Maryknoll Sisters

Sister Lourdes Fernandez, M.M. celebrated her 50^th Golden Jubilee on Sunday, September 24 in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center..

Sister Lourdes was born and raised in Ramon, Isabela of Northeast Luzon in the Philippines.   She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Saint Rita’s College in Manila, Philippines.  Before entering the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation in 1967, she was a teacher for two years in the Philippines at La Salette Elementary School and at the Maryknoll Grade School.

Sister Lourdes’s first mission assignment was in Hawaii, where she taught grade school at Saint Ann’s School in Kaneohe from 1969-1971. She was then assigned to Hong Kong in 1971, where she was a teacher for special needs students at Meng Tak School. From 1974-1985, she served as the Co-Founder and Director of the Workers Formation Program for industrial workers at the Kwun Tong Pastoral Center in Hong Kong. The program offered social, cultural, educational and spiritual services to youth in the workforce. From 1986-1991, she was a teacher at the Asian Workers Exchange in Hong Kong.

In 1991, Sister Lourdes returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in the U.S. and worked as a journalist, photographer, graphic artist and filmmaker in the Maryknoll Sisters Communications Office until 1994. In 1995, she was assigned to Albania to do pastoral work, where she made home visits to families in need.

In 2014, Sister Lourdes was assigned to the Vocation Ministry Team of the Congregation based in the Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary in Baguio City, Philippines. Today, she still serves on the Vocation Ministry Team.

“I can say my Golden Jubilee is truly a Celebration of God’s Love.”-Sister Lourdes Fernandez

Sister Margaret Rose Ibe, M.M.  celebrated her 50^th Golden Jubilee on Sunday, September 24 in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Sister Margaret Rose  was born in Queens, New York in 1942.  She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation in 1967. She worked at the Maryknoll Sisters Center from 1969-1972, in the treasury department, local bursar’s office, and on the switchboard; while studying for her Bachelor’s Degree in Adult Education, which she received from Mary Rogers College in Maryknoll, New York in 1972.

Sister Margaret Rose’s first foreign mission assignment was to Indonesia in 1972. After language study in Bandung, she taught short courses on home economics and budgeting in 1972. She then served as a staff member at KUPERDA, an organization for the education of village leaders, from 1974-1976.

She then returned to New York, where she completed her year of reflection, earning a Master of Arts Degree in Religious Studies from the Maryknoll Graduate School of Theology in 1977.  Following graduation, Sister Margaret Rose became involved in literacy training and human rights group work and was a staff member of the Brazilian Bishops Program of International Study Days. She also worked several days a week at an outreach program sponsored by the Department of Community Medicine at Saint Vincent’s Hospital, in New York City.

In 1978, Sister Margaret Rose received her second foreign mission assignment to Peru. Following six months of language study in Cochabamba, she began work at the Ciudad de Dios Parish in Lima, where she worked in adult education and community organization with women. She also co-founded and worked on the Vicariate Commission of Human Rights for 18 years, until the vicariate was made into the Diocese of Lurin. At that time, she was named Director of the Diocesan Human Dignity Commission. The Commission operates four centers of justice for low- or no-income people, with a total of ten legal offices and four resolutions of conflict offices. They also have a multidisciplinary education team that gives workshops in leadership training for leaders in 47 parishes of the diocese. The training topics include: ethics and values, children’s and women’s rights, adolescent and women’s issues, and topics related to the family.

Sister Margaret Rose has worked in Peru since 1978 where she is still on mission today.  She was involved with human rights advocacy on the local, metropolitan and national levels, both church and civic. She has been actively involved in the “building of the city of God” in the Lurin Diocese on the southern outskirts of Lima.

Sister Teresita Perez celebrated her 50^th Golden Jubilee on Sunday, September 24 in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Sister Teresita was born in Altavas in the province of Aklan in the Philippines. She grew up in Makati City, Philippines and was the only girl among seven brothers. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines. In 1967, she entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation from the Archdiocese of Manila.

She was assigned to Peru in 1969, where she made her First Profession of Vows in 1970 in Arequipa and her Final Vows in the same city in 1975.  In Arequipa, Lima and Tacna, her ministries varied from secondary teaching, parish work among families, pastoral leadership training and youth ministry to hospital chaplaincy. She founded and coordinated hospital Eucharistic ministers in Lima as well as coordinating the Health Commission of the Conference of Religious.

After 24 years as a missioner in Peru, Sister Teresita was assigned to the Philippines in 1993, where she shared the richness of her mission experiences as well as learned about all that had changed in her absence. At Miriam College (formerly Maryknoll College), she taught Theology and Spanish and organized the Campus Ministry Office of the Higher Education Unit, serving 2,200 students. She facilitated retreats to faculty, students and staff, mentored the Liturgy Committee and incorporated liturgical dance in special celebrations.

In 1995, on World Youth Day in Manila, Philippines she coordinated the Catechetical Section, the liturgical celebrations and the thematic event; where she taught the Universal Dances of Peace to 2,000 foreign and local delegates meeting there for 3 full days. In the summer months, she was a member of the group that served the adoptive community of Miriam College in its literacy program among the indigenous peoples in Tanay, Rizal.

At the invitation of Bishop Paul Gwong from Myanmar (Burma), Sister Teresita gave a month-long workshop, “Teaching English as a Second Language” to 30 high school teachers.

Presently, she resides at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, New York where she remains an active volunteer for the local community.  She volunteers as a bi-lingual interpreter at Brookside Elementary School and at Maryknoll Neighbors Link (a local immigration program). She also volunteers at the Ossining Library in their “Reading Buddies Program” to help people who need to improve their reading skills.

Sister Mary Elizabeth Keyser, M.M. celebrated her 80^th Jubilee on February 12th, 2017. She was born and raised in St. Matthias Parish, Philadelphia, Sister Mary Elizabeth Keyser has worked in catechetics, as a school principal and religious education instructor during her nearly 80 years as a Maryknoll Sister.

She was initially assigned to catechetical work at the historic San Juan Bautista Mission, San Juan Bautista, CA, from 1943-1947. Then, after two years working at Bethany House, a home for ill and elderly Maryknoll Sisters in Ossining, NY, Sister Mary Elizabeth was sent to Bolivia, where worked as a principal in Riberalta, then Cochabamba, for nearly ten years.

She was then sent to Chile where she taught Grades 3 through 5 in Santiago from 1959-1962, supervised religious education instruction in Talcuhano from 1962-1971, served as Executive Secretary of the Instituto de Catequesis Latino Americano in Santiago, overseeing general administration of programming from 1971-1973, provided a prayer presence, while also serving in pastoral and catechetical ministry at a local parish in El Quisco from 1974-1979, director of the Carmelite House of Prayer, Santiago, from 1979-1984, and finally as coordinator for the Center House of the Chile Region, also in Santiago, from 1990-1992.

She currently lives in retirement at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Sister Marie Corinne Rost, M.M. celebrated her 80^th Jubilee on February 12th, 2017. Sister Marie Corinne Rost entered Maryknoll in 1937 from her home diocese of the Immaculate Conception in Jefferson City, Missouri. She acquired a Bachelor of Science in Music at Manhattanville College, New York City in 1942. Her first assignment was at San Juan Bautista in Central California where she was a Catechist and Parish Minister from 1942-1943 and her next assignment was at Los Angeles in a Children’s Home from 1943-1945.

Sister Marie Corinne was assigned to Hong Kong in 1946. At Kowloon she taught in the Primary and Secondary Section of Maryknoll Convent School as a piano teacher from 1947-1955 and a Primary School teacher from 1955-1967 where she taught Music, Religion and English. From 1967-1977 she was Principal of the Primary Section. Again she was Supervisor of the same Maryknoll Convent School in Kowloon and gave private English and Piano lessons to students from 1977-1983.

Her next assignment was to St. Joseph’s in Hong Kong doing Pastoral Work, specifically religious education from 1986-1991. Later in 1991 she was assigned to Homantin in kowloon, Hong kong, teaching English and engaging herself in a broad program of religious and cultural activity as well as relief work in the teeming resettlement areas of Hong kong until 1995.

After her retirement in 1996, Sister Marie Corinne was assigned to Monrovia, CA by the Congregational Leadership Team. In 2007, she moved from Monrovia to the Maryknoll Sisters Center where her prayer ministry is Sudan, Maryknoll-Mission Education/Promotion.

Sister Joan Peltier, M.M. celebrated her 80^th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. She was born in Milwaukee, the oldest of nine children, entered the Maryknoll Sisters in l937. Before her first mission assignment to Bolivia in 1943, she completed her Bachelor’s of Education at Maryknoll Teachers College, New York.

She spent twenty-nine years in mission in Bolivia and Peru, dedicating herself to pastoral and catechetical teaching or as a primary teacher. She began her mission life in the jungle area of Riberalta, then a primary school in Cobija and later in Guayaramerin – all in Bolivia. She served as Regional Superior for twelve years until 1966.

Sister Joan served in other cities and in other capacities. She taught primary school in San Juan Capistrano, and did fund raising for the congregation in Houston before returning to South America – this time to Arequipa, Peru, where she did catechetical work in the public schools. She also helped in a day-care nursery being initiated for women working in the fields. In St. Louis she worked with physically challenged persons.

In 1975 with a desire to be in a pastoral setting in the States, Sister Joan chose to work in Breckenridge, Texas, as an associate pastor, serving in five rural Catholic communities with Sister Catherine Sullivan. The sisters were well received in these communities whose members were mostly Spanish-speaking. She returned for two years to her first mission, Bolivia.

Wanting to remain active, she joined other semi-retired Maryknoll Sisters in a house in West Haven, CT. When that house closed, she moved to another convent in Yonkers, NY.

She celebrated her seventy-fifth anniversary in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the Maryknoll Sisters, and continues to spread her joy and talents generously with all at the Center.

Sister Pauline Sticka, M.M. celebrated her 75^th Jubilee on February 12th, 2017. She was born in North Dakota. She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation in 1942. Sister Pauline holds a B.A. in community service from Mary Rogers College, Maryknoll, NY.

Having been assigned to China in 1947, and after studying the language, Sr. Pauline did catechetical work for three years in Kaying, Sialoc, and Laofukeo. In 1950, she was taken prisoner under the Communist regime.

Returning to the United States, Sister Pauline worked in the Maryknoll Sisters Development Department before undertaking catechetical ministry once again, this time in Chicago’s Chinatown, for three years.

Sister Pauline then spent 48 years ministering to the people in Taiwan, where she served in pastoral, catechetical and women’s ministries. She also gave Marriage Encounter courses and trained the local people to do the same. Sister Pauline speaks the Hakka, Taiwanese and Mandarin languages. She was engaged in a “neighborhood ministry” giving Christian witness to those of other faiths.

In 2008, Sister Pauline returned to the United States to retire in Monrovia, CA, where she continued to share in mission with her many gifts and talents. She has been a part of the Eden Community at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY, since 2014.

Sister Mary Powers, M.M. celebrated her 75^th Jubilee on February 12th, 2017. She was born in Fall River, Massachusetts.  Before joining Maryknoll in 1942, she had worked for five years, as an agent for a periodical publisher’s service. When asked why she joined Maryknoll Sister Mary said, “I wanted to be a missionary and when I visited Maryknoll I just knew it was right for me.”

Sister Mary made her first vows in 1945 and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Maryknoll Teachers College, in 1948. That same year, she made her final commitment as a Maryknoll Sister.

In 1949, Sister Mary received her first mission assignment to Hawaii where she worked for 25 years in the field of education, serving as a teacher and administrator on both the elementary and high school levels.

From 1976-1981, Sister Mary worked at Maryknoll Sisters Center in New York, where she served in the treasury department and as the supervisor of the direct mail office.  Sister Mary returned to Hawaii in 1981 as an administrative assistant for the guidance department and student services at Maryknoll High School.

After decades in the field of education, Sister Mary’s ministry took on a new dimension in 1984. Sister Mary, with the help of the health department, started Project Respect, an interfaith service for the frail elderly, funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  Sister Mary served as the director of the project.

In 2010, Sister Mary retired at the Center and her prayer ministry is the Central Pacific.

Sister Tresa Zampedri, M.M. celebrated her 70^th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. Sister Tresa Zampedri entered Maryknoll from St. Nicholas Parish at Rupert, Idaho, on October 31, 1947.  From 1950-51, she studied at the New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences.  Sister Tresa received an A.A. in Food Services Administration.

Sister Tresa worked in Congregation Services until 1952 when she was assigned to Bolivia.  After language study, Sister Tresa worked as a dietician in the Maryknoll Sisters Hospital in Riberalta, and later taught at the Maryknoll Mission in San Jose, Riberalta, Bolivia until 1961.

She returned to the Center in 1971 as a part-time student at Mary Rogers College, and did various part time services until 1973.

From 1974-1981, Sister Tresa was in residence at Monrovia helping with elderly Sisters.

In 1981, Sister Tresa was assigned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center and her prayer ministry is Bolivia.

Sister Theresa Mangieri, M.M. celebrated her 70^th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. She is from the Bronx, New York. After high school she attended Grace Institute and did clerical work for the Boy Scouts of America before joining Maryknoll in 1947. With a degree from Maryknoll Teachers College she taught at St. Anthony of Padua School in the South Bronx.

Assigned to the Philippines in 1958, Sister Theresa spent twenty years in education in elementary, high school and college levels and as novice mistress in the Maryknoll Sisters Philippines Novitiate. She earned a Master’s degree in Education, majoring in guidance and counseling from St. Louis University, Baguio.

After serving in New York as a consultant for the Maryknoll Sisters returning from mission areas for renewal, her mission journey led her to Zimbabwe, a new commitment for Maryknoll Sisters in 1982. One memory is teaching 96 students typing in two classes with only four typewriters.

A home for unwed mothers called Shelter Trust was begun in 1987 as the response of a group of lay and religious to the increasingly evident problem of abandoned babies and infanticide, caused by urban migration and the breakdown of traditional communities. In Zimbabwe girls who become pregnant lose educational and employment opportunities and often are rejected by their families. Sister Theresa became administrator of Shelter Trust, working with a staff who worked to provide a home for women awaiting the birth of their child, while giving them training to provide for themselves and their child. Sister Theresa received a Merit Award from the Rotary Club of Harare, which cited her “devoted and unselfish’service above self to the community.”

In 1997, Sister Theresa moved her ministry to Hendersonville, North Carolina, where she served at a shelter for battered women and children and at the Interfaith Assistance Ministry and Mainstay for the poor.

Sister Theresa resides at Maryknoll Sisters Center in New York.