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"Retirement" isn't the right word for the next phase of Mercy Sister Mary Ellen Owens' life.

"Sisters don't retire; they just move on to other jobs. What would you do all day if you retired?" she explained during her last week as principal of All Saints Catholic Academy in Albany.

An educator for four decades, Sister Mary Ellen became principal of the former Holy Cross School in 1985 and continued her role when it merged with St. Teresa of Avila School in 2009 to form All Saints. She estimates about 4,000 children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade have passed through under her watch.

It's "time for new energy, new blood," she mused. "My years in education have been wonderful. I could not have ever asked for better pastors, better principals - and the best staff I ever worked with."

Sister Mary Ellen's departure marks an end to religious leadership at ASCA. But she isn't worried: "I am positive that all of the faith traditions will be kept."

For Catholic schools to thrive, she believes they need to "change to keep up," but also make their Catholic identities a top priority.

"Having the freedom to talk about God - being able to associate God with their values, with their character and with their education - that's what we're all about," she said.

Sister Mary Ellen has taken particular pride in watching students participate in liturgies and seeing her school embrace diversity. ASCA has welcomed immigrants - including a student from Turkey who spoke no English - and students of other faiths.

Over the decades, the principal faced challenges like declining enrollment, tight family budgets and the need for after-school programs. She said things will only continue to change, especially when it comes to technology.

The key is "keeping [the students] motivated," she noted. "They're used to responding to a screen and a keyboard, and we have to become the person on the screen."

Sister Mary Ellen believes Catholic school students are the Church's future, but also has ideas for keeping adult Catholics active in the Church and bringing back those who have fallen away.

She recalled conducting a parish census in her teaching days at Holy Cross School. "There needs to be some kind of contact [by lay parishioners] with the people who claim they are baptized [but aren't attending Mass]. The personal invitation is so important."

Sister Mary Ellen grew up in Rensselaer and attended schools run by Mercy sisters. Her father grew up in a group home run by the sisters. But in high school, she aimed to be a pediatric nurse, pushing aside thoughts of religious life.

"Who'd want to be a nun when you can have all this fun?" she asked herself. But "something always kind of nags at you."

A year after high school, Sister Mary Ellen entered religious life. Looking back, she said she's discovered that a vocation gives the "ability to be free enough, without the family obligations, to be there to serve the people of God."

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