Passionist Mother Superior Shares Family Ties

On June 22, the Passionist Nuns of St. Joseph Monastery of the Diocese of Owensboro, Ky., elected Sister John Mary Read to serve as Mother Superior.  The community of 15 nuns and one Affiliate Oblate lives a cloistered life of prayer on the grounds of St. Joseph Monastery, where they manage a small retreat house.  

The daughter of Bill and Bernadine Read of Elberfeld, Ind., Mother John Mary is the oldest of five siblings - one of whom is Father Jeff Read, administrator of St. Mary’s Parish in Sullivan and St. Joan of Arc Parish in Jasonville.

Mother John Mary, as she is now known, is one of two nuns who act as a bridge between the older and younger Sisters. “There are only two of us that bridge that gap,” she told of the nuns who range from age 20 to 86 years old. “We’re so united.  We’re a family, and like any family, it is important for all to share their opinion.  It’s beautiful and humbling.”  This spirit of family leads to a broader acceptance of the limitation of Sisters, reducing the expectation that all fit the same mold.

She first heard the call of God during a snowstorm that had stranded students in their small Catholic school in the country and was thrilled to get to spend the night with the Sisters in the convent. She began her religious vocation in 1995, and in her own words moved from “prom queen to a cloistered nun.”

As the oldest of five, she admits she was a bit bossy.  Father Read echoes that sentiment. “She bossed us around sometimes, and if we argued or fought back she'd say ‘take a chill pill,’” he said. ”Later on, when I was in middle school she would bribe me to do a holy hour with her at St. James (in Haubstadt) by promising Dairy Queen afterward.”

While all of the Read children were definitely on their own journeys, Mother John Mary felt compelled to do penance and pray for her brother Jeff, who was discerning a call to priesthood after her final vows in 2003.  “I visited with him and shared heart to heart,” she said. “(My prayers) lasted several years.  That was a very powerful and unique time.”  

She has led a life with the understanding that “God is using me to be all I can be.” Sister John Mary said. “It’s purifying, and it gives wisdom. Our work is prayer, to allow love to flow out to the world. I’m very blessed to have this lifestyle.”

Elections are held every three years, and the process of election was nerve-wracking as Mother John Mary waited for the results. “Afterward, when I read about others who had gone through similar experiences, I found comfort that others felt the same way,” she said. ”Before hand I was a bundle of nerves.  But with God’s Grace all things are possible.”

The Passionist Nuns of today, with their typical day filled with reflective prayer and quiet reverence, embrace modern conventions. Communication tools such as the internet, blogs and email allow the sisters to share their faith with the outside world. As Mother John Mary explains,”We have drawn up norms for the use of the gift of technology so it doesn’t infringe upon our contemplative monastic way of life.”  

Mother John Mary is known for her vocation work and particularly her blog on the website passionistnunsblog.com.