BY ERIKA ANDERSON

Staff Writer

DECATUR--The order of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Philadelphia will be withdrawing from Sts. Peter and Paul School effective June 1999.

Sister Mary Jane McDonnell, IHM, school principal, second-grade teacher Sister Jeanne Baker, IHM, and religion teacher Sister Mary King, IHM, were notified in early November by their superior general that they would be withdrawn from the Decatur Catholic elementary school at the end of the current school year because of the vocations situation in the order.

“For staffing in school, we just don’t have the number of vocations that we did,” Sister McDonnell said. “We’re trying to make a community and we just can’t do that when we spread ourselves so thin.”

Sister McDonnell, who has been principal for three years, said she is saddened by the decision, but knows it is God’s will.

“When you see so many good things going on, it’s hard to leave,” she said. “But Jesus had to leave his apostles too and trust that they would carry on his work. That’s where your faith comes in. We are living our vows and the vow of obedience that says we have to do what we are told. This is God’s word for us.”

Dozens of IHM sisters have served Sts. Peter and Paul for over 35 years. Sister McDonnell said she is confident that their influence will forever be a part of the school.

“In this school the education is wonderful and I know that the IHM traditions will be carried on without us,” she said. “But part of my heart will always be here.”

Father Richard Wise, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, said the order will leave a lasting legacy in both the school and the parish.

“The IHM sisters have provided a tremendous foundation for Sts. Peter and Paul School,” the pastor said. “Their service in the parish and the school has been a marvelous blessing from almighty God. They are going to be truly missed. But what we are able to do with what they have established for us, it will be a monument to their faith and their hard work.”

This is the first position as principal for Sister McDonnell, who said she has learned that there are many more opportunities to minister as the head of a school.

“As a principal, there is such a broader view with meeting so many people and ministering to everyone, from the children to the salesman,” she said. “There is more of a ministry of education, I think, as a principal.”

Sister McDonnell said that the hardest part about leaving the school is knowing that other IHM sisters will not be coming to replace them. Officials of the archdiocesan Department of Catholic Education, Sister McDonnell, Sts. Peter and Paul representatives and Father Wise will begin the search for a new principal in December.

Sister McDonnell said that it has not been determined if the new principal will be a lay person or a member of another religious community, but that she trusts that God will continue to bless the school.

“I know Father Wise hopes to get another religious community, but we will get whoever is best for Sts. Peter and Paul,” she said. “This is holy ground, this is a special place and I know it’s a special place in God’s heart. I can just hope that the next person will come in and carry on and do a better job than I did.”

The IHM sisters who minister at St. Joseph’s School in Athens, who are members of the same order, will remain at the school.