THE SISTERS ARE BACK!

BACK TO SCHOOL: Led by Sister Laurie-Marie Parisi, St. Mary’s in Glens Falls welcomes back religious sisters for the first time in over 30 years

It’s an exciting time at St. Mary’s Academy with Sister Laurie-Marie Parisi, CR, the new principal — she is the only religious sister serving as a principal in the area’s 17 Catholic schools. On top of that, she is joined by Sister Angela Marie Leo (inset r.), and retired Sister Mary Lucille Borowski (inset c.) and they live in the new St. Mary’s Convent on Warren Street in Glens Falls. (Emily Benson photo and photo provided)

The sisters are back in Glens Falls!

In an exciting move for the northernmost Catholic school in the Albany Diocese, Sister Laurie-Marie Parisi, CR, was installed on July 1 as the new principal of St. Mary’s Academy (SMA) in downtown Glens Falls. 

Accompanying her as she takes on her new role are two other Sisters of the Resurrection — Sister Angela Marie Leo, who will assist with the parish bookkeeping and other duties between the parish and the school, and retired Sister Mary Lucille Borowski, who will help with the parish food pantry and as needed. 

During her first visit to the school, Sister Laurie-Marie said walking the halls of St. Mary’s felt like being at home.

“I felt like this is where God wants me to be,” she said.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet first opened St. Mary’s Academy in 1883 to serve the growing population of St. Mary’s Parish. Over time, the school changed to meet the new needs of the area, becoming a pre-K- through-Grade 8 school run entirely by secular and lay teachers, as most convents were located south of Glens Falls. 

Now, for the first time in more than 30 years, sisters will be back in the school.

“God’s hand has truly been in this because he took something that I didn’t think would be possible. He made it possible,” said Sister Laurie-Marie.

Father Scott VanDerveer, pastor at St. Mary’s, said the school was searching for a way to bring more stability to its leadership. The answer, they hoped, would be in religious life: “Consecrated people would be the very best of this because they’re so committed,” he said.

St. Mary’s reached out to over 20 religious communities across the United States, Canada and Ireland. All of them gave the same answer: they wished they could help, but it wasn’t in the cards.

Then, last summer, when Sister Laurie-Marie was teaching at St. Jude the Apostle School in Wynantskill and working toward her Certificate in School Building Leadership at the University at Albany, Father VanDerveer asked if she would ever consider being principal of St. Mary’s.

At the time, she was in Castleton-on-Hudson at the convent for the Sisters of the Resurrection, who all live in community: “I said, as much as I would love to, I don’t think it would ever work, it’s so far,” she said. “We would have to establish a whole new house.”

When she went home that night, Sister Laurie-Marie mentioned the talk to her provincial superior, Sister Dolores Marie, CR, not thinking much of it. 

“She stopped, and she said, ‘You know, that might work,’” Sister Laurie-Marie said. “I looked at her and went, ‘You’re kidding.’ ”

“We reached out to all of these communities, and every one of them said, ‘We love what you’re doing, we wish we could help you, but our numbers have gotten too small, our median age is too old, and we really need to stay focused on our future as a community of prayer,’ and I understood,” said Father VanDerveer. “But one order, the Sisters of the Resurrection in Castleton, said yes for the very same reason! They said, ‘Father, we think we need to come because we are very small, our median age is old, and we need to stay focused on our future.’ ”

As exciting as the possibility was, nothing was done in haste. The congregation needed permission from their superior general in Rome, Mother Dorota Zygmunt, CR, permission from Bishop Mark O’Connell, and time to discern if this was the right move for the community. 

But by March, everything was coming into place. In July, the three sisters left their home in Castleton-on-Hudson and moved into the parish rectory on Warren Street, now referred to as St. Mary’s Convent.

A native of Schenectady, Sister Laurie-Marie was drawn to teaching from a young age. After joining the Sisters of the Resurrection in 1998, she obtained an AAS in Early Childhood Education from Hudson Valley Community College, a bachelor’s in childhood education Grades 1-6 from The College of St. Rose, and a master’s in religious studies from St. Joseph’s Seminary and College in Yonkers.

“We are incredibly blessed to welcome Sister Laurie-Marie Parisi as the new principal of St. Mary’s Academy. As a Sister of the Resurrection, she brings not only leadership experience and a commitment to academic excellence, but also a profound understanding of the Catholic mission of education and the importance of forming young people in faith,” said Dr. Christopher Bott, Superintendent of Schools. “Sister Laurie-Marie is the only religious sister currently serving as a principal in our 17 Catholic schools, and her presence is a wonderful reminder of the rich tradition of religious women who have devoted their lives to Catholic education.”

All summer, Sister Laurie-Marie has been reaching out to the teachers at SMA, getting to know her staff as much as possible. 

“It’s so important to have that relationship with people,” she said. “Some people, the only contact they’ve had with sisters was through ‘The Sound of Music’ or ‘The Sister Act.’ ”

The parishioners at St. Mary’s were especially welcoming of the sisters’ first week. They made meals for them a few times and held a reception after all three Masses so everyone could meet the sisters.

“I think they were even more excited than we were,” Sister Laurie-Marie laughed. 

Going into the new year, Sister Laurie-Marie plans to help her school to “blossom and grow.”

“What’s beautiful is Saint Mary’s is under the patronage of Our Lady,” she said. “I ask her every day, often several times a day, to help me. To be a principal is not just to be a leader, it’s also to be a servant. To serve the teachers, to serve the students, to serve the families that we have.”

More Back to School: 

‘A GREAT FIT’: http://evangelist.www.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/2026/sep/23/a-great-fit/ 

MAKING HISTORY: http://evangelist.www.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/2026/sep/23/making-history/ 

‘DID YOU GO TO CATHOLIC HIGH?’: http://evangelist.www.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/2026/sep/23/did-you-go-to-catholic-high/ 

NEW YEAR, NEW SCHOOL: http://evangelist.www.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/2026/sep/23/new-year-new-school/ 

AN ANCHOR IN LIFE: http://evangelist.www.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/2026/sep/23/back-to-school-an-anchor-in-my-life-and-for-many-others/ 

A VALUED PROCESS: http://evangelist.www.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/2026/sep/23/a-valued-process/