The advice she gives to everyone, including her beloved New York Mets, are the words of Saint Catherine of Siena: “If you would be all that you could be, you would set the world on fire.”

Education: Caldwell University, Caldwell, NJ; Overlook Hospital School of Nursing, Summit, NJ, Licensed Practical Nurse; Holy Name Hospital School of Nursing, Teaneck, NJ, Registered Nurse
 

Sister Alice believes that jubilee celebrations are beautiful reminders of the graciousness of God, and some of her favorite memories are the relationships she has built with wonderful, faithful children and adults. She is a woman of motion, directness, and long commitments. Sister Alice’s first ministry lasted twelve years at St. Ann School in Newark, where she was a teacher and principal. She then became principal at St. Theresa School in Kenilworth. In 1975, she served her first term as a councilor on the congregation’s Leadership Team after which she became a teacher and principal at Project Link in Newark. She then ministered as the congregation’s postulant director and novice director. Sister Alice became the director of religious education at St. Catharine Parish in Spring Lake before becoming a pastoral associate of catechesis at St. Aloysius Parish in Caldwell. In 2000, she began another ten years of service to the community as a councilor on the Leadership Team. Sister Alice returned as a pastoral associate to St. Aloysius for another twelve years, having just retired a few months ago. Always on the move, she enjoys seeing movies, going to Broadway plays, attending sporting events, and having good conversations. Sister Alice shares these simple reminders about how to be kind:

• Do not be a jerk (don’t transfer your anger)
• Honor the absent (no gossiping)
• Give others the benefit of the doubt

Education: Caldwell University, Caldwell, NJ; Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry