Catholic Charities of Arkansas director moving to New York ministry

Published: July 9, 2011

By Phyllis Hemann
Associate Editor

Phyllis Hemann

Sister Mary Lou Stubbs, a Daughter of Charity for 43 years, will develop parish-based ministries in the Diocese of Ogdensburg, N.Y.

Phyllis Hemann

Sister Mary Lou Stubbs, a Daughter of Charity for 43 years, will develop parish-based ministries in the Diocese of Ogdensburg, N.Y.

Sister Mary Lou Stubbs, DC, left her post as director of Catholic Charities of Arkansas July 8 to take on new challenges in the Diocese of Ogdensburg in upstate New York.

While it is the nature of her work as a Daughter of Charity to go where she is needed, Sister Mary Lou said she will take a part of Arkansas with her to her new assignment.

"The beauty of the state, the beauty of the people, that whole sense of friendliness. I'll miss my choir at St. Bartholomew's," she said with a pause. "But there's always needs."

The move comes as the Daughters of Charities in the United States are consolidating to better use their sisters' talents to serve the poor. Currently they have five regions, and the end result of the consolidation will be two regions. Up until now, they have operated in their own regions and sisters moved among those provinces to serve the poor.

Her call to religious vocation came at 17, although for her as a teenager, it was unexpected.

"I'm the least likely person to have ever been a sister -- kind of rough and tumble, low-income, kind of sassy and all that. In my daily life and in my prayer, I could feel God was asking me to do something and I didn't know what," she said.

Once she learned about the Daughters of Charity and how they serve the poor, everything fell into place. She entered the religious life at 18.

"I ran into the Daughters of Charity and I went 'Whoa, these are gutsy women. They go where no one else will go.' It just went 'click' like a puzzle piece and I knew it was right," Sister Mary Lou said. "I'm 43 years a Daughter of Charity. I love it. Love it, love it, love it. I cannot imagine not being a Daughter of Charity."

Prior to being named the Catholic Charities director in 2007, Sister Mary Lou served in Kansas City, Mo., Austin, Texas, St. Louis, Mo., and New Orleans.

She started her career as a nurse and moved to health care administration. This background in services and medical systems helped her implement improved programs to serve people through Catholic Charities.

"We're not just an ordinary organization; we are an arm of the Catholic Church. Our services have to be excellent, but the way we do them has to be with love. We are the bridge between the expertise of the world and the living expression of the Church," she said.

Her new position will put her closer to home, as the Saint Lawrence Seaway marks the border between New York and Canada. Sister Mary Lou was born in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1949.

"If I look out the office window I think the next building is in Canada," she said with a laugh. "I'm not going to miss the heat. I'll be one of the 'frozen chosen.' I'm going to have to get a whole new wardrobe."

She will work developing systems of parish-based ministries for Catholic Charities in upstate New York, both for direct service needs and advocacy systems to address issues. She will also work on educating deacons and teaching workshops on systemic change and living the Gospel.

The Bishop McDonald Center at the Diocese of Little Rock campus opened in 2010, giving the Catholic Charities office space that meets the needs of their programs.

During her tenure, she's also seen Catholic Immigration Services in Springdale grow significantly. Both immigration programs -- Little Rock and Springdale -- have expanded their work with victims of crime and domestic violence.

The Refugee Resettlement Program is a "major coup" for Catholic Charities, she said. The federal government is mandated to have one in each state and they chose Catholic Charities of Arkansas to receive the contract.

"Our programs are solid. They're effective. They're addressing needs that are very real and they're doing it in a holistic manner. They're not just treating symptoms or treating problems. They're looking at the whole person," she said.

The people in Arkansas, she said, have left their impression on her -- one that she will use in her quest to help those in need.

"I have never been around more gracious, open, kind people, who also have this 'can-do' attitude," she said. "It's totally refreshing. I find a lot of integrity in that, that you can work with people in disaster situations and at the local level with parish teams. I trust those teams to use their good sense. I've been in other locations where I don't have that level of trust with the people in the parishes, that they're more dependant. This group is inter-dependent and they use the good gifts that God has given them."