Sisters at Nazareth Home celebrate jubilees

Nine Sisters of Charity of Nazareth who live at Nazareth Home are celebrating jubilees from 55 to 80 years of religious life. They will be honored today, July 19, during a special liturgy and reception at the health care facility.

80 years

Sister Sara Ann Abell (baptized as Sara Cecilia) is celebrating 80 years of religious life. She was born in Leonardtown, Md., in 1912 and is the oldest of 10 children. She maintains a deep respect for vowed life and has a strong desire to help people, a press release from the sisters said.

70 years

Sister Ann Jeanette Effinger, born in 1922 the oldest of 11 children, entered the novitiate in 1942 after graduating from Holy Name School and Holy Rosary Academy. She served as a teacher for 50 years and has also worked with the homeless and underserved.

Sister Caroline Maria Clark is the oldest of 10 children. Her family often shared hot meals, eggs and butter with the SCNs when she was a child. Her ministries have included domestic work, home care for the elderly and orphanage ministry.

Sister Ellen Maria Ballew, from Fitchburg, Mass., made her vows in 1942 and began her ministry of education. She taught in Ohio for eight years and then was among three sisters who served at Nazareth’s then-new academy in Gaya, India. She later returned to the U.S. and began ministry in health care in 1979. She also assisted a teacher of the blind in Massachusetts.

65 years

Sister Carleen Marie Mouser was born in 1926 in Louisville then moved to a home near Gethsemani, attending a one-room school there. She was the winner of Kentucky’s state spelling bee in eighth grade and traveled to compete in Washington, D.C., accompanied by two SCNs.

She entered the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in 1945 and became Sister Carleen Marie. She served as an elementary school teacher and principal. In later years, she served as a hospital chaplain in Lexington, Ky., and Bardstown, Ky.

Sister Ann Elizabeth Moloney was born in Covington, Ky., in 1926 and attended Spalding College (now University). She made her vow in 1947.

She taught elementary school from 1947-1972 in Kentucky and Massachusetts then worked in child care from 1972-1992 in Tennessee and Louisville. She also worked in the neonatal intensive care unit at Kosair Children’s Hospital from 1992-2009. She later volunteered in the nursery.

Sister Eunice Ann Arnold, born in Memphis, Tenn., in 1925, attended Spalding and made her vow in 1947. She taught elementary school for about 22 years in Kentucky and in Maryland. She also served for 27 years at Camp Maria Retreat Center, a ministry of the SCNs, in Leonardtown, Md.

60 years

Sister Caroline Field, who was raised on a farm near Owensboro, Ky, entered the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in 1949 and made her profession in 1952. She holds masters’ degrees in religious studies and education as a reading specialist. She served as a teacher in elementary education and as a director of religious education.

55 years

Sister Mary Carolyn Abell, born in Louisville in 1936, decided to become an SCN after meeting the sisters as a student at Most Blessed Sacrament School and Presentation Academy. She worked at St. Joseph Infirmary to earn tuition money for Presentation.

She professed vows in 1957 as Sister Maria Goretti. She has served as a teacher, a nurses’ aid at Nazareth Home and at Our Lady of Peace Hospital and choir director. and as a coordinator of liturgy at various parishes, including St. Agnes Church, from which she retired from active ministry.

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One reply on “Sisters at Nazareth Home celebrate jubilees”
  1. says: Linda Baird Gough

    Sr. Caroline Field taught me at St. Agnes School in Uniontown, Ky. She had a great influence on my life. I now work as DRE and Pastoral Assistant at St. Agnes Parish. I wish Sr. Caroline a very happy anniversary.
    Linda Baird Gough

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