Sisters of Christian Charity create lasting memories in Bernardsville parish, school

Bill Venezia, principal at The School of St. Elizabeth in Bernardsville from 2008 to 2018, remembers his first encounter with the Sisters of Christian Charity when he assumed the job.
 
“I had been educated in Jersey City by the Sisters of Christian Charity in the 1960s, and as a career educator, had spent over 30 years in public school education and administration when I came to St. Elizabeth,” he said. Although his childhood memories made him a bit wary, he said, “I did a 180 degree turn in two weeks. The Sisters were great, and a treasure to the school.”
 
Venezia was grateful for the Sisters’ partnership in helping children from an affluent community in suburban New Jersey expand their view of God’s world. He told of a trip to the Bronx, New York, where St. Elizabeth students joined counterparts from another school with which the Sisters of Christian Charity were affiliated to plant 100 trees in a beautification project. “We rode in an air-conditioned bus, and those kids came on the subway,” he said. “Our students learned that kids are kids, no matter where they come from.”
 
The Sisters of Christian Charity have been a treasure and an influential presence at both The School of St. Elizabeth and its home parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, for 35 years, serving not only as teachers in the school but as ministry leaders within the larger parish community. They arrived in 1989 at the request of pastor Father Richard Behl when the Sisters of Mercy, who had served the school since its founding in 1916, left to pursue other ministries.
 
Over the course of more than three decades, the Sisters of Christian Charity have served in roles as diverse as classroom teacher, faith formation director, outreach coordinator for senior citizens, ministers of Holy Communion to the sick, and visible reminders of the presence of Christ throughout Bernardsville.
 
The Sisters of Christian Charity have created lasting memories in playful ways, too. Sister Annelyth Pandi, a fourth-grade teacher with a short tenure but big impact, is remembered in a centennial commemoration for karaoke and coaching the children in line dancing, all while teaching them to do God’s work.

By the time current pastor Father John (Jay) Siceloff arrived in 2018, two teaching Sisters remained in the school, assisting in any way they could to maintain normalcy through the COVID pandemic. Within the parish, the Sisters adapted to the new world during and post COVID. “The pandemic changed a lot,” said Sister Martha Kavanaugh, a fixture in the parish for 22 years. When the pandemic struck, she served as pastoral associate, one of many roles during her tenure. “As the pandemic ended, we were at the doors to welcome people back,” she continued. “We had to get our footing, and we did so beautifully as a parish. Our already-formed spirituality group for women resumed, and we began a group for younger women as well.”
 
There are no longer teaching Sisters in The School of St. Elizabeth, and the order’s numbers at OLPH have diminished so much so that the convent there has now closed after serving as their home for 35 years. Sister Martha has moved to the religious order’s mother house in Mendham, but even at age 88 will continue her OLPH spirituality groups as long as the parish wants her to do so. “They are hungry for their faith,” she says when asked why she will continue to travel from Mendham to meet with the group.
 
If their numbers have diminished, their influence has not. Father Siceloff explained, “Parishes with schools have a unique vibe. The presence of the Sisters has contributed to that, even when the children are out of school. The entire parish benefits.” He expressed his hope that even though the Sisters have moved from the convent, their “joyful witness” will remain in evidence throughout the parish. “For those of us old enough to remember,” he said, “the role and impact of religious sisters in our parishes and schools is a given. It is one of those things you don’t fully appreciate until it’s gone. Today, it is unusual for children to understand it. The Sisters will be missed.”
 
Sister Martha is confident that the spirit will remain, because “it’s all about presence. Father Jay greets the children every day.” And while “it hurts to leave,” she says, the Sisters of Christian Charity have enjoyed “a beautiful life” at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
 
The Sisters of Christian Charity continue to serve within the Diocese at St. James Parish, Basking Ridge, and St. Francis Cathedral School, Metuchen. Sister Martha concluded, “Wherever we can serve, we do.”