June 20, 2019 // Diocese

Sisters of the Holy Cross celebrate jubilee anniversaries

Todays Catholic

NOTRE DAME – Nine Sisters of the Holy Cross will celebrate their jubilee years of consecrated life on July 21, in the Church of Our Lady of Loretto, Notre Dame. Three sisters are celebrating 75 years since their initial profession, two are marking 50 years, and four are celebrating 25 years — a collective 425 years of vowed life in the congregation. Four jubilarians have served in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

Sister M. Carmen (Davy), CSC, celebrates 75 years of consecrated life. She was born in Los Angeles, California. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Saint Mary-of-the-Wasatch, Salt Lake City, Utah, and a Master of Arts from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Sister Carmen made her initial profession of vows on Feb. 2, 1944, and her perpetual profession on Aug. 15, 1947.    

She began her career teaching elementary students at St. Alphonsus School, Fresno, California, where she served for five years. She went on to minister for four years at Saint Mary’s Campus School, Notre Dame.

Sister Carmen served for 20 years in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan). She taught at Holy Cross College and at an elementary school in Dhaka. During her 10 years as Area superior, she also engaged in social service work and taught religion at Holy Rosary Orphanage, Dhaka.

After spending time in Asia, Sister Carmen returned to Saint Mary’s to serve as the congregation’s mission and apostolate abroad program coordinator for five years.

Beginning in 1974, she served for 16 years at the Sisters of the Holy Cross Mater Ecclesiae Center, Tiberias, Israel. There she taught Scripture and served as spiritual director for seven years. While serving as director of the center, she also held the position of Area superior, a role she fulfilled for seven years. Sister Carmen also guided formation programs and served as novice director at the center.

Returning to Bangladesh in 1993, she continued her work in formation and served in parish ministry at Corpus Christi Convent, Jalchatra, Tangail. For three years in Shillong, Meghalaya, India, as a tutor, formator and religious studies teacher, Sister Carmen helped guide young women interested in pursuing a religious vocation. Her main ministry today is to pray for the Church and the world.

Sister M. St. Brigid (Bromeling), CSC, a 75-year jubilarian, was born in Woodlawn, Pennsylvania. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, and a Master of Arts from the Saint Mary’s College School of Theology. Sister St. Brigid made her initial profession of vows on Aug. 15, 1944, and her perpetual profession on Aug. 15, 1947.    

She served in education for much of her life of ministry. Sister St. Brigid taught elementary school students for five years in four California dioceses, and junior high students for four years at Holy Redeemer School, Flint, Michigan. She also worked in elementary education and taught college courses at Vila Betania in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for five years. In South Bend, she served 12 years as an elementary school teacher at St. Patrick School and St. Mary’s Academy. Beginning in 1972, Sister St. Brigid devoted 22 years to service to the congregation, including 14 years as driver for sisters living at Our Lady of Holy Cross Convent, South Bend. She currently serves in the ministry of prayer.

Sister M. Georgia (Costin), CSC, is a 75-year jubilarian who shared her gifts as an educator for 34 years, 16 of them in the Diocese of Gary. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and earned her bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, and two Master of Arts degrees — one in English from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the other in criminal justice from Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. Sister Georgia made her initial profession of vows on Aug. 15, 1944, and her perpetual profession on Aug. 15, 1947.    

She taught elementary and high school students at Saint Mary’s School, Michigan City, and instructed at Bishop Noll High School, Hammond, where she served for 12 years. Sister Georgia also taught in Morris and Rockford, Illinois; Anderson; at St. Michael School in Plymouth; and in Fort Portal, Uganda.

For four years she taught in Flint, Michigan, at Holy Redeemer and Luke M. Powers high schools. She continued her work there, ministering to prisoners in the Genesee County Jail and serving as prayer director at a retreat center for ex-offenders for a combined six years.

Sister Georgia served 14 years as historian for the Office of Congregational Archives and Records at the motherhouse at Saint Mary’s, where she shared another eight years volunteering in the congregation’s Communications Office. Today, her ministry is to pray for the Church and the world.

Sister Helene Sharp, CSC, a 50-year jubilarian, served in the ministry of education for 16 years. She was born in Ely, Nevada, and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona, Tucson, and a Master of Arts from Santa Clara University, California. Sister Helene made her initial profession of vows on Aug. 15, 1969, and her perpetual profession on July 28, 1974.    

She shared her gifts as an educator in Twin Springs, Nevada; Lynwood, California; and Seattle, Washington. She taught elementary students at Our Lady of Lourdes School, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Saint Joseph School, Ogden, Utah, for a cumulative six years, and at St. Pius School in Redwood City, California, where she served for five years. In 1987, Sister Helene began her eight years of parish ministry at St. Elizabeth Parish, Richfield, Utah. In Kasoa, Ghana, West Africa, she continued her parish ministry work, serving at St. Martha Parish for 11 years.

Sister Helene later worked for four years as office manager for the Holy Cross Skills Training Centre, Takoradi, Ghana. She ministered as the congregation’s vocation coordinator for the United States for five years before entering her present vocation ministry with Saint Mary’s College, Holy Cross College and the University of Notre Dame in January.

Other jubilarians include Holy Cross Sister Celine Dounies, who has been professed 50 years and currently serves in Draper, Utah.

Jubilarians celebrating 25 years of ministry are: Holy Cross Sister Esther Adjoa Entsiwah, in Ghana; and in Bangladesh, Holy Cross Sisters Mrinalini Goretti Rema, Mary Renu Samaddar, and Shilpi Rozario.

Founded in 1841 in Le Mans, France, the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross is an international community of women religious whose motherhouse is in Notre Dame. The congregation serves in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, India, Mexico, Peru, Uganda and the United States. Sisters of the Holy Cross are called to be witnesses of God’s transforming love for the life of the world. Their ministries focus on providing education and health care services, eradicating material poverty and ending discrimination — giving witness to God’s desire for the transformation of human hearts, human relationships and all creation. To learn more about the Sisters of the Holy Cross, visit www.cscsisters.org.