FOND MEMORIES

Sister Miriam Ann (clockwise from the left), Sister Mary Stephen, Sister James Marie, and Sister Mary Dominica - all Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary - enjoy a night out at a local mini-golf course. (Provided photo)

Sometimes, children are so fond of a place that it can feel like a home away from home. For Sister Mary Dominica Amesse, PBVM, St. Colman’s Home in Watervliet was — literally — a special place she called home.

At 4 years old, Sister Dominica and her 10 siblings were orphaned after the passing of her mother. While placed under the care of her loving grandparents, circumstances were best for the children to be cared for at St. Colman’s orphanage, which once operated as part of what is now St. Colman’s Home for children with autism and educational disabilities. 

Her family arrived in the early 1940s, and despite the circumstances, Sister Dominica said growing up at St. Colman’s was a fun childhood experience.

“We had hundreds of kids at that time, I had lots of friends,” she said. “We had a swimming pool and singing lessons, plays and dancing (lessons).”

While unaware at the time, growing up under the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who still operate St. Colman’s to this day, helped plant the seed for Sister Dominica’s vocation journey. 

After eighth grade, she entered Catholic Central High School in Troy where she joined clubs and enjoyed a typical high school experience, going to sporting events and prom. She started thinking about her future and settled on becoming a trapeze star, having been fascinated by the circus act of flying through the air. She later switched to nursing, having decided she wanted to help people. It wasn’t until her senior year of high school that it hit her that she was being called to the sisterhood.

After graduating in June 1955, she drove to St. Colman’s to join the Sisters of the Presentation as a postulant. After professing final vows, she went on to obtain her bachelor’s in sociology from Siena College and her master’s in education from Russell Sage.

Sister Dominica started teaching third grade at St. Colman’s as her first job, but that was just the beginning. Religious life took her to new sites and introduced her to all different experiences.

From 1981-82, she volunteered at a senior center in Juno, Alaska. She and the sisters once got to take a plane tour over the Alaskan glaciers. And because most days were sunny through the night, she would get to watch the sunset at 3 a.m.

“It was a wonderful experience because you met so many types of people, and you got to really love them and appreciate what they did,” she said.

Back in Albany, Sister Dominica said that her time in religious life has been a great joy. When she taught at St. Helen’s School (now St. Kateri Tekakwitha), a group of fellow teaching sisters would get together and go roller skating after work. In 2008, when she retired from St. Helen’s, her students pooled together and got her a red bike to ride. Now in retirement, Sister Dominica enjoys her free time between prayer and playing cards with her fellow sisters. 

“We’ve done a lot of fun things,” she said.

Sister Dominica was even dubbed the “roadrunner” by her fellow sisters for her quick pace. “I like to walk and I walk faster than anyone I think,” she laughed. Even now in her walker, she’s still faster than some of the sisters at St. Colman’s. 

“I was thinking the other night, (our) slogan should be: join a convent and see the world,” she said. “I went to England, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and Vermont. I loved every bit of it.”