ATLANTA--A spirit of celebration and gratitude filled Christ the King School (CKS) as students, teachers, staff and alumni welcomed back four sisters of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart for Founder's Day Feb. 5.

Sister Jean Liston, GNSH, former principal of CKS, Sister Patricia Geary, GNSH, who taught at the school for over 14 years, Sister Agatha Doe, GNSH, who was at the school for five years and Sister Marie Christine Fitzgerald, GNSH, who was one of the original founding nuns, all returned home to CKS thanks to fund-raising by the students.

The homecoming effort was jointly headed by Rebecca Parker, a parent of two CKS students and Carol Fox, enrichment teacher at the school and faculty leader of the student government.

Fox said that the purpose of bringing the sisters back was to introduce the children to some of the over 100 women who since 1937 had made their school what it is today.

"We felt that (knowledge of) the foundation was so vital, that the children needed to learn what gifts they had been given by the nuns," Fox said. "(The opportunity for) these nuns to share their personal lives was extremely beneficial to these children."

The students began collecting money to bring the sisters to Atlanta with a "pennies from heaven" project started by the student government during Catholic Schools' Week. The students raised close to $2,000. While part of the money went to aid the Ugandan Children's Charity Foundation, the rest supported the sisters' trip.

Fox said that the students were "very eagerly anticipating" the nuns' visit, and that they worked hard making posters and spreading the word about the penny collection, sometimes sacrificing their recesses and lunch periods.

Sr. Liston said that she was touched that the current students of CKS, who did not know her or her fellow sisters, worked so hard to bring them back to the school.

"It made me feel so proud, yet humble, that they would care this much about the Grey Nuns," she said.

In an assembly, former CKS student, George Mengert, the director of admissions for Pace Academy, spoke affectionately of the "gliding ghosts"--- the nuns who taught him in the 1950's.

"It was a very different school when I was here in the 1950's. The most obvious difference is that the Grey Nuns are gone...," he said. "They were towering influences upon the lives of all students."

Sister Liston, who was the principal of CKS from 1976-88 and is now the superior general of the order, said that the sisters who founded the school are happy with the results.

"All we wished for in 1937 has happened," she said. "When the sisters came here, they brought with them the spirit of Jesus and the spirit of Marguerite D'Youville (who founded the Grey Nuns)...the spirit of integrity, compassion and competence."

"On behalf of the sisters, we are thrilled to be here," Sister Liston said.

Peggy Warner, principal of CKS, said that Sister Liston's speech brought back fond recollections.

"Hearing Sister Jean address the student body brought back treasured memories of many assemblies when she rejuvenated the CKS school spirit through a mixture of praise, reassurance and challenge," she said.

After a tribute to the Grey Nuns by the CKS girls' choir and a performance by the CKS cheerleaders, Warner presented a Dogwood tree to the founding nun, Sister Fitzgerald.

"This is so you will know that the influence of the Grey Nuns remains and continues to grow at Christ the King," she said."

A brief tree planting ceremony in honor of the sisters followed outside. Light snowflakes fell as Father James Harrison, former assistant at the Cathedral of Christ the King, blessed the tree with a prayer written by Jane Brown, a CKS parent.

"We dedicate this day to the Grey Nuns who brought their faith, their wisdom and their dedication to Atlanta and infused these virtues into the founding of Christ the King School," he prayed. "We thank you for their example, for they planted into the hearts of each child who passed through the halls, a love of Christ, a love of learning and a love of life."

Sixth-grader Katie Flanigan then read a statement of the significance of the Japanese Dogwood tree, a tree which blooms after all of the other Dogwood trees have already blossomed.

"It is a symbol of the spirit of Catholic education in the south as it blooms alone. It is a symbol of the lasting values we take with us from Christ the King School," Flanigan said. "These values are represented not only by the founding sisters present with us today, but by all the outstanding Grey Nuns and teachers in our 60 year history."

Barbara Johansen, a student at CKS from 1939-50, and mother of five children who attended the school, is now a lay associate of the Grey Nuns.

"The stories you hear about nuns rapping knuckles...they were not that kind at all," she said. "They were educators, genteel ladies...not just book educators...they taught discipline, manners and gentleness that round out the whole human being. It is still alive at CKS today. I am very impressed with how that is still carried out."

Johansen attended CKS girls' high school, which existed only from 1943-58 with classes held in the lower level of the cathedral in a space now reserved for church offices.

"It was a great place to have your foundation, education and faith formed," Johansen said.

Gus Merkle attended the school from 1976-84 and brought a book entitled Gus that Sister Liston had given him in the first grade so she could autograph it for him.

"On my first day of first grade, they called me to the office over the loudspeaker," he said. "Sister Jean had a book and said if I could read the title then I could have it...of course the title was my name."

The four sisters told many stories as they toured the school, speaking with teachers and students about their years at CKS.

The students were intrigued by the sisters and their stories of the way the school began.

Sister Fitzgerald said that she fondly remembers her years at the school.

"I was one of the first ones. It was my first assignment...I had just taken my vows," she said. "I was on cloud nine. I loved everything about it."

She also said that she was amazed by the growth of the school. She had once taught in the rectory, separated from the chapel by a "green canvas curtain."

Sister Fitzgerald spent most of her time with the kindergarten class, who sat and listened to her stories attentively.

"[The kindergarteners] had a picture of me in my old habit. They picked me out. That surprised me because I am an old lady now. I was just 21 years old when that picture was taken," she said. "They picked me out and wanted to meet me, so I went in as a celebrity. I loved it."

She said that she was pleased with the way the students treated her.

"They were so respectful, but open," she said. "There is a kind of respect that makes [children] shy. I don't like that, but these children aren't like that...they were very open to us."

Sister Fitzgerald, who lives in the infirmary of the motherhouse of the Grey Nuns in Yardley, Pa., also said she was happy she had the opportunity to travel.

"I'm 82 now, and I'm not active in that many ways...I try to be, but it was such pleasant trip to see the whole area built up, particularly the school."

Sister Doe, who lives in upstate New York, described the event as "...one of the highlights of my religious life."

She said that she was impressed with the way the students took care of her and the other sisters.

"I couldn't believe how attentive they were," she said.

All of the sisters said they were pleased that their legacy has continued at the school.

"The students are just the way we would want them to be if we were still working there," Sister Fitzgerald said. "That was the biggest thrill for me."

"Just seeing the teachers who have certainly caught the spirit of St. Marguerite D'Youville--her love for the poor and love for those in need, that is what we hoped for and that is what we worked for," Sister Doe said.

Before touring the school, Sister Geary told the story of the unique windows in the school chapel that portray the history of the Grey Nuns.

"They are the only windows in the world that depict our works," she said.

Each lower window portrays the work of the Grey Nuns, including prayer, working with children, teaching, working with the poor, tending to the sick and preparing young children for the sacraments.

Sister Geary said that the teachers and staff have made sure that the children know of the work of the Grey Nuns.

"I think we are very touched that the children would learn of the early founders of the school and of the Grey Nuns," she said. "Mrs. Warner and the teachers have always kept the connection."

Sister Liston, for whom the library of CKS was named in 1988 and under whom the school became a National School of Excellence in 1986, said that she was very happy to return to the school.

"Twelve of my happiest years as a Grey Nun were spent here," she said. "We really tried to foster a spirit of community and of love. I think we've succeeded because that spirit is still here."

Most of the students at CKS have never been taught by nuns and were influenced by the visit of the sisters.

Eighth-grader Philip Consuegra said that meeting the nuns was a highlight of his years at the school.

"To meet the people who actually founded my school was one of the most unique experiences of my life...," he said.

He also said that he thinks he would have liked to experience being a student of the sisters'.

"I think I have great teachers now, but I would have liked to have been taught by nuns," he said.

Warner said that having the Grey Nuns come back to the school was a wonderful experience.

"It was great having so many of the sisters' long time friends and former students come to visit and renew old friendships," she said. "It was another milestone for our school--another page in the precious memory book which binds us together as community."