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In 1961, when Sister Lorraine Wolliard entered the Sisters of Mercy, John F. Kennedy was in his inaugural year as the United States’ first Catholic president, noted author Ernest Hemmingway died, and actor Dolores Hart starred as St. Clare in the film “Francis of Assisi.”
Shortly after, Hart left the glamor of Hollywood at age 24 to become a Benedictine nun. A little bit of her story might have rubbed off on Sister Lorraine. That’s because Sister Lorraine, who is celebrating 60 years of religious life, was 27 when she entered the Sisters of Mercy after about a decade working and enjoying some of the pleasant experiences of a young, single woman.
Raised in Trenton, Sister Lorraine had considered becoming a nun when she was young, but her family had other ideas.
“I always wanted to enter,” said Sister Lorraine. “When I graduated high school, my father took me to the interview with the mother superior.”
After the meeting, her father told his daughter, the oldest of four children, “Nobody knows what they want at 18 years old. You go home and think about it.”
“In those days, you listened. I listened to my father,” said Sister Lorraine during a telephone interview from her home at Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung.
Sister Lorraine spent her next 10 years in office roles, first with the New Jersey Department of the Treasury and later at the Mercer County Courthouse in Trenton, where she assisted the executive director of the New Jersey Association of Freeholders. In her spare time, she kept active.
“I use to belong to the USO,” Sister Lorraine recalled, rattling off military bases where she attended dances. “I didn’t sit home. I had a good life, but I knew this wasn’t what I wanted.”
The recurring thought of entering religious life convinced her to act upon it. She joined the Sisters of Mercy when she was about 10 years older than others who entered.
“I found it very interesting and difficult … in many ways because you know how 18-year-olds are,” Sister Lorraine said.
“I was 27. It’s funny: They used to call me mom because I was so old,” she added with a laugh.
Sister Lorraine had hoped to continue working in an office for the Sisters of Mercy, but her superiors, in need of teachers to meet an expanding Catholic school enrollment, had other plans.
Sister Lorraine had earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Georgian Court College (now University), Lakewood, and a master’s degree in reading at Glassboro State College, now Rowan University.
She spent virtually her entire professional career teaching elementary students, predominantly first-graders, at three schools in the Trenton and later the Metuchen dioceses, including the former St. Joseph School in North Plainfield. She shifted from a career in business to education.
“I loved teaching and I loved the primary grades,” she said. “I still keep in touch with many children I taught in first grade.”
Sister Lorraine took a sabbatical in 1995. In 1997, she was diagnosed with two benign brain tumors.
Since 1998, Sister Lorraine has been at Mount Saint Mary, where she returned to office work, eventually becoming director of the McAuley Prayer Guild. She has called upon her secretarial skills and a networking ability for people who seek prayers.
In many ways, Sister Lorraine might say, her prayers were answered, particularly about pursuing a religious vocation.
“Just think about it, and keep it in mind throughout the period,” Sister Lorraine said of her advice to young women who consider the call.
“I don’t know how to say this — things just happen in your life that you really have no control over. The one who is in control will lead you, eventually. That’s how I feel. God has control over your life, and you just have to accept things as they go along. You know?”
When Sister Lorraine entered religious life, her motto was: “Jesus I come to do your will.” It has guided her throughout her life as she placed God and his Son first.
Anthony Salamone
