Sister Celebrates 100th Birthday

Published September 12, 2011 09:21

Catherine Teresa

The Sisters of Saint Joseph celebrated Sister Catherine Teresa Martin 100th birthday on Monday, September 12th, 2011!  The celebration even made the news: YNN

Sister Catherine Teresa began her religious life in 1931. Her main ministry has been that of education. However, life has led her in various other directions. After 30 years in diocesan Catholic schools, she was asked to become assis¬tant director of novices. A few years later, there was a short stint working in the guidance program of St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing in Elmira, New York.

The year 1969 saw Sister off to Selma, Alabama, for 14 years. There she worked in the correspondence department of the Edmundite Mission Office. In her “off hours” she assisted needy people in the area, specifically working with the women of the now famous “Freedom Quilting Bee,” located near Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Sister was instrumental in laying the foundation for the group’s success.

“Of these various ministries, the one I enjoyed most was the Selma experience," commented Sister Catherine. “I was happy in the knowledge that my duties in the office were helping fund the Mission's parishes and poverty pro¬grams. Then too, I was able to be in touch, personally, with poor families.”

Sister Catherine Teresa is now retired and living an active life at the SSJ Motherhouse. She keeps her skills sharp editing an internal Congregational newsletter and is so proficient at her job that she has been affectionately dubbed “the comma cop.”

Sister Catherine Teresa isn't the only SSJ centenarian to celebrate a birthday.  Sister Angela Sutula will turn 102 on September 30, 2011!

For more information, contact Dawn Gruba, Director of Marketing and Communications at (585) 641-8172 or via email at dgruba@ssjrochester.org.

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