The story of my vocation begins with God and my parents. The grace and the loving care of God fostered by my Mother and Dad were the primary influences on my life choices. The Sisters in school and my brothers and sisters were a secondary influence. I grew up in a family of seven children – four boys first and then three girls, of whom I was the oldest. Ours was a close-knit family. My parents were loving, strict and faith-filled, always there for us. My Dad was a lawyer, and my Mother had her hands full caring for seven children. My Dad’s hugs for me when he came home from work are one of my beautiful memories of him. It was natural for me to picture God as just such a loving Father.

Live Changing Experiences
Several important things happened in those years of growing up which, I believe, had a great effect on my life choices later on. When I was only two years old, my Mother almost died. She suffered a still-birth (a boy) and then developed a strep infection in her veins at a time when there were no antibiotics to combat such an infection. For four months she lay in the hospital battling temperatures of 108 degrees, hallucinating and under the threat of death. Cousins of my mother cared for us children.

My Dad was devastated at the thought of losing Mother. After those four months, a priest friend of my parents returned from a pilgrimage to Lisieux, the birthplace of St. Therese. He gave my Father a cross which had touched the body of the saint, asking him to place it beneath my Mother’s pillow and asking both of them to promise never to interfere with any religious vocations the Lord might later send to their family. Mother recovered completely, and later gave birth to my two younger sisters two and seven years later.

In 1945, when I was 13, my oldest brother Jimmy, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII, was reported “Missing in Action.” The very night we received the telegram my Mother decided that we would begin the Family Rosary Novena – 27 days in petition followed by 27 days thanking God for Jimmy’s safe return – whether we received the answer or not. On the 54th night, another telegram arrived saying that he was alive, but a Prisoner of War. Later, when he returned home safely, we gradually heard from him of the many times that the Lord had kept him from the brink of death.

A New Direction
In September 1946, after finishing high school, my brother Ed entered the Jesuit Novitiate in Wernersville, PA—he was the first religious vocation in our family, a blessing through the intercession of St. Therese.

The high school I attended was another example of God’s loving hand guiding my life. I was asked by our eighth grade Sister to take the scholarship test for St. Walburga’s Academy in NYC. As soon as I set foot in the school, I was struck by the friendliness, simplicity and joy of the place. The warmth of the Holy Child Sisters had been caught by the student-hostesses, and I fell in love with the school. Toward the end of my Junior Year there, I began to feel drawn to the life of a Sister of the Holy Child Jesus.

On September 8, 1950, I entered the Society at New Sharon with the largest group ever received. Two days later, my brother Ken left for the diocesan seminary in New York. St. Therese was very busy with us that week! (Just to end your suspense: St. Therese came back with the Lord twice more for my sisters Anne and Ellen who are Sisters of Charity in New York.) I am always grateful to my parents for their generosity which allowed us to follow God’s call.

My first mission after profession was to our school in Drexel Hill, PA. During my eight wonderful years there I taught fourth and sixth grades and was Prefect (Principal) for 3 years. Then I was sent to St. Leonard’s Academy for ten years where I taught American history, World Cultures and Religion to freshmen and juniors. I was also involved with the Glee Club and with the Broadway musicals the school did with the help of boys from West Catholic.

In 1971, I moved to Rye, NY, where I helped design an individualized American Studies Program for juniors. I did the History and Music elements, and Maria Parotta did the literature and art. We were able to enrich the program with field trips and occasional Broadway shows. I also worked with the Glee Club and joined the Westchester Symphony Chorus which held its practices at the school.

New Desire
In 1975, I felt the desire to work with younger children again. I was asked to move to Zion, IL, where for several years I taught the upper grades in Our Lady of Humility School. After my first heart bypass operation, I began to work in the parish as a Pastoral Associate, directing the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) program and forming a Ministry of Care to the Sick and Bereaved. My work with liturgical music in the school and the direction of the children’s choir continued. Despite the cold winters and several physical setbacks, the 22 years I was privileged to minister in the Midwest were very happy ones.

In August 1998, I moved back East to join Srs. Ruth McCarthy and Peggy Jennings in Cape May Court House, NJ, where for eight years I was part-time minister at St. John of God Parish in North Cape May. When I retired in 2006, I volunteered at Our Lady of the Angels Parish, Cape May Courthouse, as a member of their RCIA team. A year later, I moved to the Carriage House on the grounds of our convent in Rye, NY, where I live with my sister Ellen, SC. I feel that my life is coming around full circle.

It’s nice to share family memories and is a very enriching experience to share life, prayer and the wealth of the charisms of our two foundresses: Elizabeth Ann Seton and Cornelia Connelly. I am also inspired by my SHCJ community at the convent. The Father’s loving care and the graces received through these 59 years as SHCJ have truly been blessings.

"For what has been – THANKS; for what will be –YES!”

Click here to contact Sr. Mary O'Connell (M. M. Alma)

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