While Sister Amadeo thought about religious life from the time she was in elementary school, she said it became “more real” for her as a student at Cathedral High School.
“The Sisters that taught us at Cathedral were wonderful,” she said. “They were marvelous. They were such good teachers and so friendly… The Sisters were very inspirational.”
“It [becoming a sister] was really a shock to my family because I was planning on going to college,” added Sister Amadeo, who is now retired and lives with 35 other sisters, most of whom are also retired, on the campus of Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, where she has lived since 1969.
Born and raised in Trenton, Sister Amadeo attended St. Joachim School, Trenton, which was run by the Religious Teachers Filippini. St. Joachim Parish is now Our Lady of the Angels Parish, created when the Joachim and Immaculate Conception Churches were merged.
“I am very happy [as a religious]. It’s a beautiful life. You live with wonderful people…They [sisters] are all committed. Their life is committed to God. They treat each other the way Christians should treat each other, seeing God in each person,” she said.
She said she loves teaching, but had to give it up when she was named director of buildings and grounds at Mount Saint Mary, a position she held for 13 years. She also served as the Mount’s assistant treasurer for 12 years. Her first assignments as a sister were teaching fourth grade at St. Mary School, Perth Amboy, and instructing sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Our Lady of Victories School, Sayreville.
Sister Amadeo earned a bachelor’s degree in math with a minor in French at Georgian Court College, now University, Lakewood, and a master’s degree in education specializing in physics at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. She taught math and physics at the now-closed St. Mary’s High School, South Amboy, nd at the Mount.
Sister Amadeo still hears from some of her students, saying one of her classes from the Mount recently held its 50th reunion.
“I can’t even believe it. I taught these students 50 years ago,” she said. “And to see all they’ve accomplished. It’s amazing.”
She has also heard from students she taught at Our Lady of Victories, a school that has also closed. “It’s very rewarding” to see how she influenced the lives of former students, she said.
Now retired, Sister Amadeo keeps busy answering requests as part of the McAuley Hall Prayer Guild, located on the grounds of the Mount.
“It’s [McAuley Hall Prayer Guild] a prayer mission for our sick and infirmed sisters,” she said. The sisters are cared for at the McAuley Hall Health Center, a nursing facility sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy.
“So many [prayer] requests come in, it’s amazing,” Sister Amadeo said, noting the majority of requests are for sympathy cards. “It’s a bigger project than you could imagine.”
She also drives sisters to doctor appointments.
As for what advice she would give to someone considering consecrated life, Sister Amadeo said she would tell them: “Certainly give it a try. You’d be surprised how wonderful it is. [There are] many opportunities, not only for your professional growth, but for your spiritual growth. Your whole life will be blessed.”