Modern history came to island sister via The Evangelist

The Evangelist first wove its way into the life of Sister Jeanne Anne Collins, CSJ, on a warm spring day in the '60s when a first-grader in her class at St. James School in Albany brought a bird's nest to school. Woven into the nest was a strip of paper: the masthead of The Evangelist.

"It was just after Catholic Press Month [which is February], and Father [William] Jillisky was our associate pastor at St. James," Sister Jeanne Anne explained. Since he had just left to take up a position at The Evangelist, "I immediately took the nest down to [his office] to tease him!"

That was the beginning of a long association with The Evangelist for Sister Jeanne Anne. In 1964, she was transferred to Hawaii, but the newspaper continued to bring her the "news from home" for the next 31 years.

As The Evangelist celebrates this year's Catholic Press Month, she shared some memories of how the paper connected her to the Albany Diocese from 5,000 miles away.

Off to the islands

A native of Utica, Sister Jeanne Anne came to the Albany Diocese during her formation as a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. She lived and taught for five-and-a-half years at Keveny Academy in Cohoes (which closed in the 1980s), and followed that with a nine-year stint at St. James School in Albany.

During that time, her order asked for volunteers to form a mission in Hawaii. "Back then, you usually were sent," Sister Jeanne Anne remembered. "You might stay for seven years, then come home."

The young nun volunteered to go to Oahu, where she taught for a year before becoming an elementary-school principal.

News from home

"At that time, there were 12 sisters [of St. Joseph] from the Albany province," she said. Far from home, the group eagerly awaited any news from Albany.

"All of our sisters were back here," she said. "This was where I `grew up' as a sister and was formed. When you're 5,000 miles away, you just want to keep up on the news!"

Fortunately, Bud and Charlotte Lochner, an Albany couple whose children Sister Jeanne Anne had taught at St. James School, had given her a gift subscription to The Evangelist. Close friends of Sister Jeanne Anne's, they continued to renew the subscription even when her expected seven years in Hawaii stretched to 31.

Love for Hawaii

"In the early '70s, I had the choice to stay," Sister Jeanne Anne explained. "I was offered a position at the school office. I loved being there. The people are just marvelous to work with, and many exciting things were going on in the Church at that time. There were many opportunities to institute the challenges of Vatican II!"

Sister Jeanne Anne elected to stay in the close-knit community of Kailua, spending another 11 years as assistant to the superintendent of Catholic schools and 12 as vicar for religious. As she read The Evangelist, she often compared her own work to that of those in the Albany Diocese who were encouraging changes resulting from Vatican II.

Different size

While the Albany Diocese is geographically larger than the state of Maryland or Massachusetts, Sister Jeanne Anne's Hawaiian diocese was "so geographically small that we could do a lot of workshops on implementing the changes in Vatican II -- and we could share how the religious were responding."

Hawaii, she noted, was also different from New York in that there was only one diocese, one bishop and one Catholic school system to serve the entire state.

"I think having that drew us closer together," she said. "I knew everybody in the diocese!"

Paper connections

Through her three decades in Hawaii, the nun said that The Evangelist gave her a different perspective on life in the Albany Diocese than letters from friends could.

"It was a broader perspective," she said. "It wasn't just from a person, but the various activities that were going on in the Diocese. We used to get the papers from all the different provinces. We had fun comparing them -- and we became more global-thinking."

Sometimes, the arrival of The Evangelist brought sad news: for example, the deaths of clergy and religious from the Albany Diocese and the closing of some schools, including Keveny Academy.

But at other times, such as when religious orders began changing the habits their members wore, Sister Jeanne Anne recalled laughing with her fellow sisters as they recognized their differently attired friends in Evangelist photos.

Eating it up

"At Christmastime, The Evangelist used to come very late," she said. "But even the old news, we would devour! One of my first memories is when Bishop [Howard] Hubbard was made bishop. The coverage was just tremendous."

She was also proud to note the many awards The Evangelist received each year for its work. As The Evangelist grew and changed over time, so did her own diocesan newspaper, the Hawaii Catholic Herald.

"The editor was in eighth grade when I was principal at St. Anthony's school!" she joked.

Coming home

During much of her time in Hawaii, Sister Jeanne Anne was based in Kailua, a town whose name means "dividing waters." But in November 1995, the waters of the Pacific Ocean no longer divided her from "the mainland": She returned to the Albany Diocese to become pastoral care coordinator for retired sisters at St. Joseph's Provincial House in Latham.

Today, she visits ailing residents, prepares wake services for those who pass away, schedules retreats and days of recollection for the sisters -- and still tries to get used to New York winters.

"I'm down to one layer," she said proudly, pointing to the single sweater she wore during the interview.

All the news

While Sister Jeanne Anne claimed not to have missed any local events while she was away, she said that reading The Evangelist "back home" after hearing about the Diocese from Oahu for 31 years is different.

"You get some of the news before it's in print! It's different being here with the news happening all around you," she said. "I still read it. I'm interested in how the Diocese is celebrating its Sesquicentennial; we celebrated that in Hawaii a few years back."

(02-20-97) [[In-content Ad]]