Sister Michaelita Popovice

Thankful. Grateful. Blessed.

These three eloquent words encapsulate what Sister Michaelita Popovice’s 60 years as a religious in the Sisters of Mercy order mean to her.

“I use that [phrase] a lot,” she said. “It’s true.”

Eschewing retirement, for the last 30 years Sister Michaelita devotes five days a week to her job as program director for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, in Phillipsburg, where she oversees operations and helps disadvantaged households meet basic necessities with food and clothing. A certified social worker, she is enthusiastic about her role, which typically involves volunteer recruitment, writing grants, setting budgets, attending virtual meetings, seeing clients, and discussing with Warren County officials how to help the homeless.

“To be able to work with the poor,” she said, “I’m very privileged to do that. I don’t call it work, I call it a ministry. I just feel people need help today, and if I can just listen to them it makes a difference — not just the food I give, but just listening to them and having an interest in their lives, then I’m doing God’s work.”

She referenced this quote from Catherine McAuley, foundress of the order, which sums up her ministry: “There are three things the poor prize more highly than gold, though they cost the donor nothing; among these are the kind word, the gentle, compassionate look, and the patient hearing of their sorrows.”

Sister Michaelita’s efforts have been recognized locally and through the diocese with the Champions for Catholic Charities Award (2016), the Humanitarian Award from the Phillipsburg Chamber of Commerce (2013), the Partners in Charity Award from the Catholic Charities Solidarity Team (2011), and the Phillipsburg Rotary Excellence in Service Award (2010).

She humbly mentions that the awards are inclusive of others on her team.

“The idea that the work that myself and my colleagues have been doing at our place is recognized, that it’s a valuable part of the community, that’s what I feel that people should know,” she said, “That Catholic Charities is out there and we are making lives better for people.”

While growing up in Alpha, she attended nearby Saints Philip & James School, Phillipsburg. The Sisters of Mercy taught in every grade and had a profound influence on her. After graduation, she worked two years in a bank, but then decided to enter the convent. During her religious formation she attended Georgian Court College (now University), Lakewood, and Seton Hall University, South Orange, and earned two history degrees. She became a social studies teacher and later served as principal at her childhood alma mater for 13 years.

Her spare time revolves around talking politics and current events with friends, reading, and spending time with her nieces and grand-nieces and nephews. With health on her side, she still has “the enthusiasm, the motivation” to continue in her ministry until her eventual retirement enjoying the mountainous surroundings of Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer, Watchung.

“If they could give me a chair on the porch, I could sit outside and relax, maybe read. That would be my thing,” she says about the future she envisions, but not without bringing her favorite door sign along: I like to take naps.

For those curious about taking the same apostolic path, she notes that today the vocation is one in which candidates can make their own decisions regarding field of work. In contrast, during her discernment in the 1960s, teaching was the required ministry of all candidates when becoming a woman religious.

“It’s a life that has made me happy, and the idea of service in the Church is something that is definitely needed in the world today,” she said. “In all my 60 years, I’ve been happy as a religious. I would encourage people to consider it. We’re needed in today’s world.”

Debra Stevko Miller