By Father Peter A. Dora

Sister Mary Sara of St. Mary's Hospital in Athens is a true pioneer in the Church in Northeast Georgia. She arrived in Athens 40 years ago when the hospital was reopened as a Catholic institution. Last week she celebrated her golden anniversary as a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

In May of 1938, Sister Sara and three other sisters arrived in Athens to run a Catholic hospital. "We worked so hard," she recalls. "Athens was very poor and all the poor came to us for help. The stores didn't have anything we needed, and they didn't give credit. Private duty nurses were working 24-hour shifts and sleeping on little cots. The general staff nurses worked a 12-hour day for their food and clothes and $30 a month. It was a very bad time."

Sister Sara organized the dietary department and became its director. Old timers tell many stories of free meals given to the poor by Sister Sara in the name of Christ. She not only directed the dietary department -- she in many ways was the dietary department.

Anyone who has been associated with the Catholic Church in Northeast Georgia over the past 40 years can testify to the contribution of the sisters at St. Mary's to the spread of the Gospel. Throughout this time they never failed to reach out in love to all who came their way.

Priests who have been stationed in Athens frequently come across people in remote areas of the parish (it covers five counties) who have never seen a priest and who know almost nothing about Catholicism. But they do know one thing: those women at that Catholic hospital in Athens are just wonderful. These same people can tell stories of how the sisters helped them and their families in time of tragedy or grief. They recount the many charities of the sisters in dealing with the poor. They tell of the efforts of the sisters to share in the lives of the patients and their families.

Sister Sara has made friends throughout the area over the past 40 years, but people are not her only love. She is also well-known for her work with plants. For years she would finish her regular full-time work in the hospital kitchen, only to pick up her garden tools and go to work with the flowers and plants. An inspection of the grounds of St. Mary's will give immediate proof of her love of the things of nature. They have a true personality flowing from the loving touch of Sister Sara.

Recently a new garden pavilion was added to the building to provide a place for guests and employees to eat and relax outdoors. Sister Sara went right to work on the place and gave it her touch.

At a luncheon in her honor, Sister Sara was presented with a resolution from the board of directors naming the garden in her honor. There is a bronze plaque on the wall proclaiming: "Sister Sara's Garden."

Sister Sara was born 75 years ago in the small Bavarian town of BadKissingen, which is famous for its mineral waters. "Guests from all parts of the world came to bathe in these waters," she said.

For six years, she worked in a hotel which served the guests who came for the healing effects of the mineral waters. It was here that she learned the skills of institutional food preparation. This type of service was not enough for her, however. When she was 22, she left her parents and nine brothers and sisters to enter the religious life. "I wanted to serve one Master -- Christ," she said. "I wanted to do good in the world, and the only one I really trusted was God."

After her transfer to the United States in 1930, she was never to see her parents again.

For six years, the young sister worked with the dietician at the motherhouse in Reading, PA. In 1936, she organized and became Director of the Dietary Department of Sacred Heart Hospital in Norristown, PA. In May of 1938, she set out to re-open St. Mary's Hospital in Athens. Once again, she organized a dietary department and became its director. She remained in the position until January of this year, at which time she retired. She now spends her time working on the hospital grounds.

On September 9, Sister Sara's anniversary was celebrated with a Mass at the convent chapel. Many of her friends were present including eight priests who have been associated with the Catholic Church in Athens over the last 40 years.