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Sixth Sunday of Easter
29 May 2011
Dear Friends in Christ,
When our parish school opened in 1900, the Ursuline Sisters provided our principal and teachers, and they remained at St. Mary’s until 1933. From then until 2006, the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy (the diocesan congregation founded in 1829 by John England, the first Bishop of Charleston) provided our principal and many of our teachers. And since 2006, the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee have provided the leadership of our school, giving us our principal and three classroom teachers.
One of the facts of life for a school staffed by a Congregation of Sisters is that continuity of leadership and in the classroom is provided by the Congregation, not by the individual Sisters. And this in turn means that on a regular basis Sisters are moved by their superior, in this case the Prioress General in Nashville, according to the needs of the Congregation, and it is time now for that to occur again at St. Mary’s.
Our principal, Sister Mary John, O.P. and two of our three teaching Sisters (Sister Mary Lucy, O.P. and Sister Marie Isaac, O.P.) will return next academic year to continue their excellent work in the school. One of our present teachers, however, will be returning to the Mother House in Nashville. Sister John Thomas, O.P. will take up work in the Office of Vocations and the Novitiate to assist in forming the young women who are joining the Dominicans Sisters of St. Cecilia in such remarkable numbers. Replacing Sister John Thomas to teach English and religion in our middle school will be Sister Michaela, O.P., who is a native of Lubbock, Texas and an alumna of Notre Dame University. Most recently Sister Michaela has been teaching high school religion in Knoxville, Tennessee, and we are most fortunate that she will be joining us in August.
To Sister John Thomas go our gratitude, prayers, and love; thank you for your witness to the Lord Jesus and your splendid leadership in our school. May the LORD of mercies be gracious to you in your new assignment for the sake of your Congregation of St. Cecilia, the incomparable Nashville Dominicans.
Father Newman