Tell us about your growing up years and family.
My family story begins with my paternal grandmother, Bertha, traveling from Ireland with her brother, Daniel, on the Titanic that fatal night of April 15, 1912. Both in their 20’s, my grandmother was able to get in one of the last lifeboats but tragically her brother drowned, and this will be part of our family story for generations. My grandmother was a woman of deep faith and passed her faith on to our family. My dad worked in a factory in Detroit and my mother cared for all seven of us children. From eldest Pat, Dick, myself, Danny, Mike, Patrick, and Tim; my sister and older brother are already in heaven. Our family has been blessed with many amazing in-laws, nieces and nephew and grand-nieces and nephews. We grew up in Allen Park, Michigan where my mother lived until her death at the grand age of 87. My parents were Irish, Catholic, loving and altruistic. My dad was a union man, advocating and participating in demonstrations for workers’ rights; my mother advocated for those in need physically or emotionally in our neighborhood and beyond. When she was in her 80’s, she was learning the computer, writing letters to the editor against the war in Iraq and still assisting at the polls during elections.
As siblings, we all chose professions of service and advocacy, following the example of our parents who continue to be with us in spirit every year as we gather for our family reunion. I flew to Boston to enter religious life at the age of 18 and never had the comfort of living near them again, until my father’s two year prognosis for recurring cancer. No matter where I lived through the years in Boston, Ireland, Taiwan, Tanzania or California, every Sunday my dad wrote a letter to me with family news and visited me in Taiwan and Tanzania. My mother was afraid to fly, so missed these memorable cultural experiences. I am most grateful that I was able to live near my family during the last years of my parent’s lives and be with them and family when they took their last breaths. My mother and I were best friends and her last words to me were: “When you need me, I will be here,” gently touching her heart. To this day, remembering my mother’s loving blessing evokes both tears and deep down consolation.

Front: Dad, Mom. Patrick was in Alaska.
Please share a favorite story about your early community service.
My religious life has been doubly blessed by being a member of two Congregations, first as a Medical Missionary of Mary for 27 years and then as a Franciscan Sister for the past 33 plus years, celebrating my 60th Jubilee this year. I will share one of many favorite stories as an MMM and as a Franciscan.
When I served in Tanzania as an MMM nurse-midwife, I had many nights on call for difficult deliveries. I would be awakened by a nurse and security guard, calling me through my bedroom window. With our flashlights and the light of the moon, the sound of hyenas crying out in the distance, and watching for snakes, we walked over to the hospital. Did I mention I am afraid of snakes? The guard carried a long stick to help us keep safe, no matter what happened on the way. In the small delivery room with an oil lamp for light, I often encountered deliveries that were way beyond my training. In those moments, I would take a few deep down breaths, pray and plead to Our Midwife God to guide me through a safe delivery to hear a crying baby and see a happy mama! SHE never, ever let me down!

In 2007, Sister Margie Wolf OSF, our long-time New Yorker, Franciscan missionary in Tanzania, asked me to share my experience of being a Clinical Psychologist and Novice Directress with our Tanzanian Sisters, the young Tanzanian women preparing to make vows and the Friar postulants from many African countries. I returned to Tanzania 12 more times sharing many topics, including Franciscan spirituality, psychology and leadership. Recently, Fr. Ovan Mengue, Vicar General of Rulenge-Ngara Diocese in Tanzania asked me to preach the Annual Retreat for the priests in the diocese. How could I have imagined that my first call to Africa as a little girl would become a lifelong call and blessing as an MMM, Franciscan and through the Tanzanian priests?
Why did you decide to become a sister?
My call to religious life began when the Sisters of Holy Family of Nazareth taught us in grade school to save our allowance for African children who did not have enough food to eat; it sparked the desire in me to go there and help them. After school I would often ride my bike to our church which was a mile away for Benediction. I felt God’s presence deeply and felt drawn to keep returning. In high school, I was socially active going to football games, dances, studying, co-editor of our school newspaper and having fun with my friends. At the same time, I could feel God gently pulling my heart-strings toward religious life so I decided to enter the MMM’s and told God that She better call me louder or I would return home.
How do you share your Franciscan values and spirituality now?
S. Sheral Marshall and I have lived together for many years and recently moved from the Bay Area to Arroyo Grande to “retire.” In truth, Franciscan Sisters never retire from advocating for the marginalized and disenfranchised. Together we reflected on the story of St. Francis’ intense fear of those living with leprosy. Francis always ran away from them but one day he felt compelled to turn back around, walk toward the man, look him in the eyes and embrace him. Their embrace became a transformative life-changing encounter influencing the rest of Francis’ life. Today, acknowledging the fear of developing Alzheimer’s in ourselves and others who are aging, we want to follow Francis’ example. Rather than fear Alzheimer’s and whisper about it, we want to face it by learning more and sharing more openly about Alzheimer’s. We live close to Santa Maria, California where 77.7% of the people are Hispanic and Indigenous; they are one and one half times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than Caucasians. We know that the earlier symptoms are recognized, diagnosed and treated the possibility of living with quality of life lengthens. They are our neighbors and we want to share this awareness with them and others

What would you like us to know about being a Franciscan?
Francis’s example of embracing the person living with leprosy inspires me to continue advocating for those on the margins and disenfranchised; Clare’s life of contemplation and loving service inspires me to balance my time of loving service with time for prayer; Magdalen’s example of persevering no matter what difficulties she encountered by trusting that God would provide, inspires me to persevere through obstacles and setbacks by repeating her mantra: God will provide!
Please share a favorite quote or verse.
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped and was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Luke 1:41. As a midwife, the joyful encounter of Mary and Elizabeth, both pregnant with life, encouraging each other has always inspired me. When I reflect back on my life, I have been a midwife assisting mothers through childbirth, a midwife assisting transformative encounters with others as a clinical psychologist and a midwife assisting in the birth of Franciscan Tanzanian Leadership.