By Rita McInerney

This is a year of joy and grace for 10 sisters of the Archdiocese of Atlanta who are celebrating milestones in their religious lives. Five of them are being honored on their 50th anniversaries and five on their 25th anniversaries. In all, they have served the Church and its people for 375 years and expect to continue their work for many more years.

Their service is in the traditional roles as teachers and nurses and in specialized areas with pregnant women and girls, youth with learning disabilities, troubled adolescents, the sick and the lonely in the parishes and in the city.

Most of them have been part of the joyful liturgies celebrated as motherhouses in distant states. Nostalgic reunion-receptions are part of the celebrations when the jubilarians get together. A number are being honored by the school children and parishioners they serve. Just recently, on April 29, the Atlanta Conference of Sisters honored them at a prayer service and festive dinner at the Village of St. Joseph.

The honored sisters received corsages during the prayer service which was prepared and led by the members of the jubilee committee of the conference. Personal gifts were presented to each celebrant present at the dinner which followed in the gym-auditorium.

Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan was among the 70 or more guests.

Among sisters celebrating 50 years in religious life is Sister Roberta Joseph Sutton, C.S.J., who was the subject of a feature story in the March 14 issue of the Georgia Bulletin. A member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis, Mo., she helps the poor and the elderly of Atlanta for Catholic Social Services.

The other sister being honored on their golden jubilee are:

Sister Betty Donohue, G.N.S.H., who has been serving in the archdiocese, although not consecutively, for about 35 years. She has been principal and superior at Christ the King School and at the now defunct D’Youville Academy in Chamblee. She has taught at St. Pius X High School and been a pastoral assistant at Holy Family in Marietta. Now she can be found working in the library at Christ the King where she is happy to be able to be present for those who come in looking for someone to talk to, someone who will listen.

Next month, she will travel to the motherhouse of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart in Yardley, Pa., when 23 members of the community will be honored at jubilee liturgies. And she is looking ahead to Sept. 7 and the Mass of thanksgiving to be celebrated for her at the Cathedral of Christ the King. A reception will follow at the Hyland Center.

All through her 50-year ministry she has been a “people person. I love people of all ages. And it is good to see the children of some of my former pupils in school now. I’ve been very happy in my religious life with the peace and happiness that comes from serving the Lord and His people.”

Sister Weneberg Kaeuper, M.S.C., has been involved in pastoral ministry at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens since coming to the Archdiocese of Atlanta almost five years ago. Earlier she served as administrator of Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, Pa., for 20 years. Before becoming administrator she was on the hospital nursing staff for 15 years.

Sister Kaeuper is at the motherhouse of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Reading, Pa., until May 20 for a retreat and celebration of her 50 years in the order. She expresses her happiness over her life succinctly: “If I had to do it all over again I would enter the same community and have the same goals.”

Sister Agnes Marie Lang, C.S.J., has served in the archdiocese for 42 years including 35 years as a teacher in the diocesan schools. She is now the bookkeeper at St. Joseph’s Village.

Sister Lang entered the novitiate in Augusta, Ga., of the Georgia Province of the Sisters of St. Joseph. The province was later disbanded and members joined with the St. Louis, Mo., province. On March 23, she was among the 21 jubilarians of the community honored at a Mass and reception in St. Louis. Another celebration, for members of her family, sisters and friends will be held at the Village on June 15.

She finds it hard to put into words the joy she felt during the St. Louis celebration: “It made you feel very close to God. It was just a beautiful experience to feel that you are a part of it all. I can remember at my profession the wonderful feeling of being a sister. This just made it so much more real, after 50 years.”

Sister Ann Marie McDonough, S.N.D., has been working with children with learning disabilities at St. Pius X High School for the past 13 years. She came to the archdiocese after teaching in all-girl schools in the Philadelphia area for 34 years. She received her master’s degree from Villanova University and was professed at the Sisters of Mercy motherhouse in Ilchester near Baltimore, Md.

She is eager to praise the young people of today. “Kids today are nice. They’re frank and honest, they come out and say what they mean. Inside they’re worried about this nuclear thing. More are reading today than watching television. Most kids are good at heart. I believe in them.” Among the faculty at St. Pius X High School she finds “the best spirit I have ever met any place. I like the job, it’s the best job in the world.”

There is one native of Atlanta among the 10 sisters observing the jubilees:

Sister Carol Patron, C.S.J., was honored at St. Anthony’s Church on her 25th anniversary. It was another happy chapter in the life of the Patron family at the church. Her mother, the former Myrtle Sullivan, grew up in the parish and married R. Patron there. Their four sons and four daughters attended school there. Later, Sister Patron served as school principal for five years. For the past five years she has been teaching 13 to 17 year olds at the Village of St. Joseph. Before returning to her hometown she taught in Indianapolis for two years and Denver for eight years.

Just recently, she returned to St. Louis for the celebration at the motherhouse. “The whole celebration was one of the most joyous of my life. I’m grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness to me during those years. It has renewed my commitment in wanting to serve the Lord.”

Sister Joan Marie Daly, G.N.S.H., has been serving in the archdiocese for 13 years, the last seven at Corpus Christi parish in Stone Mountain where she is involved in several areas of adult education; preparing parents for the baptism of children, working with the ministries to sick and with the support group for divorced, widowed and separated members of the parish.

She will return to the Grey Nuns’ motherhouse in Yardley, Pa., for the June celebration. There will also be a celebration June 23 at Corpus Christi.

“I’m very grateful for all the experiences of the past 25 years and I’m looking forward to the years coming up with lots of faith and hope. I’m open to the surprises the Lord has in store. The Holy Spirit is in charge. The Church is moving in the right direction and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

Sister Santa Marie D’Angelo, R.S.M., is in her second year as principal of St. John the Evangelist School in Hapeville. Before coming to the archdiocese two years ago, she served as a school principal in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for 15 years.

Her celebration began April 12 at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy in Merion, Pa., On April 26, the school children in Hapeville surprised her with a prayer service and entertainment. The parish celebration, Mass and a reception, took place April 28. Throughout she has been surprised “because so many people were so overjoyed. I’m not getting ‘So what’, I’m getting ‘Wow’. Commitment is so hard to come by these days in any walk of life, people seem really happy for me. I have been graced, blessed all the way by the hand of God.”

Sister Mary Jacobs, C.S.J., has been serving in the archdiocese for five years. In her work as project coordinator for the Crisis Pregnancy Service of Catholic Social Services, she is available to girls who need help, whether it is for a place to live, for medical care, making a decision on keeping or giving up her infant, and counseling after the birth takes place.

Before coming to Atlanta, Sister Jacobs was a public health nurse in Cullman, Ala. She received her nursing degree in Kansas City, Mo., in 1952 and later set up the first coronary care unit at a hospital in that city.

She returned to the motherhouse in St. Louis on May 3-4 for the 25th jubilee celebration for the women who entered when she did. “It was great. I must admit I had no idea 25 years ago that I would be where I am today. It says a lot for being able to make changes, in your life, in the Church, all around you.”

Sister Judith Diane McGowan, R.S.M., has been six years in the archdiocese, as principal of Our Lady of the Assumption School. Before coming to Atlanta, she served for ten years as principal of Our Lady of Sorrows School in Birmingham and taught in Mobile, Ala. The parish will honor her on Sept. 7 with a Mass and reception.

The group that she entered the novitiate with 25 years ago will not gather at the motherhouse of the Province of Baltimore “because we are so spread out.” But for her “it’s been a very special 25 years. I’m deeply grateful to the community for all the experiences I’ve had. I’d do it all over again in a minute. I’m very happy to be a Sister of Mercy.”