Sisters of Notre Dame celebrate 175 years in Massachusetts

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

WORCESTER – At a Mass punctuated with praise and history, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur opened their 175th anniversary celebrations Aug. 24 at Notre Dame du Lac assisted living on Plantation Street in Worcester.  

Bishop McManus, the main celebrant, commended religious sisters, as did Father James M. Steuterman, the homilist. (Also concelebrating was Father James A. Houston, another retired priest.)

The sisters gave glory to God, whose goodness they strive to proclaim.

“Our liturgy this afternoon is the first in a series of events celebrating the arrival of the Sisters of Notre Dame in the Archdiocese of Boston 175 years ago, in 1849, and their subsequent journey ‘west’ here to Worcester,” Sister Patricia O’Brien, a member of the United States East-West Province’s leadership team, said in a welcome. She told The Catholic Free Press this was the only anniversary event in the Worcester diocese and that the celebrations culminate with an Oct. 16 gala with dinner with presentations at the Boston Marriott Burlington.

“The theme of our celebration is ‘an enduring legacy of goodness,’” she told listeners at Mass. “The goodness of God is a key component of the Notre Dame charism – we proclaim it on the cross we wear; we seek to make God’s goodness visible through our lives. And, during this anniversary time, we celebrate the legacy of God’s goodness that has endured for these 175 years.”

Bishop McManus praised religious sisters and thanked the Sisters of Notre Dame for serving the Church and planting seeds.

In his homily Father Steuterman said sisters worked with him in all six parishes where he served. That had a “significant effect on my priesthood and my life, and I’m here to say, ‘Thank you,’” he said.

“The sisters were always in the forefront” in responding to the Second Vatican Council, he said. He remembered them taping talks about the council to share with their communities.

“My first experience with the Sisters of Notre Dame du Lac was when my family moved to Great Brook Valley,” and families in that area attended Mass at the sisters’ place on Plantation Street, now the assisted living community, he said. Children entered the chapel stomping snow from their boots.

“The nuns would never say anything, but they looked horrified” by the mess and the crowd, Father Steuterman said.  

But people appreciated them – and still do. As Father Steuterman named his first Communion teacher, Notre Dame Sister Ann Augusta, listeners responded with what sounded like a fond murmur of recognition. Everybody loved Sister Ann Augusta, he said, recalling how she gave the children holy cards and medals.

Another boyhood memory was looking at tombstones with friends in the sisters’ cemetery on the Plantation Street property – to “see who died on our birthday.” He was also impressed by the “giant scene of Calvary” there.  

“By grade 4 I knew I was going to be a priest, and you had something to do with it,” he told the sisters, who were teachers who gave him experiences of church.  

He also recalled seeing the Notre Dame sisters on Peaks Island off the Maine coast where his family bought a summer cottage and the sisters had a vacation house run by “the famous” Sister Anne St. Joseph, known as “Sarge” because of her strictness.

Father Steuterman said there were Sisters of Notre Dame at Our Lady of the Angels Parish in Worcester and its elementary school when he was a deacon, and later associate pastor, there. Sister Claire Elizabeth Lyons taught him about preparing children for first Communion and Sister Marianne Tynan (no longer a Notre Dame sister) taught him how to create a religious education program. He said he kept in touch with them and used the programs they gave him.

Over the years he also worked with sisters from other congregations, he said, and sisters showed him the importance of gentleness in ministry.

“I’ve been affected deeply by the Sisters, especially the Sisters of Notre Dame,” he said. He summarized their mission in 10 two-letter words: “If it is to be, it is up to me.”

At the end of Mass Notre Dame Sister Marna Rogers, a resident at the assisted living facility, read a historical reflection by Sister Maria Delaney, a member of the East-West Province’s leadership team, who was away. (See: Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur recall history and share thanks.)

At the reception afterwards, people shared their stories with The Catholic Free Press.

“I go back in my mind to the early 1960s,” said Sister Mary Elizabeth Whalen, who lives in Lawrence but is recuperating at Notre Dame Long Term Care Center on the Plantation Street property in Worcester. She said she entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1957.

“We were the biggest group that ever entered in the New England area,” she said. She said there were 78 in their “band,” and about 25 left before final vows.

“Most of us were immature; we were right out of high school,” she said. But now they still get together every two or three years.

Sister Mary Elizabeth taught in Notre Dame Sisters schools in the Boston and North Shore areas, did parish pastoral work in New Hampshire and served on the cabinet of Bishop John B. McCormack, who headed the Manchester diocese from 1998-2011.

Joining Sister Mary Elizabeth at the anniversary celebration was Katherine Murray, one of her former students.

“It was the best education we could get,” being taught by the Notre Dame sisters, said Mrs. Murray.

Deacon Roy Briggs, who serves at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Worcester, and his wife, Denise Briggs, connected with the sisters in a different way.

Mrs. Briggs said she’d been a nurse. After praying about finding another job, she was hired as a coordinator for sisters at Notre Dame du Lac assisted living, to do things that family members would do for other residents.

“It was one of the best jobs I ever had,” said Mrs. Briggs, who retired last January. “We could talk about God. I learned a lot from the sisters.” She said she was impressed with how they showed by their actions that they believe God is good. She decided she’d like to be an Associate of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She and her husband became associates in 2013.

When they attended a luncheon for one of the feast days, as the sisters entered the room, “I could feel the grace of God” increasing, Deacon Briggs said. “I thought, ‘This is a good order. ... I would like to be associated with it.’”

– For more information about the sisters and to purchase tickets to their anniversary gala see snddeneastwest.org/175NE.