In the fall of 1969 until June 1971, Sister served as Superior and Teacher at St. From 1953 through 1969, Sister Thomas served children and families in Runnemede, NJ West Chester, and East Brunswick. Joseph in Hatboro where she taught grades 1 and 2 for 5 years. Sister Thomas Bernard’s first assignment in August 1948 was to St. Sister Thomas pronounced her First Vows on August 15, 1948. She received her habit and her religious name Sister M. Teresa entered our Congregation on September 8, 1945. Later, while in Community, Teresa earned degrees from Immaculata College and Glassboro State. Edmond Elementary School and West Catholic Girls’ High School in Philadelphia. Teresa’s parents Michael and Rose (Capelli) Volpe raised their three daughters in St. Teresa Volpe died in Camilla Hall on Decemin the 75 th year of her religious life. Rita prevailed and was able to not only gain entrance into religious life, but bring reconciliation and healing to the two families.Sister M. With another seemingly impossible task before her, St. Rita decided that if she could settle the conflict and bring peace to her husband’s family and the family of his murderer, she could make a strong case for entrance into the convent. Persistent in her faith and committed to becoming an Augustinian nun, St. Rita relied on her three patron saints for help. Abandoned, lost, confused, sad and angry, St. Rita was turned away for fear that violence from her husband’s murder would find its way into the convent. Rita expressed a desire to enter the convent and become an Augustinian nun. This was especially true when, after losing her husband and sons, St. Rita found the impossibilities and struggles of daily life to be a little more bearable. Rita also had a strong devotion and friendship with her three patron saints: St. In addition to this deeply embedded sense of hope, St. It took a while for my legitimate worries and frustrations to subside, but I was also mostly grateful that what seemed to be impossible, worked out in the end. He was also grateful I didn’t call mom to tell her that we were lost in another country. He was confident that we would see each other at the gate. He looked for me a little bit, but also knew to sit still if you were lost. We made a plan and he was certain it would work out. His phone was off because he didn’t want the international charges. Where were you? Why didn’t you pick up your phone? Why didn’t you find me earlier? Are you OK? Are you hurt? I almost called mom! His answers were so simple and reasonable: he was sitting in the large waiting area watching people walk by. I quickly gave him a hug, followed by a line of exasperated questioning. With a sigh of relief, I see my father walking towards me with a coffee in hand and a smile on his face. Where was my father and what should I do? Almost as quickly as this lamentation crossed my mind, I see a father-like figure among the crowd. I looked around, panicked, scared, confused and angry. Do I go on to Rome without my dad? Do I call home to North Carolina and ask my mom if something happened? Do I just wait until I find him and then take a later flight? This situation, and all of the hurdles I encountered in a matter of two hours, started to feel impossible.Īnd then, the moment I dreaded finally arrived: my zone was called to board. Now my sense of control began to fade and I really started to panic. After about an hour, the airline began boarding. The old adage to “stay in place if you are lost” came to mind so I sat down and waited. I sent another message through WhatsApp and then decided to sit by the gate where our flight for Rome would be departing. Even as the worst-case scenarios began to enter my mind, I was confident everything would be fine. Panic slowly began to creep in but I still felt in control of the situation. I checked my phone again but still had no answer. When I made my way to that gate and didn’t see him, I spoke with an American Airlines agent only to discover that the plane had already been there for a couple of hours and its passengers were long gone. I decided to look at the arriving flights and head to the gate where the flight from North Carolina had landed, certain that I would find my father somewhere close by.

I had traveled internationally before and I had a cool head on my shoulders.

St rita church philadelphia pa