Alexandria to say goodbye to School Sisters of Notre Dame 'They are so special and we will miss them' By Lisa L. Wilson This story is posted with the permission of The Catholic Moment - Newspaper of the Diocese of Lafayette, Indiana. It first appeared in the July 30, 2006 edition of The Catholic Moment.
	Sister Mary Brigid, left, and Sister Mary Denis (Photo courtesy of Julie Barrett)

ALEXANDRIA - At St. Mary Parish, the words "enthusiastic," "giving," "caring" and "family" come up over and over in conversations about Sister Mary Denis O'Reilly, SSND, and Sister Mary Brigid O'Reilly, SSND, who have served and lovingly guided the children of St. Mary School here since the 1980s.

The sisters will put away their chalk and retire to their congregation's motherhouse in Elm Grove, Wis., later this summer, but not before the people of St. Mary gather to thank them for their years of dedicated service to the parish and school.

The sisters' departure will mark the end of more than 100 years of service given by the Congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame to the children of Alexandria, Father Paul Cochran, pastor, said.

"The sisters' service here has been a blessing, and we will definitely miss them," he said.

	S. Mary Brigid, left and S. Mary Denis with students at St. Mary School, in 2001. (File photos courtesy of Julie Barrett) School Sisters of Notre Dame first arrived at St. Mary in the fall of 1897. More than 100 sisters served at the school in the years that followed.

Sister Mary Denis has served as the school's principal since 1982. Her sister, Sister Mary Brigid, followed her to Alexandria five years later to teach seventh and eighth grades. Both, like their predecessors, have served the school's children and the Church community with great caring and enthusiasm, Father Cochran said.

"They are wonderful, wonderful nuns and I admire them tremendously. In all their years here, they have worked tirelessly to educate the children of our community and they have forged bonds with the people. They are both incredibly gifted teachers - they're just perfect nuns. When I think about perfect nuns, I think about them. They're holy, wonderful people," he said.

In her years as principal she has amassed many wonderful memories, Sister Mary Denis said.

"When I first came, three other sisters were living here (her arrival with two additional sisters brought the number of sisters in the convent to six) and we were in the old school at that time. We had the convent, the church and the school. It was a really old school, but it was great to be in. It was great to be here and to be with the children. Teaching them has been a blessing, and in return, they have given me so much," she said.

Over the years, changes came to the St. Mary campus. Included among the changes was the addition of a new school building, which opened in 1988. More recently, the church was remodeled and rededicated. The outward change to the campus has reflected in a small way the changes she has noticed in the children she teaches, Sister Mary Denis said.

"I think the children have changed, especially in the last five years or so - with the war and all of the different conditions that are going on in the world around them," she said. "They seem to take life a bit more seriously and they aren't as carefree."

Sister Mary Brigid, who for 19 years has taught seventh- and eighth-grade students at the school, agreed with her sister's observation, adding, "The children aren't as calm. You feel bad for the children because they don't have that calmness and that peace - and they want that. The seventh- and eighth-graders are pretty much the same, but they grow up faster in many ways. I've always liked working with them. We have very good children on the whole, and the people here have been wonderful to us. They have been very helpful and supportive in all we have done."

Over the years, the people of the community have become like family, Sister Mary Denis said.

"We have many friends - even beyond St. Mary's," she said. The people of the community have always been willing to do whatever they can to help the sisters, she said, and they have always known that if a need were to arise, it would be taken care of.

The support of the people, and of the pastors who have cared for the parish and its school, has allowed the sisters teaching there to keep the focus on the children, Sister Mary Brigid said.

"I think that because of the support we've received, we have been able to build a strong foundation, and we have an excellent faculty. They can carry on now," she said. "We still love to teach, and we love to be with the children, but we felt that now is the time to retire, while we still have our health and pep."

Their retirement will be active, Sister Mary Denis said.

"There are many ministries we can become involved with, including care to the sick, so we will be busy," she said.

They also plan to use the extra time they gain to pray more, Sister Mary Brigid said - an activity that one young student said the sisters didn't have to retire to do.

"She told me she didn't want us to go, and she asked what I would do with my time if I wasn't teaching. When I told her I would pray a lot more, she said very matter-of-fact that I could do that here. I didn't have to go away to pray more," she said.

It will be hard to leave the parish, Sister Mary Denis said.

"We have witnessed so much, death and life. Families have changed. Children have grown up, come back and had families of their own. The people have helped us so much. They are deeply religious and have a great love for the Church. But most of all, we will miss the children," she said.

St. Mary parishioner Joanne Sullivan said the sisters have positively impacted the community, and will leave behind many, many friends.

"It's hard to even find words - the sisters have been great friends of mine. We have truly appreciated their presence in our parish and our school, and they have done so many things for so many people in a quiet way. They are so special and we will miss them terribly, but we wish them well in their retirement," she said.

Jim and Nora Cleaver, parishioners who have spent many hours volunteering at the school, said the sisters' departure will be bittersweet.

"We're certainly going to miss them. They have been excellent teachers and really good friends. Our students have received so much from them - they get so much out of school, and the sisters are responsible for the success of our students after they leave St. Mary; many are at the top of their class in high school and I know that goes directly to the level of education they received," Mr. Cleaver said.

Mrs. Cleaver added, "We're sad, but we are so happy for them. I'm really going to miss seeing them at Mass each morning and also seeing their smiles, caring, enthusiasm and concern for the kids at school each day. We wish them a long, healthy, safe and happy retirement - they really deserve it for all of the wonderful years they have given us."

Janet Rastetter, whose home-cooked meals fed the sisters on the days they were teaching, said, "I'm going to miss them a lot. They're not only religious sisters serving our community, they have been neighbors and good friends. They've watched my children grow up, and we've become like family over the years."

Father Philip Haslinger, who served as the parish pastor in Alexandria from 1985 to 1999, said the service of the School Sisters of Notre Dame has left an indelible mark not only on the people and the community, but also on him as a person.

"I always felt that they were great mentors for me. This was the first parish I was in that had a school, and so I learned an awful lot about how to run a school from both of them," he said. "I found the sisters to be great signposts on the journey of life for me in a spiritual sense. They had a wealth of knowledge and a willingness to always share that. They had a great enthusiasm for teaching and a great love for the students and I know that the people felt a great privilege to have the sisters and the fact that as a small parish they could retain a parochial school. I know the sisters' presence will truly be missed."

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