Jubilarians: Sister Marianne McCann, MPF; Sister Ella Mae McDonald, MPF; Brother Richard Leven, SC

Sister Marianne McCann, MPF
65 Years

Sister Marianne McCann, MPF, knew she wanted to teach as a young girl. Her greatest joy as a Religious Teacher Filippini has been the ability to pursue her childhood dream in a Catholic environment where she has had the opportunity to be part of the spiritual formation of young people for over 60 years.

For the vast majority of that time, Sister Marianne served as a teacher and later an administrator at Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, New Jersey, from which she retired after 21 years as principal in 2022. Earlier in her career, she served as a teacher at Catholic schools staffed by the Religious Teachers Filippini throughout the Archdiocese of Newark from north to south, including St. Peter School in River Edge, St. Anthony School in Belleville and St. Bartholomew School in Scotch Plains before ultimately arriving at Paul VI in 1974.

Sister Marianne, who today serves as Councilor of the St. Lucy Province of the Religious Sisters Filippini, celebrates her 65th jubilee this year. Born as one of three children to Dorothy and William McCann in Brooklyn, New York, Sister Marianne entered religious life in August 1960 and was professed in 1963.

The Religious Teachers Filippini at St. Bernadette School in Brooklyn were her first exposure to religious life, and in particular, Sister Almerina Viscelli “was a role model and very influential in my choice of a vocation,” Sister Marianne explained. She began her pursuit of her vocation as a teen and attended Villa Walsh Academy in Morristown. She later attended Seton Hall University in South Orange.

Sister Marianne has been recognized for service to the Catholic Church with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal, and service to the Diocese of Camden with Meritorious Service to the Church of Camden Award.

As she retired from her role as principal at Paul VI, Sister Marianne explained to the local Catholic newspaper her long devotion to the formation of students in Catholic schools, saying, “They are the future Church, the future community, the future government.” As a former teacher and now a catechist and volunteer at St. John Vianney Parish in Colonia, she prays daily that “there are young men and women eager to answer the call to a spiritually rich and rewarding ministry.”

By Susan Odenthal, Correspondent


Sister Ella Mae McDonald, MPF
65 Years

Sister Ella Mae McDonald is celebrating her 65th year as a Religious Teacher Filippini.

Born in Sayre, Pennsylvania, in 1940, one of 14 children of Leo and Ella Mae McDonald, she went to work at a dress factory after high school, and had not contemplated a vocation. “It came and went,” she said. “But my father had trained us to care for others – to carry the older neighbors’ groceries, to help people when they needed it. I taught catechism from the age of 16.”

“At some point, I said, ‘I can give my life to God,’” she recalled. Her father didn’t take it quite as seriously as Sister Ella Mae - he told her to go ahead, but cautioned that, “With your Irish, you’ll be back!” Defying his prediction, Sister Ella Mae has for more than six decades found her vocation to be a rewarding decision.

She entered the Religious Sisters Filippini convent in October 1959 after visiting the Sister Servants, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Sisters of Mercy. Her vocation decision was influenced by reading the life of St. Francis of Assisi and the Little Flowers of St. Francis. She was professed in August 1963.

Educated in public schools in Pennsylvania, Sister Ella Mae went on to study at St. Elizabeth College in New Jersey, Rhode Island College, and Creighton University in Nebraska. She taught in many elementary and high Catholic high schools in the dioceses of Paterson, Trenton, Camden, Metuchen and Newark in New Jersey; and in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Florida and Pennsylvania. She served as school principal at St. Sebastian School in Middletown, Connecticut, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Bristol, Rhode Island.

“My greatest joy in religious life is being a member of the Religious Teachers Filippini and giving talks for retired religious. I also love giving retreats, and cooking and baking,” she said.

Four of her siblings are still alive, two of her sisters in Rhode Island. “I loved being assigned in Rhode Island, right near the water, and two of my sisters,” she said. That was the first time I was ever working near my family.” A brother, at first a priest in the Order of Mercy, is now a diocesan priest in Texas.

By Susan Odenthal, Correspondent


Brother Richard Leven, SC
65 Years

The seeds to a life of service to the Lord were planted deep within the future Brother of the Sacred Heart Richard Leven, an adoptee from a Philadelphia-area orphanage. His parents Harry and Mary had a strong devotion to the Sacred Heart, and, the youngster recalled, “I can still remember the day [when] our house was consecrated to the Sacred Heart. We also had a statue of the Blessed Mother in our backyard, and we had the daily routine of praying the family rosary.”

A fortuitous visit to his grammar school, St. Joseph in Warrington, Pa. from Brother of the Sacred Heart George Woodburn struck a chord in the young adoptee; pictures of the Brothers working with orphans moved his heart and led his procession of his first vows in the Brothers Chapel on the campus of St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, on Aug. 15, 1959.

In addition to his duties as the Catholic high school’s religion and physical education teacher, Brother Richard founded the St. Joseph High School cross country team which he led to a 168-16 record, including 27 Middlesex County/Greater Middlesex Conference and Catholic track Conference titles and two state championships. During an eight-year assignment to the former Phillipsburg Catholic High School, he sparked a friendship with its soccer coach, Msgr. Seamus Brennan, and the two joined talents to lead the team to a county championship.

In addition to his assignments at the two N.J. high schools, Brother Richard served at the former Sacred Heart boarding school Coindre Hall in Huntington, Long Island, N.Y., and at the Sangre De Cristo Center in Santa Fe, N.M.

Back at St. Joseph High School and retired from coaching cross country and track in 2020 after 46 years, Brother Richard still assists in the freshman guidance program “where I get to meet and guide our newest students through their St. Joseph High School journey,” he said. Asked to define his favorite aspects of living life as a religious, unsurprisingly, the brother focuses on his long years as a sports, and life, coach.

“Over the past 65 years, I have the enjoyed the opportunity to inspire, by example, the Christian values needed by our students to become men of faith,” he declared. “I also love working with the kids. It’s part of the reason why I joined the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. I enjoy seeing the impact of the teachings of [founder] Father Andre Coindre and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart have had on so many of our alumni and current students.”

By Christina Leslie, Contributing Editor