Having served vulnerable men, women and children throughout her years in ministry, Sister Mary Bader, DC, has seen the crucial role mental health and other support services play in transforming lives. For her service and care of familes, mothers and children experiencing homelessness, hunger and dislocation, Saint Luke Institute (SLI) will be honoring her with its prestigious Saint Luke Award at its Annual Benefit later this month on October 16.
Join us in support of SLI’s mission and to honor Sr. Mary at our Annual Benefit. Tickets are available here. You may also take part in our online silent auction through October 16.
We recently asked Sr. Mary to respond to some questions. Take a moment to get to know more about her vocational call to the Daughters of Charity, her service as Chief Executive Officer at St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth, and Families in Hyattsville, Maryland for over 20 years, and more!
Please share your call to religious life.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, the early foundation of my vocation as a Daughter of Charity was formed at the age of eight, when I was exposed to the reality of poverty and injustice. On an April afternoon in 1968, I arrived home from school in the quiet, comfortable suburb of DC and learned from my mother of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She gently shared with me the significance of the loss of this great man and how he spent his life promoting equality and rights and helping people who are poor. It was then that I learned that not everyone lived as I was living; not everyone had what I had. From that moment forward, I was sensitized to the poverty and injustices of others. I perked up at my parish when I learned of the Christmas toy drive for the children at St. Ann’s Infant & Maternity Home (later St. Ann’s Center) – a home for foster children and pregnant and parenting young women. Images of people living in extreme poverty in foreign lands evoked a longing to do something. As a college student riding Amtrak from DC to Boston, I viewed the rundown and abandoned rowhouses of Baltimore, feeling empathy for the folks living in the neighborhoods. And the list goes on. These experiences and a raised awareness quietly laid the groundwork for a vocation to what I imagined would be service to persons who are poor…not necessarily in the context of religious life!
How did you join the Daughters of Charity?
As a child, I was blessed to have been educated by three different religious congregations, Ursuline Sisters; Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; and Visitation Sisters. Though the notion of a religious vocation was not on my mind at this time, the Sisters’ witness to their vocation and their particular charism shaped my faith and perhaps paved the way for my later entrance into the life.
My path to the Daughters of Charity was led by Divine Providence, though I did not know it at the time. Fresh out of graduate school, I accepted a teaching position at a Catholic school solely because of its location in an under-resourced area of Washington. The Daughters of Charity, a community with which I was unfamiliar, staffed the school. I soon learned that the Daughters also staffed St. Ann’s Infant & Maternity Home, an agency I had known of since childhood. With help from the Sisters, I was hired at St. Ann’s part-time. During my seven years at both ministries, I witnessed the Sisters’ passion for their service to the poor; their commitment to community life; and their joy.
I was introduced to the Vincentian charism, spirituality, and rich history of service to others all over the world. Though many aspects of the Daughter of Charity life resonated with me, I needed seven years to discern before I applied to the Community with the intention of “giving it a try!”
What do you consider to be the greatest gift in your life as a sister?
My life as a Daughter of Charity has been chock-full of gifts and blessings.
- Living in community with other women who share the Vincentian charism of service to others
- Our Vincentian Spirituality and being part of a world-wide community
- The many encounters with people of varying faiths, cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, traditions
- The privilege of serving others
Perhaps one of the greatest gifts comes from those who I have served in ministries. The people and the experiences shared have taught me much. I know I could not have served in ministries in the manner that I have without the support and witness of the other Sisters and our Vincentian charism to provide a framework for ministry and service.
You have had very important leadership roles as a Daughter of Charity. Can you talk about them and how these experiences have enhanced your vocation?
My vocation as a Daughter of Charity significantly contributed to my ability and willingness to serve in a leadership position at St. Ann’s. Our charism, our vow of service to those who are poor, our community life, the witness of Sisters serving at St. Ann’s since its founding, and our commitment to mission, gave me the courage to say, “yes,” when asked to lead St. Ann’s.
“Be creative to infinity.” These words, uttered by St. Vincent de Paul to the Daughters of Charity nearly four centuries ago, became my motto while serving at St. Ann’s. On several occasions, this motto guided our program planning, including a need to significantly change our service delivery. Over its 160-year history, the manner in which St. Ann’s has lived its mission has changed, always adapting to the needs and signs of the time. During my tenure, the philosophy of child welfare determined that infants and young children in need of foster care were best served in home-like settings – as opposed to St. Ann’s congregate care model. We shuttered our residential program for young children. Through discernment, prayer, and the call to “be creative to infinity,” we adapted our programs and physical space to provide to meet another need relevant to our mission – housing and support services for mothers and children experiencing homelessness and other challenges. Creative to infinity!
What has SLI meant to women religious for almost 50 yrs?
In recent years, we have heard much talk about the great need for mental health programs and services to people of all demographics – men, women, children, of varying ages, races, cultures, socio-economic backgrounds. We hear, too, of new treatment modalities. We also know that mental health services are scarce in some areas of the country. The stigmatization of being treated for mental health reasons, too, is still common, regardless of who is in need.
Yet, for nearly 50 years, SLI has been a resource to the Church for its men and women religious and clergy in need of treatment, respite or renewal during a challenging time in their lives.
I like to think of SLI’s mission to women religious as being that of “Healing the Healers; Caring for the Caregivers.” Throughout the history of religious life, women have served in ministries of healing and caregiving in schools, hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, and more. Sometimes, these healers and caregivers are in need of healing.
I have been privileged to know women whose lives have been transformed by SLI’s mission. Their holistic clinical approach to care touches up on all aspects of the individual’s being – physical, mental, and spiritual. Skilled, trained practitioners, rooted in faith, accompany the women. In time and in that holistic context, healing takes place.
Read more about Sr. Mary Bader here.