Our Sisters resorted to — among other things — cooking by candlelight during February's crippling winter weather in Texas.
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Weathering the Storm
Over eight historic days in February, our Sisters in Texas were among millions beleaguered by snow, freezing temperatures, power failures and water shortages.
Read about their experience and the spiritual lessons they took away from it all.
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Sisters and friends gather around Sister Gracy Kundukulam during her birthday party at San Damiano on March 13. |
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Big Cheers for Birthday Girls
Our community recently celebrated milestone birthdays for two Sisters who have had wide-ranging tenures in our community, but who share the timelessly common thread of kindness.
Sister Amata Shina, who entered our community in 1947 at the ripe old age of 16, was the guest of honor at her own 90th birthday party at Monocacy Manor on February 28. Highlights included a special PowerPoint retrospective compiled by Sister M. Virginelle Makos to celebrate Sister Amata’s prayerful spirit and 74 years of service.
On the other side of the state, Sister Gracy Kundkulam, the youngest member of the U.S. Province, is a whippersnapper by comparison, celebrating her 50th birthday on March 12. With all Sisters in the Pittsburgh area now vaccinated, San Damiano Convent hosted a small gathering on March 13 to wish Sister Gracy all the best as she ventures into her next decade of life. Unfortunately, those in personal care could not attend because they are still subject to restrictions at Mt. Assisi Place. But Sister Gracy shared a cake (baked with love by Sister Mary Lou Metro) and good cheer with them on March 10, during Sister Marian Sgriccia’s regular weekly meeting there.
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Above: Sister Amata shows off the bottle of “90” wine gifted to her by Sister Bonnie Marie Kleinschuster. The special blend was crafted by Black River Farms Vineyard & Winery in Bethlehem, which sometimes partners with Monocacy Farm Project. |
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A smiling Sister Amata Shina admires the beautiful cake she shared with the Sisters at Monocacy Manor during her 90th birthday party on February 28. |
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Sisters Georgette Dublino, Kathy Kudlac, Mary Lou Metro, JoAnn Knaebel and Marian Sgriccia cheer on Sister Gracy as she blows out her birthday candles. |
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Don’t Forget to Register!
The Catholic Leadership Council of Western Pennsylvania welcomes all of our Sisters — no matter where they live — to take part in a free online education program next month featuring noted writer and theologian Edwina Gateley. Holding Onto the Light in a World of Pain & Darkness will be presented entirely on Zoom beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 14. Registration is quick and easy. The deadline to register is April 6.
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PRVC, Sisters Reach Students Remotely
Sisters Adelina Garcia and Roselyn Kuzma regularly attend the monthly meetings of the Pittsburgh Religious Vocation Council (PRVC) via Zoom. In November, the group discussed the possibility of having a young adult retreat for Lent. Some members volunteered to head up the retreat planning, including our Sisters.
PRVC invited young adults from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio; Marywood University in Scranton, Pa.; and Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pa., to take part over the weekend of February 19-21. Together, they came up with a theme and possible talks. The young people made videos of the talks and uploaded them to YouTube, and a booklet was prepared for the participants. Twenty-seven people from Pennsylvania, Texas and California registered.
Participants logged in on their own time, listened to the talks and reflected on the questions daily. An option was offered to Zoom in each evening for a virtual gathering to share reflections and ask questions of the Sisters and presenters. “It went so well that we are having a ‘reunion’ on March 27!” says Sister Adelina.
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Spring Raffle Tickets
Sell Out in Record Time!
We have been blessed to have unprecedented response to our 2021 Spring Raffle, as all 3,333 tickets were sold out by February 17! We have achieved complete sellouts before, but never before April. And the ticket requests continue to come in to the Provincial Office almost daily. To date, we have received 166 outstanding orders for 1,201 tickets that we are unable to fill. Fortunately, may of those who ordered too late to get tickets donated their funds back to the community, helping us to raise more than $16,000 in spring donations! Volunteers Tom Hempel and Judy Campbell are entering information from all the completed stubs into our database for easy access when the raffle kicks off on May 1.
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They’re Baaaaack!
Sisters Denise Olshausky and Anece Salay are happy to finally be back stateside and fully vaccinated. Sister Anece is already living at Mt. Assisi Place, where Sister Denise will join her soon.
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Birthday Spotlight
Special birthday wishes are in order for Sister Adelina Garcia, who welcomes the wisdom that will accompany her 70th on April 23. May you enjoy your blessed birthday, Sister!
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April-May 2021
April 3: S. Irene Novak
April 6: S. Pat Brennan
April 7: Priscilla Brekus
April 9: S. Jo Goolish
April 21: S. Kevin Berdis
April 21: Connie Taschner
April 23: S. Adelina Garcia
April 24: Mary Ann Tkacik
April 28: S. Barbara Ann Webster
May 5: S. Rosalia Giba
May 14: S. Francesca Parana
May 22: S. Regina Ann Rokosny
May 23: S. Yolanda Escamilla
May 28: S. Rosemarie Bartnicki
May 31: Kathy Duncan
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April-May 2021
April 16: S. Marie Bernadette Kelleher
April 23: S. Georgette Dublino
April 25: S. Pat Marie Buranosky
April 29: S. Karen Buco
April 29: S. Gracy Kundukulam
May 8: S. Grace Chermack
May 8: S Jean Makovsky
May 20: S. Bernadine Marie Stemnock
May 23: S. Yolanda Escamilla
May 26: S. Eve Blostic
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Associates to ‘Gather’
This Friday Evening
Our Associates are reminded that the next Zoom meeting is set for 7 p.m. this Friday, March 26. Sisters Anita Kuchera and Barbara DeStefano ask that Associates in Bethlehem, Pittsburgh and Texas please make every effort to attend virtually and take part in the special Lenten prayer service they have prepared for the evening.
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Fresh Faces at SFCR
As the model for program delivery transforms at St. Francis Center for Renewal, the Center welcomed Joanne Anderson (pictured) as its new executive director. Meet her here. Gena Tallarico, who steered the program for 18 months, officially passed the baton to Joanne on March 1. Associate Maryann Kearns also has rejoined the SFCR team as program coordinator.
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Irma Ortiz Fletcher (SFA-Texas 1966) died of COVID-19 on March 15, in San Antonio, just a day after her birthday. Her Sister Bianca (1971) also is a former Skylark. Irma (left) and Bianca are pictured at right.
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Yolanda Ramos (SFA-Texas 1976) died on February 4 in San Antonio. She was just 62. “My sympathy to all of Yolanda's family and my prayers for her and all of you,” wrote Sister Nancy Celaschi in Yolanda’s online tribute. “I taught Yolanda in high school at SFA; guess that makes me an antique. She would phone me just to chat. What did she chat about? Her family and her parish family. Those were her world.” Read Yolanda’s full obituary here.
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Showing Support
for Sisters
When New Jersey’s Assumption College for Sisters asked Sister Georgette Dublino’s friend to prepare a visual presentation for their fundraising event, he called on “Sister G” to help him by providing photos of sisters holding signs saying, “Teach a Sister: Touch the World.”
To no one’s surprise, Sister Georgette started making phone calls and sending emails and received responses from our Sisters all throughout the United States and even from Sister Jeanne Marie in Rome. Noting that most of the photos showed gray hair and wrinkled white faces, Sister Nancy Celaschi sent out an appeal to friends in other parts of the world and, even with very short notice, the effort paid off.
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In Uganda, a “Daughter of Joseph and Mary” and a Franciscan Sister are studying together; many African formation personnel and university teachers have studied in the USA. |
At the Good Shepherd Sisters’ Generalate in Rome, a sister from Sri Lanka is teaching English to two Angolan sisters. |
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It was a sad day when the good sisters left St. Patrick Parish in Canonsburg. To this day, I can’t waste the blank side of a piece of paper. They taught us all so much.
— Shirley Gottschalk
Canonsburg, Pa.
I finally sat down to read the winter issue of Echoes. I was saddened to see that Sister Margaret Elaine passed away. All of us at St. John’s in Perryopolis remember her well. It was good to see some of the other sisters in the different photographs – Sisters Lois Jean, Rosalia, Norberta. May God continue to bless them and all of your other Sisters in your mission.
— Roseann Bowser
Perryopolis, Pa.
May God richly bless you in all that you do! Please convey my prayers and good wishes to Sister Ann Marie Yenca. She is my son-in-law’s great aunt and a very special person to me.
— Mary Ellen Horniak
Aliquippa, Pa.
The good Sisters of St. Francis opened up whole new worlds for me. After working in San Antonio, Texas; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Georgetown, Texas, I am retired. For the last 37 years, I worked at Southwestern University, where I also earned a bachelor’s degree in art history. I am married with four grown children, who all moved west. My husband is a writer, emeritus professor of English, and Bob Dylan aficionado, which has provided us with much opportunity for travel. That seed for growth and lifelong learning was planted in high school, and I remain very grateful for that.
— Norma Aguirre Gaines
SFA-Texas 1967
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Praying that everyone is in good health, as we are all here, thanks to God. We’re spending a lot of time at home. That is, I am, because Mario still goes to work. We do get to go to Mass on Sundays or Saturday – which is a blessing – as long as we register before for the Mass we will be attending.
Every other pew is empty, only one or a couple at each end of the pew, two sides and middle. So far it was worked pretty good. During the week at the 8 a.m. Mass, we really don’t register because it’s always the same people, and our church is so big that we use it instead of the chapel.
Sorry I didn’t send my ticket order before they were all gone. But here is my donation ($100) to “our loving sisters.” So glad they were all sold. Keep taking care of yourself and, God willing, Mary Helen and I just might go for a visit in the near future. We miss you and would love to visit. God bless you.
— Armandina Garcia
San Antonio, Texas
My mother, Dorothy Brownley, a 1943 graduate of Mount Assisi Academy, stated in her will that $1,000 should be given to the School Sisters of St. Francis. My mother always cherished her time at The Mount and all the lifelong friends she made there. Thanks for all the good times and memories she had at Mount Assisi.
— Ruth Jarvis
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Thank you for putting your faith into ‘action’ by serving others! Thank you also for the spiritual emails you send regularly … truly uplifting! God bless and happy Easter!
— Elaine Juhascik Oliver
Mount Assisi Academy 1966
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When They Were Co-Eds
Let's take it all the way back to 1974 when Sisters Jeanne Marie Ulica, Adrian Brown, Mary Ann Gubish, Agnes Marie Bartko, Roselyn Kuzma, Martha Ann Bupka and Jean Jezik celebrated their graduation from Carlow College!
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Sister Carol Ann Papp was delighted to be invited to read to the preschoolers at Northside Catholic Assumption Academy during the nationwide celebration of reading that is Dr. Seuss’ birthday March 2. You might say she stuck her neck out by reading “Giraffe Problems.” |
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Kids these days! Sister Ancy Francis shows off an enormous icicle she plucked from the eaves of Little Flower House following weeks of frigid winter weather in Western Pennsylvania. “She brought it in the back door and took it right out the front,” assures Sister Nancy Celaschi. |
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Sisters Francesca Parana and Anece Salay get up to no good at the Mt. Assisi Place St. Patrick's Day party last week. Perhaps, it was the Irish music, green beer, corned beef and cabbage that got them going.
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