Poulins pooled 200 years of Church service

This year marks the golden jubilees of Sister Patricia Poulin, CSJ, and Rev. Calvin Poulin, SJ. Their brother, Rev. Neil Poulin, SJ, is a relative youngster: He has been in the Jesuit order for "only" 46 years.

Add in the 35 years during which their late brother, Rev. Donald Poulin, was a seminarian and priest for the Archdiocese of New York City and the 19 years their late mother, Helen Walsh Poulin, cooked for the Sisters of Joseph of Carondelet at their Amsterdam convent, and you get a total of 200 years of ministry by one family.

Global reach

The Poulins lived in Maine when Patricia was born in 1923, but they moved to Amsterdam six years later when their father, Herbert, got a job as a weaver with Mohawk Carpet Mills. Calvin was born in 1931; Neil arrived four years later.

Growing up in Amsterdam, the Poulin children received a solid Catholic upbringing; for many years, they lived across from their parish, St. Mary's, and each attended St. Mary's Institute, the parish high school. They also worked at Auriesville, where they met many of the Jesuits who staffed the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs.

Vocation calls

After working for six years, Patricia felt called to enter the Sisters of St. Joseph, which she did in 1948. She had known the sisters from her high school days, but it was her parents who planted the seed for her vocation.

"I was really supported by my family in my decision," she said. "They raised us to be independent thinkers."

Missionary

"I did apply with the hope of going to the missions, particularly the Philippines, because I had known many Filipino Jesuits and Americans who had been working in the Philippines, and I was very interested in going," he said.

He agreed that his parents were supportive of their children's response to the call of ministry. "We were struggling, but there was never any opposition to us doing what we wanted to do," Calvin said. "The inspiration came from our parents and their generosity in not demanding that we stay."

More calls

Neil was ordained a Jesuit in 1966, the same year his brother Donald was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York City. Father Neil celebrated his first Mass at St. Mary's in Amsterdam.

While Sister Patricia continued teaching in the Diocese, her brothers began ministries that took them away. Neil left for the missions on the island of Yap in Micronesia, Donald went to St. Joachim's Church in Beacon, and Calvin was in the Philippines.

Island turmoil

"We didn't know what would happen," he recalled. "As a foreigner, I was vulnerable. I was once charged with citing to sedition and ordered to leave the country, but we managed to survive some of those obstacles."

The Church played an important role during the overthrow of Marcos, Father Calvin pointed out, as priests and seminarians set up barricades and slept in the streets for days to bring about democracy.

Many places

"She was a wonderful addition to the community, and I still meet people who say, 'I miss your mother,'" Sister Patricia said.

Sister Patricia wrapped up her teaching career in 1982 and went back to school to study clinical pastoral education. In 1984, she began a CPE program at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, conducting programs to train clergy and laypeople to be chaplains or pastoral caregivers.

Father Calvin remained in the Philippines until 1990, when he got his wish to work in Africa by assisting in a new, experimental program with Jesuit scholastics in Nigeria. When the program was terminated in 1994, he went to Kenya to teach at Hekima College in Nairobi.

In 1998, he returned to Nigeria as superior of Loyola Jesuit College for one year but will soon go back to the Philippines as a campus minister at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City.

Staying involved

"Everybody laughs when I tell them I'm retired. I still give talks and workshops, mostly in the Binghamton area," she said. "I still feel like a teacher and make use of teaching moments."

The three siblings have seen each other sporadically over the years, so mail had been the easiest way to keep in touch until recently.

"Now it's even better because we all have e-mail. Before, we wrote letters because phone calls were prohibitive," Sister Patricia said.

Home town

The Poulins wonder where all of the time went since they first pursued their vocations.

"The time has gone by fast, and it's wonderful to look back on the changes in the Church that have been very life-giving. It's a privilege to be part of the growth that's taking place," Sister Patricia said.

Noting how time is relative, Father Calvin joked: "In the novitiate, the jubilarians seemed very old. Now they're much younger."

(09-23-99) [[In-content Ad]]