It was during her time in New Mexico that she became good friends with Sister Cecelia Joseph Olinger, who was ministering in San Fidel. The two had many adventures in the Southwest, but their biggest adventure occurred in 2001 when they went on a Saint Angela pilgrimage, Sister Cecelia Joseph said.
“We traveled with a group of Cleveland Ursulines and friends as they celebrated the 150th anniversary of Beaumont High School,” an Ursuline school in Cleveland, Sister Cecelia Joseph said. “When I looked through my journal from that trip, I think we had “gelato” (ice cream) every place we went! But we never got lost or left behind anywhere, and we’re still friends.”
(All of Sister Elaine’s friends know that one of her passions is ice cream, especially pralines and cream.)
The next time Sister Elaine was asked to come back to the retreat center, she said yes, in 1991. “I didn’t want to be an administrator, so they made me retreat director and spiritual director,” she said. “I did that for 16 ½ years. It was wonderful. They allowed me to get my certification in spiritual direction.”
Sister Angela Fitzpatrick, a former Sister of Paola, Kan., signs the Book of the Company, along with her “angel” Sister Elaine, and Sister Michele Morek, congregational leader. Sister Elaine arranged for this picture to be reshot after a mistake occurred during the merger ceremony in July 2009.
She did retreats for confirmation, staffs, faculty, parish councils, and women. That ministry overlapped with the Brescia ministry she began in 2005, so she left the center in 2007.
No idle time
Sister Elaine is still not interested in sitting still. She serves in the Brescia Hand bell Choir, and for 17 years she’s spent hundreds of hours volunteering at Owensboro’s RiverPark Center, serving as an usher, greeter, or ticket-taker. She gets exposure to a wide range of offerings at the center, from Arts Teach Kids, to Broadway shows, to wedding receptions.
“She’s one of my diehards I can count on,” said Jaynan Day, volunteer coordinator at the RiverPark Center. In 2009, Sister Elaine volunteered 327 hours, fifth most of the 200 volunteers at the RiverPark Center.
“She’s here for just about any event we have,” Day said. “She’ll help usher the children and keep them in line. The children love her. At Friday After 5, she’ll get out and dance. She makes everyone feel welcome.”
Sister Elaine is also secretary for the Council of Religious, a group that serves all the women religious in the Diocese of Owensboro. She is active in Mass at the Mount, from cantoring, to lecturing, to being a prayer leader.
She remains an avid sports fan, “a (University of) Louisville fan in the midst of Kentucky fans,” as her friend, Sister Mary Matthias Ward, said. “She loves to meet the public, loves to be wined and dined. She exercises, plays tennis, and dances.”
She also helps two Ursuline Sisters at Centro Latino, a Hispanic ministry for the diocese. “She seems balanced in community and with the outside activities in which she is engaged,” Sister Mary Matthias said.
In 2009, in preparation for the ceremony of the merger with the Ursuline Sisters of Paola, Kan., Sister Elaine served on the Traditions and Transitions Task Force, where she became friends with Paola Sister Angela Fitzpatrick. Each Paola sister was to have an “angel” sister to accompany her as she signed the Book of the Company, officially making her an Ursuline of Mount Saint Joseph, and Sister Elaine was Sister Angela’s “angel.”
“We really didn’t know each other well but she shared my enthusiasm for the merger and stood by me when I signed my name in the book,” Sister Angela said.The moment hit a sour note later when Sister Angela learned her face was accidentally blocked from the photographer during the signing.
“I felt like crying and she felt bad and was determined to do something about it,” Sister Angela said. “She kept in touch with me and we e-mailed each other. Months later when I was visiting the Mount, Sister Elaine came to me and said she had arranged for another ‘photo shoot.’ I now have that picture of my signing the book with Sisters Michele (Morek) and Elaine looking on as the screen saver on my laptop computer,” Sister Angela said. “There is a bond there and I look forward to visiting with her whenever I come to the motherhouse. I feel blessed that we have connected and she has certainly gone out of her way to make me feel included.”
When the Ursuline Sisters produced a music CD in 2001, Sister Elaine composed the melody to the title track, “Act, Move, Believe.” The lyrics are based on Saint Angela Merici’s words from the Introduction to her Counsels, “Act, move, believe, strive, hope, cry out to him with all your heart, for without doubt you will see marvelous things, if you direct everything to the praise and glory of his Majesty and the good of souls.”
“Day by day, Angela’s words really speak to me,” she said.
By Dan Heckel