Sisters Of St. Benedict Honored At Holy Family School

Editor’s note: This speech was presented during Catholic Schools Week at Holy Family School in Jasper.

This year we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Catholic Schools Week and appropriately, the theme is “Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.” Holy Family School is just that, a community whose foundation is rooted in our Catholic faith, where high expectations are held for academic excellence and the pursuit of knowledge, and the Gospel is in action through service to the community, both locally and globally. These expectations for faith, knowledge and service didn’t just appear; rather, they were instilled in our students and families by those who walked these school halls and taught in the classrooms long before we were here. This is why we gather today, to recognize and honor those who came before us, and to continue the legacy that they have begun.  Today, we honor the Sisters of St. Benedict as the 2014 recipients of our Catholic Schools Week Distinguished Family Award.

Twenty-one Benedictine sisters, thirteen of who join us today, have served as tutors, teachers and principals since 1973 until now. As they live lives that are dedicated to God, they shared the Gospel through their daily interactions with students, colleagues, and parents, states a teacher who was blessed to work alongside the Benedictine Sisters. A former student writes, "I feel very blessed to have been able to share in my faith and education with many of the sisters. They were very strict in the classroom but at the same time very compassionate in their teaching."

Of course, there were those moments of humor and lightheartedness too, as a former student reveals. I’ll never be able to look at Kermit the Frog without thinking of Sister Mary Beth Maier. She was my eighth grade teacher. She used a stuffed Kermit the Frog as a teaching aid. If you were not paying attention in class, Kermit would often pay you a visit. Before eighth grade, I did not know that frogs could fly."

Maybe as a result of those moments in which Kermit the Frog was flying, this student also remembers "the sound of rattling keys that hung from the side of Sister Jolinda Naas. She was the principal through most of my years at Holy Family School. You always knew that she was coming down the hall. I now wonder if she wanted to give us the time to straighten up before she came around the corner.

I don’t remember Sister Marilyn Schroering wearing keys on her side. She was the principal during my eighth grade year. That could explain why I got in more trouble that year!" While this may have happened years ago, it seems like yesterday to this student. I am certain that our students today are making the same type of fond memories with Sister Louise and Sister Susan Ann!

So today, we say “Thank You” to the Benedictine Sisters. Thank you for your guidance and discipline, sometimes with a stern look but always with compassion. Thank you for your humor and loving spirit. Thank you for the faith you instilled in those whom you taught and who are now passing on our faith to their children. Thank you to each of the Sisters of St. Benedict that were called to be teachers and administrators at Holy Family School:

• Sister Lorraine DeVault

• Sister Mary Karen Hill

• Sister Elnora Shidler

• Sister Mary Beth Maier

• Sister Mary Claude Croteau

• Sister Sarah Kares

• Sister Aloysius Gutgsell

• Sister Jolinda Nass   

• Sister Benita Biever

• Sister Geneva Stumler

• Sister Estelle Knapp

• Sister Mary Hilary Fehribach

• Sister Jan Youart

• Sister Leona Schlachter

• Sister Laura Marie Schmitt

• Sister Marilyn Schroering

• Sister Mary Leon Kiesel

• Sister Stephanie Seng

• Sister Mary Carol Kinghorn

• Sister Louise LaRoche

• Sister Susan Ann Necas

Thank you for your dedication and service to Holy Family School. You have been, and continue to be, a great example to students and parents of how to live a life dedicated to Jesus and service to others.

On behalf of Father John, myself, and the entire Holy Family School community, please know of our gratitude for your 40 years of service to the community of Holy Family School.  It is my privilege and honor to present The Sisters of St. Benedict with the 2014 Distinguished Family Award.