Sisters of Mercy

Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Central Pennsylvania, in Camp Hill, which is just across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg. I graduated from Bishop McDevitt Catholic High School, then went on to Immaculata College near Philadelphia for one year. I entered the Sisters of Mercy in Dallas, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 8, 1962.

Q: What led you to the Sisters of Mercy?
A: I had Sisters of Mercy, among other groups of religious, as teachers in high school. A sister who was a very young nun at the time, Sr. Gilmary (Suzanne) Hudson, was very lively, related well to so many of us, and certainly had a strong influence on me.

Q: What ministries have you had?
A: Basically, I have been involved in education, first as a high school teacher of English for about four years, then as a college administrator and adjunct faculty member at Mercy College of Detroit for a few years. In the 1980s I began working more closely with Professor Elie Wiesel. I was the first Director of The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, organizing several international conferences, including one in Paris that Elie and then-President Francois Mitterrand convened of Nobel Laureates, "Facing the 21st Century: Threats and Promises." After I left the Wiesel Foundation, I began working in Derry (aka Londonderry), Northern Ireland, flying back and forth every few weeks to help The Inner City Trust to organize an international conference in Derry City, "Beyond Hate: Living With Our Deepest Differences." Some people say that conference was a catalyst for the 1998 peace process that helped to bring an end to "the troubles" in Northern Ireland.

In 1994, I was invited to be the Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Holocaust Studies at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (now Stockton University). I thought I would be there for a year, but I was invited to stay on as Distinguished Professor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, eventually also being named as the Dr. Marsha Raticoff Grossman Professor in Holocaust Studies.

Q: What do you think God asks of you?
A: I think God asks me to love God with my whole mind, heart, and soul, and my neighbor as myself. It's the message and challenge, ever old and ever new. If I could actually exemplify it in my life by being kind, generous, and compassionate always and everywhere to everyone I meet, I think I would always be aware of God's presence -- and in a small way, I think I would be helping to "heal and repair" our fractured world. 

I think American religious women, even given our faults and failings, have built and sustained the American church. We have lived generously and in a spirit of Christ-like service to the church and to the wider American society. Misericordia University is just one example of our commitment to people, especially to the well-being and encouragement of women and girls.