 You
can find Sisters of St. Joseph just about anywhere. We
were founded to discover where the need was greatest. We
were to go there with love of God and love of neighbor
without distinction. For over 350 years, that’s what we
have been doing, and it must be effective, for you can now
find us in 57 countries. The Springfield Congregation and
our lay associates serve in schools and prisons, protest
war and advocate nonviolent means of peacemaking, and work
with and for justice. We do so joyfully.
The SSJ
Springfield Congregation is part of a Federation of
all the Sisters of St. Joseph in the United States which
includes over 7,000 members of 23 congregations.
Visit their web site at:
http://www.sistersofsaintjosephfederation.org.
Jubilee 2009
Several Sisters
of St. Joseph of Springfield celebrated fifty years of
religious life and one Sister celebrated 25 years of
religious life September 13 with a Mass and private
reception at Mont Marie. The liturgy, which included a
renewal of vows, was dedicated to the parents of the
Jubilarians, who, they say, gifted them with life and
nurtured their faith.
The Golden
Jubilarians entered the Congregation in 1959:
 Sister
Marilyn Bello (Sr. Claire
Elizabeth) was born in Vinton, La. and entered from St.
Joseph Parish, Vinton. She began her teaching ministry at
St. Joseph School in the Diocese of Lake Charles, La., and
also taught and served as librarian at Our Lady’s School
in Sulphur, La. She later served as a pharmacy technician
in Lake Charles. She then taught in Ocean Grove and
Swansea, Mass. as well as in Montessori schools in both
Fall River and Westport. Sister worked for a time at the
Open Window in Chicopee and now enjoys her retirement at
Mont Marie.
 Sister
Margaret Crowley (Sr.
Nora Francis) is a native of Springfield who entered from
Holy Family Parish in Springfield. She taught in many
schools throughout the Diocese of Springfield including
six years at St. Thomas in West Springfield, eight at
Cathedral High School and six years at Holy Name of Jesus
School in Chicopee. She served as principal of Our Lady of
Hope School, Springfield for nine years followed by
tenures as principal at St. Matthew School, Indian Orchard
and St. Agnes in Dalton. She is retired and living in
Chicopee.
 Sister
Lorraine Durand (Sr.
Joseph Edward) was born in Fall River, Mass. and entered
from St. Louis de France Parish in Swansea. She served in
many schools in the Diocese of Fall River including St.
Michael in Swansea, and St. Theresa and St. Joseph in New
Bedford. She spent 11 years doing CCD and pastoral
ministry work at Queen of Peace Parish in Texas. She then
worked at Mont Marie as an appointment driver and
administrator. She went on to serve the Elms College
community in Chicopee in the Central Services Department.
She currently ministers as director of Congregational
Services and resides in Holyoke.
 Sister
Frances Gloster (Sr. Joan
Catherine) was born in Springfield and entered from St.
Michael’s Cathedral Parish in Springfield. She served as a
teacher in many elementary schools in the Springfield
Diocese as well as at Cathedral High School and was
principal at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Holyoke
for four years. She has ministered to the people of St.
John the Evangelist Parish, Agawam and was an ESL tutor at
the Gray House. Sister also was director of the Office of
Bereavement for the Diocese of Springfield and worked in
the Pastoral Ministry Office there. Currently she serves
as the retirement assistant at the St. Joseph Residence at
Mont Marie and lives in Springfield.
 Sister
Catherine Homrok
(Sr. Maria Andrew) was born in
Holyoke and entered from St. Michael Byzantine Rite Parish
in South Hadley. She taught in Annunciation School in
Florence and St. Rose of Lima School in Warwick, R.I.
during the 1960s, and was a member of the Speech and Drama
Department at Elms College during the 1970s. In the 1980s
she initiated the Jericho Players, a theater program with
the developmentally challenged for the Bureau for
Exceptional Children and Adults in Holyoke. Her media work
began in the late 1980s as a co-producer for the Chalice
of Salvation and was interrupted in 1993 when she became a
member of the SSJ Leadership team. She returned to
Catholic Communications in 1999 and now serves as its
chief operations officer. She is one of the SSJ founders
of the Gray House, Inc. in Springfield and resides there.
 Sister
Anna Marie Kane (Sr.
Christina James) is a Worcester, Mass. native who entered
from St. Philip Parish in Grafton, Mass. She taught in
Springfield, Milford, and Newport, R.I. before serving as
associate chaplain and chemistry instructor at College of
the Holy Cross, Worcester. She spent nine years as vicar
of religious and four years as director of the Office of
Women in Worcester, and ten years in the Office of
Ministerial Resources at Mont Marie. She also served as
director and retreat staff member at the Center of
Christian Living, Attleboro, and as director of Family
Lifeline Volunteers, a Ministry of the Little Sisters of
the Assumption, Walden, N.Y. She is now chaplain and
bereavement coordinator for Brookhaven Hospice in
Framingham and lives in Worcester.
 Sister
Carol Lareau (Sr. Joseph
Marie) was born in Worcester, Mass. and entered from St.
Peter Parish in Worcester. She spent her first 12 years
serving as a teacher in elementary schools in the Diocese
of Springfield, including St. Charles in Pittsfield, Our
Lady of the Sacred Heart in Springfield, and St. Mary’s in
Longmeadow. During the next eight years, she opened the
Guidance Department at Our Lady of Hope in Springfield and
St. Mark’s in Pittsfield. She then ministered for five
years as the consultant for Parish Ministry With Disabled
Persons. For the past 22 years, she has been director for
Ministry With the Deaf. Sister Carol lives in Chicopee.
 Sister
Jane Thomas (Sr.
Marguerite James) was born in West Springfield, and
entered from Immaculate Conception Parish in West
Springfield. She taught at a number of schools, both in
the Diocese of Worcester and the Diocese of Springfield,
including Our Lady of Sacred Heart, Holy Rosary, and St.
Joseph's High School School in North Adams. She worked at
the Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield for 32
years in Patient Activities, Adaptive Technology and
Medical Photography. She currently resides in West
Springfield.
 Sister
Joyce Wise (Sr. William
Marie) is a Springfield native and entered from St.
Michael’s Cathedral Parish in Springfield. She taught in
various Diocesan schools for ten years and then began a
12-year ministry as a probation officer for the
Springfield Juvenile Court dealing with abused children.
She later served as a therapist at the Osborne Clinic and
at the Institute at Newton Satellite Clinic both in West
Springfield. She worked for the Hampden County House of
Corrections for five years as a counselor and is newly
retired from the Springfield Public Schools where she
served as a counselor for At-Risk Children at Forest Park
Middle School. This fall, she begins a new ministry as a
counselor at a local clinic and a program for the
homeless. She lives in Springfield.
The Silver
Jubilarian Entered the Congregation in 1984:
 Sister
Kathleen Fleming was born
in Brattleboro, VT and entered from St. Michael’s Parish
in Brattleboro. She is a registered nurse and works with
disabled children and their families through the Vermont
Department of Health. She is also a pediatric Nurse
Coordinator with the Vermont Department of Health of
Children with Special Needs in Rutland, VT where she also
resides.
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