August 19, 2004

Sister Nic to celebrate jubilee anniversary as religious

Sister Mary St. Nicholas, affectionately known as Sister Nic, will soon celebrate her 50th anniversary as a religious sister. A Mass in honor of this jubilee will be celebrated on Sun., Sept. 12, 11 a.m. at St. Augustine Church in Memphis.

On April 8, 1936, Nicola and Maria Theresa Catrambone welcomed Rita, so named by her Uncle Dom, the youngest of their eight children, into the large, warm and loving Italian immigrant family.

She attended St. Calistus Elementary School and St. Mary High School where she was taught by Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1954, after graduating from high school, Rita entered the Sisters of Charity taking her father's name, Sister Mary St. Nicholas. Called Sister Nic by all who know her in community and ministry, to her family she is always Rita. As a young BVM, Sister Nic was educated to be a teacher at Clarke College in Dubuque and Mundelein College in Chicago. Her first teaching assignment was at St. Eugene School in Chicago, then Mary Queen of Heaven in Cicero, Illinois, followed by St. Patrick School in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The rich turning point of Sister Nic's life was the 14 wonderful years she spent at Immaculate Conception Parish and High School in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The rich familial and faith traditions she encountered in IC's African American community brought her full circle and became in every sense home and family to her.

In an article for Salt magazine, Sister Nic is quoted: "My Clarksdale experience remains the focal point of my gradual realization of my own prejudices as well as a deeply spiritual contribution to my religious life in all aspects. In the Gospel song, Take me back, Dear Lord, where I first received thee, Clarksdale is that time and space where my growth began. How truly grateful I am for being sent to such a holy place where God is real to the people, their `rock and salvation.'"

Through the civil rights years in Clarksdale, Sister Nic lived and worked with BVM sisters well known and loved by the St. Augustine school students, Sister Mary Janaelle, Sister Mary Ann Carmelle (Therese Frelo), Sister Mary Conrad Ann (Carol Cook), Sister Mary Sarelle Baumbach, Sister Mary Janita, Sister Jackie. The BVMs in Clarksdale and Memphis got together often through the years for prayer, feasting and the joyous liturgies at St. Thomas.

In 1978, Sister Nic ended her years of teaching math at I.C. in Clarksdale and volunteering in the women's section of Parchman State Penitentiary to teach religion at St. Mary's High School in Clinton, went on to Emmanuel College in Boston to earn her Master's Degree in Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry. Sister Nic's concern for the needs of women in prison was deepened by her practicum experience at Framingham State Prison for Women in Massachussets.

After a brief sojourn at Bishop Hogan High School in Kansas City, Kansas, Sister Nic returned to the Mid-South in 1984, to Memphis Catholic High School and St. Augustine Church. Sister Nic's life in Memphis these past 20 years has been rich in experience with teens and teachers at Memphis Catholic, with our beloved Sister Killian, with parish committees and her treasured prayer group at St. Augustine, in volunteer activities at Calvary Street Mission, the NEAR project for peace education in Memphis schools and projects of Pax Christi.

As St. Augustine parishioners know from her many trips "north," having dubbed her "the flying nun," Sister Nic's BVM and Catrambone families remain at the heart of her life. The presence of many members of her Catrambone and BVM families at this Golden Jubilee celebration with her beloved I.C. community and St. Augustine family will complete the circle of a blessed 50 years.

Father Frank Coens, pastor of St. Vincent DePaul in Nashville and former pastor of St. Augustine, will be the celebrant for the Sept. 12 Mass. A reception will follow in the W.P. Porter Gym. Special presentations will be made at the reception.

Call Pat Mitchell Perry at 373-1235, daytime, or 789-1397, evenings, or Elaine Clyburn at 521-5306, evenings for more information.

In lieu of gifts, a wishing well will be available for anyone wishing to make a donation to the Sister Nic Scholarship Fund for Memphis Catholic High School. -- Submitted by Patricia Perry, Director of Family Ministries