100 years young as a Sister of Charity Nazareth

by | Mar 12, 2015 | Sisters of Charity, Vincentian Family

SCN 100Sisters of Charity of Nazareth  Evelyn Hurley reaches her 100th birthday today! We share this from a recent Journey article about this remarkable woman:
Her decision to make vows as a Sister of Charity of Nazareth surprised some, says Evelyn Hurley, SCN (Sister Evie). “I didn’t do too much serious thinking as a teenager,” Sister Evie recalls, adding she never talked about it much and, “didn’t even decide until the middle of summer.” A good bit of her decision to enter the Community was due to the example and influence of her teachers. She was taught by the SCNs from fifth grade until high school. Her father was away at the World Series when she made her announcement to her family that she would become an SCN, but when he learned of the news, he was proud. Her family, too, was very happy with her decision. So, in September 1932, Evelyn Hurley entered the Community.

Her ministry was education. She always preferred the primary grades. Sister Evie says, “I thoroughly enjoy working with little ones. They are so honest and simple. I had no real challenges.” She says this, even though in any given year, she could be responsible for many, many students, including the year she had 84 students in the first grade.

After teaching for over a decade in Kentucky, she and several other SCNs opened St. Elizabeth School in Clarksdale, Miss., in 1947. SCNs were already serving the parish in religious education when they saw a need for education for the children. Each Sister taught two grades, Sister Evie taught first and second. Three years later, she left Mississippi and returned to Boston, where she would continue her ministry in education for the next 64 years.

While in Boston, Sister Evie lived in a convent with 27 other Sisters in the early years, spending her days teaching the children at St. Brigid Convent. As the convent in Boston dwindled in size from 27 to 17, and then fewer, Sister Evie’s constant presence bonded her with the parish, school and surrounding community. She was the only Sister remaining when she decided to leave for the Nazareth Motherhouse this year.

So, as Sister Evie spends her days at Nazareth, she embraces this newest chapter of her life. “I’m at home, well adapted and very happy.”

 

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