Benedictines and Sisters of Mercy celebrate jubilees

Eight religious were honored in 2017 for serving the Church for 25 to 70 years

Published: November 30, 2017

Religious in Subiaco, Jonesboro and Little Rock aided by collection

Catholics in the Diocese of Little Rock will have the opportunity to “give to those who have given a lifetime” as part of the collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious, to be held in parishes Dec. 2-3. Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office, the annual appeal benefits 32,000 elderly Catholic sisters, brothers and priests whose religious congregations lack adequate retirement funding.

Last year, the Diocese of Little Rock contributed $154,723 to the collection. In 2017, Subiaco Abbey, the Carmelite Monastery in Little Rock and Holy Angels Convent in Jonesboro received financial assistance from the Retirement Fund for Religious. Women and men religious who serve or have served in the diocese but whose communities are based elsewhere may also benefit from the annual appeal.

The 2016 collection raised $30.7 million. About 94 cents of every dollar aids senior religious.

Many religious communities still struggle to provide for aging members. Only 41 of the 539 communities submitting data to the NRRO in 2016 were adequately funded for retirement. Traditionally, Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests served for small stipends that did not include retirement benefits. Today, hundreds of religious communities lack sufficient retirement savings.

70 years

Sister Angeline Massery, OSB

Sister Angeline Massery is a native of Little Rock, the seventh of 11 children. She was inspired by the sisters who taught her at St. Andrew’s Cathedral school, especially Sister Genevieve McConnell. After graduating from eighth grade, she entered Holy Angels Academy, and as soon as she was of age, entered the convent. After she made first vows, she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Arkansas State University and began teaching at St. Michael in West Memphis. She taught in various schools in Arkansas and at Sacred School in Muenter, Texas. Her favorite memories are of teaching little children about Jesus and preparing them for first holy Communion.

Sister Catherine Markey, OSB

She made her religious profession as a Sister of the Most Holy Sacrament in 1947. The Wellesley, Mass. native moved to Louisiana. She holds a master’s degree in library science from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame. She taught 26 years in secondary schools in Louisiana and Mississippi, later working as an archivist. She became the archivist for the Diocese of Little Rock in 1979 and became attracted to monastic life at St. Scholastica. She was accepted as a transferee into St. Scholastica Monastery on Sept. 14, 1990, and, after retiring from the chancery in 1995, continued to work as St. Scholastica’s archivist and librarian. Sister Catherine had a passion for social justice who, until the past few years, was active visiting young people in the local juvenile detention center and advocating against the death penalty. She was also a strong advocate for peace, peacefully demonstrating at the School for the Americas, and witnessing for peace each Sunday during the war in Iraq.

Sister Barbara Schroeder, OSB

A native of Windthorst, Texas, Sister Barbara came from a family of many Benedictines. She grew up with an aunt in St. Scholastica Monastery and an uncle in Subiaco Abbey. After she came to St. Scholastica, she was followed by three sisters — Marietta, Stephanie and Regina — who became sisters at the monastery, and one brother, Leonard, who became a monk in Subiaco. Sister Barbara had a teaching career in Arkansas and Texas that spanned 57 years. Along the way, she received a bachelor’s degree in education from Avila College in Kansas City and completed many continuing education courses to keep her knowledge current. After retirement she helped in the monastery diet kitchen and library and worked several years as a pastoral minister in St. John Church in Russellville. Currently she assists her sister, Sister Regina Schroeder, who serves as monastery procurator.

60 years

Sister Elaine Willett, OSB

Sister Elaine Willett, a native of Jonesboro, was the middle of five siblings. As a first-grade student at Blessed Sacrament School, Sister Elaine was first inspired to consider religious life because of the good example of her teacher, Sister Fridoline. She attended Holy Angels Academy and entered Holy Angels Convent in 1954. After making first vows in 1957, she was assigned to nursing school, which commenced her 20 years of nursing at St. Bernard’s and other community hospitals. She was then sent to work as missionary in Mexico for four years. When she returned to the motherhouse, she served as formation director, and in 1995 was appointed as the Hispanic minister for northeast Arkansas. She served in that position until her retirement in 2016. She currently works at the motherhouse sewing room, making and mending habits and items for the community gift shop.

Sister Lenore Dust, OSB

Sister Lenore Dust of Pocahontas was inspired by her older sister, Sister Georgia Dust, to enter religious life. Several years after high school graduation, she entered Holy Angels Convent, in 1955. After making first vows in 1957, she worked in the hospital office for a few years, and in 1966, was appointed as administrator of Consolata Retirement Home in New Iberia, La. She was then assigned to teach in elementary schools in Arkansas and Texas and would later serve as principal at Blessed Sacrament School. After retiring from teaching, she spent many years visiting patients at St. Bernard’s. Since her retirement in 2008, she supports the community with her prayers.

50 years

Sister Cheryl Marie Quave, RSM

Sister Cheryl Quave was born in Biloxi, Miss., and attended St. Theresa School and Sacred Heart Girls High School. The Sisters of Mercy staffed both schools. After graduation, she entered the Religious Sisters of Mercy in St. Louis on July 16, 1967. She professed first vows in 1970 and final vows in 1973 and concurrently graduated from Mercy Junior College and Fontbonne University. Sister Cheryl also earned a master’s degree in theology from St. Mary University in San Antonio, Texas. Sister Cheryl’s ministry of teaching took her to St. Francis Xavier School, Vicksburg, Miss.; Our Lady of Guadalupe, Amarillo, Texas; St. Patrick School, Meridian, Miss.; and parish ministry at Sacred Heart Church, Dedeaux, Miss. She is currently assigned to St. John School in Hot Springs.

25 years

Sister Laura Cathcart, OSB

Sister Laura Cathcart, a native of Little Rock, first began thinking about religious life while in high school at Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock. She entered Holy Angels Convent in August of 1990. She professed first vows in 1992 and perpetual vows in 1997. Shortly after her profession, she began pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education at Arkansas State University. She began teaching first at St. Michael in West Memphis and then for more than 12 years at Our Lady of the Holy Souls in Little Rock and at Blessed Sacrament in Jonesboro. In addition to teaching, she served on several summer mission trips to Nicaragua. She has also been invited to speak and present on various topics for Benedictine oblates and the Arkansas Historical Society.

Brother Joseph Heath, OSB

David Heath Jr. was born in Jersey City. He had been in a minor seminary during part of his high school years and as a young adult volunteered in Covenant House, a ministry to street youth in New York City. One day when he was reading Our Sunday Visitor he saw an advertisement for Subiaco Abbey. He came to Subiaco as a candidate in 1991 and made his first profession in 1992, receiving the name Joseph. In his first years he worked in various parts of the abbey, and then he was sent to study for a master’s degree in social studies and liberal arts. At Subiaco Academy, he teaches U.S., world and Church history. He is an avid sports fan, devoted to the New York Giants, Mets, Knicks and Rangers.