Four Sisters to be honored

On Sunday Bishop McManus will honor four religious sisters with Retired Religious awards at the 10:15 a.m. Mass at St. Paul Cathedral. Sister Frances Barry, a Sister of St. Joseph; Sister Julia Ciccolini, a Sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Sister Maria Luisa Dallari, with the Xaverian Missionaries of Mary and Sister Hilda Ponte, a Religious Venerini Sister, will be recognized for their contributions to religious life.
Sister Paula Kelleher, a Sister of St. Joseph and interim episcopal liaison for religious, announced the award recipients. She said the public is welcome to attend the Mass and presentations.
• Sister Frances Barry was born March 24, 1928. She attended St. Louis Grammar School and St. Louis High School in Webster. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in Holyoke on July 2, 1946.
She pronounced her final vows on Aug. 15, 1954. The religious name she received upon entering the Sisters of St. Joseph was Sister Philip John.
She taught in Springfield and Pittsfield and in Newport, Rhode Island. She was principal at St. Charles School in Pittsfield.
Sister Frances earned a master’s degree in pastoral ministry from St. Joseph College in Hartford and became a registered social worker in 1981.
She worked as a pastoral minister at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Worcester and retired from active ministry in 2015.
• Sister Maria Luisa Dallari was born in Carlo, Italy, on Feb. 2, 1935. She is the sixth of nine children. She entered the Xaverian Missionaries of Mary on Sept. 13,1954.
Sister has strong faith and often quotes Galatians 2:20, “Christ lives in me.”
Sister has had a long experience as a missionary. She has worked in AIDS ministry and relates a moving account of a pastoral visit with a patient who died of complications with AIDS.
Sister has had a variety of ministry experiences and is deeply loved by all who know her.
The Diocese of Worcester is blessed to have the Xaverian Missionary Sisters working and living here, said Sister Paula.
• Sister Hilda Ponte was born and raised in East Providence, Rhode Island. She made her vows as a Religious Venerini Sister in 1953 and then began teaching at Venerini Academy in Worcester.
Sister taught middle school in Leominster where she served as principal. She also taught in Pittsfield and Schenectady, New York. Those who were taught by Sister Hilda remember her gentle ways and her teaching skills, according to Sister Paula.
Sister Hilda earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology and worked for the Diocese of Albany (New York) at Community Maternity Services. She was director of the Sabbath Center for Formation and Consultation Services. She was an elected member of her local community and was also elected to the General Council in Rome. She served two terms as Provincial Superior in the United States.
• Sister Julia Ciccolini, formerly known as Sister Mary Dominic, entered the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Sept. 24, 1958. She professed her  final vows on July 2, 1966.
Sister Julia earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Regina Coeli College, Fitchburg, and a master’s degree in guidance from Fitchburg State University. Sister Julia received certification as an elementary teacher in Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1997 she was licensed as a nursing home administrator.
She began her teaching career in 1961 at Holy Family School in Fitchburg. She also taught at St. John School, Clinton, and St. Catherine School, Riverside, Connecticut. In 1973 she returned to Holy Family School as a teacher and then principal from 1976 to 1987. In 1987 she was named assistant superintendent of elementary schools for the Diocese of Worcester. She also served on the St. Paul Catholic Schools Consortium Board and the diocesan AIDS committee.
In 1989 she was elected president of her congregation, a position she held until 1995.
From 1997 to 2016, she was administrator of the Presentation Health Care Center, Leominster.
She lives at Knollwood Nursing Center in Worcester and continues to live her Presentation mission while ministering to the staff and to the residents there.
She serves as chairwoman of the Religious Collaborative Planning Coalition.