October 18, 2023 at 10:53 a.m.
LIVES OF SERVICE
Sister Serena Branson, DC, was an innovator, a visionary and once was called by the writers of The Evangelist “one of the most significant people in the 156-year history of the Albany Diocese.”
Her sister, Sister Anna Marie Branson, DC, is best known for her missionary work, particularly her 20 years in Bolivia, helping that country’s indigenous poor.
Their lives, vocations and missions are chronicled in a new book titled “Sisters: The Extraordinary Lives of Serena and Anna Marie Branson,” that was released this summer and written by their nephew, Chris Byrd.
It is hard not to overstate the impact Sister Serena — who entered the Daughters of Charity in 1931 and was already a pioneer in the care and education of children and families when she arrived in upstate New York in the 1970s — had on the Diocese of Albany.
“When she was appointed (director of Catholic Charities) she was the first woman in the United States to hold that kind of position,” Byrd said in a recent interview with The Evangelist. “That was a significant milestone in her career.
“Bishop Edwin Broderick was familiar with her and impressed with her and that is why he appointed her. At the time she became director, Catholic Charities served three of the 14 counties in the Diocese. So her mandate was to expand services to all 14 counties. She was very good at going out and doing needs assessments and finding out what the people wanted — not imposing upon people (and saying) these are the programs we are going to offer you — but talking to the local people, meeting people on the ground and finding out what are your needs and how can we help you meet those needs. … By the time she stepped down in 1990, Catholic Charities was in all 14 counties. When she arrived, she had a budget of $500,000; when she left, they had a budget of $19 million.”
Byrd added that Sister Serena “wore many hats” in her time with Catholic Charities.
“What made her unique, she was a prodigious fundraiser. She could shake your hand with one hand and take your money with the other,” Byrd said of Sister Serena who died in 2003. “She was also a very good advocate in the state house and in Washington for the needs of the poor and the marginalized. She combined a lot of skill, she did everything well.
“She became known as the Mother Teresa of Albany. Children had a special place in her heart. She also learned a lot on the job. She didn’t really know a lot about rural issues when she joined, then she realized that Albany is largely a rural Diocese. She became knowledgeable about rural issues and would talk to people about advocating for the rural people.
“It wasn’t just the city of Albany or the urban poor, she had broad concern for the entire Diocese and uplifted rural issues in a way that weren’t uplifted at that time. She was very much beloved in the city, the state and the nation.”
While Sister Serena was destined for religious life from a young age, Byrd said it was conversion experience on one Holy Thursday that led Sister Anna Marie to enter the Daughters of Charity in 1936. Her two decades in Bolivia left quite an impression.
“Her last 20 years were spent as a missionary in Bolivia, in places like Cochabamba, La Paz, the Altiplano. She experienced poor health, which declined significantly, and despite her great pain, continued to minister to people,” Byrd said. “Because of that heroic sacrifice, people think she should be regarded as a saint. … The last year of her life (in 1982), she started a program for boys and young men who had been abandoned on the streets of Cochabamba, and that was the work which she is most closely associated with.”
Byrd wants people to read the book and be inspired by the lives of Sister Serena and Sister Anna Marie.
“What I would really hope is that (the readers) would follow Serena and Anne Marie’s example. The book is really told through their words, Serena’s speeches and Anna Marie’s letters and to see those as scriptures to inform them to action. … and to pursue holiness.
“I really want to encourage people to live the Gospel more fully, to live more simply, to work for justice, to promote peace and to respect all lives in all stages and situations. … Listen to Serena’s and Anna Marie’s words and let them provoke them to action to live the Gospel more fully.”
To purchase the book, you can use this link: www.politics-prose.com/book/9781624294686. Byrd is also available to speak to groups about his book and can be reached via email at [email protected].
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