Present-day Sisters of Christian Charity Sister Mathilde DeLucy, Sister Madeleine Davis and Sister Regina Bathalon hold candles during a short program in which they represented early Sisters who were sent on various assignments by Mother Pauline von Mallinckrodt. The program was part of a reception Saturday afternoon, celebrating the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Christian Charity and the 150th anniversary of their coming to Wilkes-Barre.
Hundreds attend Mass at St. Nicholas Church
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Sister Maria Angeline Weiss and Sister Mathilde DeLucy harmonize as the serve as cantors during the Anniversary Mass at St. Nicholas Church.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader Photo
A group of Sisters await the beginning of the anniversary Mass at St. Nicholas Church on Saturday.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader Photo
Sister Esther, who is originally from Pittston, and Sister Ellen, originally from Wilkes-Barre and now serving as principal at St. Jude School in Mountain Top, share a moment during the celebration.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader Photo
Sisters of Christian Charity applaud the organizers of the anniversary celebration.
Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown presents a proclamation to Sister Joann Marie, provincial superior of the Sisters of Christian Charity, third from left, during the anniversary reception. Also on stage are Sister Ellen Fischer, Sister Mathilde DeLucy and Sister Madeleine Davis.
Bishop Joseph Bambera, center, poses with dozens of Sisters of Christian Charity in front of the altar of St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre. The bishop was the main celebrant of the Sisters’ 175th Anniversary Mass.
A photograph of Mother Pauline and a cross made of pink roses adorn the anniversary cake.
Several priests from around the area, including host pastor the Rev. Joseph Verespy and several Holy Cross priests from King’s College joined Bishop Joseph Bambera to concelebrate the Mass.
A crowd of worshippers helped the Sisters of Christian Charity celebrate their anniversary on Saturday.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader Photo
Knights of Columbus form an honor guard during the Anniversary Mass celebration.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader Photo
Sisters of Christian Charity sitting in the main body of St. Nicholas Church joined in a hymn honoring their ‘dear mother foundress, Mother Pauline’ during the Anniversary Mass. Several visiting Sisters joined singers from other parishes around the area to swell the ranks of the St. Nicholas - St. Mary Parish choir in the choir loft.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader Photo
Following the anniversary Mass at St. Nicholas Church, about 300 guests gathered for a buffet dinner in the gymnasium of St. Nicholas - St. Mary School.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader Photo
WILKES-BARRE — She was born into a life of privilege, declined offers of marriage, gave away her wealth and served “the poor and the sick and the blind and the dying,” Bishop Joseph Bambera said Saturday afternoon, describing the life of Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt of Paderborn, Germany.
Mother Pauline, as she is known to generations of parochial school students, also founded the Sisters of Christian Charity, who are celebrating 175 years as a religious order and 150 years of service in the United States.
Many of the more than 300 people who took part in an Anniversary Mass and reception at the Parish of St. Nicholas – St. Mary in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday afternoon had personal memories of being taught by or becoming friends with Sisters of Christian Charity.
That includes Bishop Bambera, principal celebrant of the Mass, who told the congregation that, although IHM (Immaculate Heart of Mary) Sisters had been his teachers through 12th grade, his first assignment as a young priest had been to St. Mary of the Assumption in Scranton, which was served by Sisters of Christian Charity.
“It was Sisters of Christian Charity who gave me the real education,” the bishop said. “In many ways, Sisters, you served truly as mentors to me … you prayed with me and, I know, for me. You became colleagues and dear friends.”
Later, as guests mingled at the reception, many shared their own memories.
“They were just great educators. They were so dedicated,” said Steve Gawlas of Hanover Township, who had Sisters of Christian Charity as teachers at the former St. Boniface School in Wilkes-Barre.
“I loved going to school,” said Monica Mulcahy of Wilkes-Barre, who attended what is now St. Nicholas – St. Mary School in Wilkes-Barre.
“They were strict but loving,” said Bob Ell of Plains Township, another St. Nicholas – St. Mary alum.
Those “strict” and “loving” adjectives came up more than once.
Dolores Sarafino Mirro of Harding and her friend Carol Sides of Williamsport, who attended an all-girls school run by the Sisters of Christian Charity, the former St. Ann’s Academy, remember the “strict” part.
“We weren’t allowed to talk in the hallways,” Mirro said. “And we couldn’t talk in the cafeteria until a bell rang.”
“If you turned around during a fire drill,” Sides said, “you’d get detention.”
But Mirro and Sides are grateful to their music teachers, Sister Mary Magdalene and Sister Alphonsine, who inspired them to become music teachers themselves.
As for Lois Ostrowski, a parishioner at Our Lady of the Eurcharist Parish in Pittston, who was one of at least two dozen guest singers and musicians who swelled the ranks of Saturday’s anniversary choir, she recalls the “loving” part.
“When I started school Sister Augustine carried me up and down the stairs,” Ostrowski said, explaining a bone disease had affected her hip and made walking difficult.
“The nuns gave my mother a relic of Mother Pauline and my mother pinned it on me,” she said, crediting prayers to Mother Pauline with improving her health.
In 1985 Pope John Paul II “beatified” Mother Pauline, declaring her “Blessed,” or one step from “Sainthood.”
And, knowing that Blessed Pauline visited St. Nicholas Parish in Wilkes-Barre in 1873, and again in 1880, has made an impression on parishioner Mark Torbik.
“We have a potential saint in the Catholic Church who walked the halls here in Wilkes-Barre,” Torbik said. “When you think about it, that’s very humbling.”
Torbik said he admires the Sisters of Christian Charity for wearing distinctive habits and veils that mark them as Sisters. “I don’t want to offend my Sisters of Mercy friends,” he said. “But this group wears their job on their sleeve. They are not afraid to show who they are.”
As the reception progressed, Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown presented a proclamation to Sister Joann Marie, the provincial superior, who was visiting from Mendham, N.J.
And Sister Ellen Fischer and Sister Mary Theresa Wojcicki, aided by Sister Regina Bathalon, Sister Madeleine Davis and Sister Mathilde DeLucy, presented a program in which they re-enacted Mother Pauline sending forth her sisters to serve in various areas. Offstage, a man’s voice read words of encouragement from Bishop William O’Hara, who led the Diocese of Scranton 150 years ago, and from the Rev. Peter Conrad Nagel, first pastor of St. Nicholas Church, who had invited the first group of seven Sisters to come to Wilkes-Barre and teach the parish children.
“So many wonderful memories,” Sister Mary Clare, who is retired after 53 years of teaching, said as the afternoon drew to a close. Would she do it all again? “I would,” she said. “If I were younger, I’d love to start over.”
