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Perseverance in Religious Life - How Old Can You Go?


Luigi

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Although I don't know her well, I've met this Dominican sister (Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary, Sparkill, NY). She taught my mom and a number of my aunts (and maybe uncles). Two of those aunts also became Sparkill Dominicans. The Dominican order recently celebrated its 800th anniversaries (of the founding of nuns, of the founding of the friars, of papal approbation), and Sr. Lois has been in the order for over 10% of its history. Pretty impressive! Like the Everyready Bunny, she just keeps going. 

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Dominican Sisters of Sparkill

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Today, our very own Sister Lois Liekweg celebrated her 106th birthday. We are so grateful for her life on earth and her life shared with our Sparkill community. Daughter, sister, friend, aunt, teacher, department chair, principal, librarian, research associate, and business manager are some of the ways Sister Lois has generously given of her life. But more than this, Sister Lois is a woman of faith and integrity and knows the importance of having a good sense of humor. In her reflection on the 85th anniversary of her religious profession, she said, “Don't be discouraged. Look what God did with Moses. . . and he was a basket case!”
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Feel free to post your own honorees. 

Edited by Luigi
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Question:  In elementary school, I was taught my Sparkhill Dominican Sisters.  I'm familiar with the Dominican Nuns of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit.  Are these the same Dominicans?  My Sparkhill sisters' habit (headgear) was unique.  Just wondering.....Thanks! 

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31 minutes ago, Makarioi said:

Question:  In elementary school, I was taught my Sparkhill Dominican Sisters.  I'm familiar with the Dominican Nuns of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit.  Are these the same Dominicans?  My Sparkhill sisters' habit (headgear) was unique.  Just wondering.....Thanks! 

No. The Summit group are 2nd Order--contemplatives. The Sparkills are active and are of US foundation (though the founders were British). 

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 My great aunt, Sister Mary Generose Hilpert  was a School Sister of Notre Dame and died at the age of 99(( many years ago. Her cousin Elizabeth, was also a School Sister of Notre Dame and died at the age of 101. So yes, sisters and other members of the clergy can live very long lives.

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Here's a (rather long) story about a Dominican priest (Central province) with an unpronounceable (at least, to me) name who is approaching his 90th birthday but still living in an active parish, saying Mass, ministering, etc. I guess as long as they can still walk, and talk sensibly... Retirement is for weaklings!

https://www.archindy.org/criterion/local/2022/12-09/dominican.html?fbclid=IwAR2SDgMG-vUcCipVkEXELqinziGI6Qz1VMgYaKVRS8AeRuQH85TNGBOifvc 

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Father Salvatore Polizzi celebrated his 65th anniversary of ordination in 2021. The information below is taken from the St. Louis Review (archdiocesan newspaper) of October 15, 2021. Most of his parishioners refer to him as The Monsignor. He has baptized, married, or buried folks from five generations in some families. He's still the pastor - at least until the re-organization of the archdiocese.  

Msgr. Salvatore E. Polizzi

Birthplace: St. Louis

Education: Cathedral Latin School, St. Louis Preparatory Seminary, Kenrick Seminary

Ordination: March 17, 1956, by Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter

Service in the archdiocese: Assistant pastor, St. Ambrose, St. Louis, 1956-59

Assistant pastor, St. Catherine of Alexandria, Riverview Gardens, 1959-64

Assistant pastor, St. Ambrose, St. Louis, 1964-81

Pastor, St. Roch, St. Louis, 1981-present

About Msgr. Polizzi: In 1986, he was elevated to rank of Honorary Prelate and given the title, reverend monsignor. He received the Community Achievement Award from the Catholic Youth Apostolate in 2010. At 90 years old, he is one of the oldest active pastors in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

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I know some of you have enjoyed Mother Francis's "A Right to be Merry." She wrote of how so many of the nuns lived to an advanced age that one of the novices wrote a parody of "Old Soldiers Never Die," entitled "Poor Clares Seldom Die." 

Most religious that I knew well have died now, but many at very advanced ages. I can just hear my father saying, "They got no kids to drive' m nuts." :smile2:

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Lady Grey, Hot
3 hours ago, gloriana35 said:

She wrote of how so many of the nuns lived to an advanced age that one of the novices wrote a parody of "Old Soldiers Never Die," entitled "Poor Clares Seldom Die."

This is delightful!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Posted by the Sparkill (New York) Dominican Sisters (Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary) today. I know Sister Marie. She was very good to me when I was in high school. She has been a very accomplished musician all her life, but she's just about stone deaf these days. Yet she keeps on keeping on!

"Today, our very own Sister Marie Daugherty celebrated her 102nd birthday. We are so grateful for Sr. Marie’s life on Earth and her religious vocation to our Sparkill community. For the past 84 years we have the honor of calling Marie our Sister. Daughter, sister, aunt, friend, teacher, musician, prayer, healer, are some of the ways Sister Marie has generously shared her life with others. In between all her prayer, Sr. Marie enjoys resting in the Spirit, playing Scrabble with her good friend Chris, and sharing life with her Sisters. Sister Marie continues to be a woman making a difference each day."

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  • 2 weeks later...
Sponsa-Christi

Recently, Fr. David Wechter, OCSO recently went home to God at age 92: https://www.watkowski-mulyck.com/obituary/RevFrDavid-WechterOCSO?fbclid=IwAR3I6DdupwU6pGgU9cXXsgxxzCTFrqDIIcCRWarAaZP1Z8E1K1CpQSZlQw0

He was a Cistercian monk who was Abbot of his monastery when (I believe) he was only in his early forties. When he retired from being Abbot, he sensed a call to a more solitary way of life, and so lived as a hermit-monk as chaplain to the Sisters of the Hermits of St. Mary of Carmel. He lived as a hermit in this way for the last forty years of his life. But he also had a canon law degree, and so served the local diocese here as a part-time tribunal Judge, which is how I mostly got to know him.

He was sharp as a tack and still doing our tribunal work until a week before he died. One time, during his last summer at age 92, he came to one of our trials in work clothes and covered in grass clippings because he had spent the morning mowing the lawn for the Sisters! (He also would chop the wood for the Sisters' heating system until he was 89, at which point the Sisters made him stop and replaced their wood-burning heater with a gas system.)

Besides all this, he was also spiritual director to a number of local seminarians, a handwriting expert, and a trained plumber! He was so humble that I actually didn't realize he had been an Abbot until he died. His last words were: "I want heaven."

I definitely miss working with Fr. David, but I'm sure that at the very least he's well on the way to the heaven he wanted. 

Edited by Sponsa-Christi
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