Listen to the Story of Our Sisters

Blog Published: June 12, 2012
By Sister Julie

Carole Garibaldi Rogers is an oral historian, and, as she puts it, her job is to listen. Carole does just that in her most recent book, Habits of Change: An Oral History of American Nuns. We’ll be talking with Carole tomorrow on our In Good Faith webcast to which you are invited!

Carole has blogged about a few of the stories of sisters to whom  she listened: Sister Rosemarie Milazzo, a Maryknoll Sister who worked in Tanzania and Congo, and to Sister Mary Rose McGeady, a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul who succeeded Father Bruce Ritter as the Director of Covenant House.

Mary GilliganIn her most recent blog post, Carole writes about Sisters Marie Gilligan and Kathy Quigley, both Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth from New Jersey. Sister Marie served as pastor of a parish in Mississippi, and Sister Kathy had joined her in ministry.

What is remarkable is that Carole had the opportunity to interview the sisters back in 1994 while they were involved in the ministry and then again in 2009 when they could reflect back on the experience and on their unfolding journey as sisters. It is amazing to see in the sisters’ stories the pieces of continuity as well as what has changed over the years.

Reflecting on her experience, Sister Kathy in the 2009 interview said,

“I think women religious in the church are at our finest moment in history. I have no regrets about our lifestyle because we have matured spiritually, we have matured emotionally, and we’ve matured ministerially. We are working as hard as we can. Most of us are way over 60, and almost none of us is under 60, and yet we are giving a thousand per cent every place we go.” (source: Sisters in Their Finest Moments by Carole Garibaldi Rogers on May 8, 2012 for the Oxford University Press blog)

We invite you to listen to more stories of and reflections about Catholic sisters on our live broadcast of In Good Faith tomorrow night. Carol Garibaldi Rogers will be joining us to talk about the stories she’s listened to as well as her book, Habits of Change: An Oral History of American Nuns. The broadcast is tomorrow, Wednesday, at 6 p.m. CT (your time zone). More info at the In Good Faith podcast page.

What questions or thoughts pop in your mind as you read about Carole’s work or “listen” to the stories of the sisters about whom she writes?

UPDATE: Listen to or download the podcast at IGF018.

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