“There is cause for rejoicing here.” This sentence in the first letter of St. Peter to the Christian community aptly describes the celebration of jubilees and anniversaries in the
lives of the Sisters of St. Basil at Uniontown, PA. This year marked the Golden
Jubilees of Sister Ruth Plante, OSBM and Sister Elizabeth Jane Tepley,
OSBM. Sunday, August 5th, the prefestive day of the Feast of the Transfiguration, was chosen to mark their anniversary of entrance into the religious life.
Sister Ruth entered the community from St. John the Baptist Church, now located in Trumbull, Conn. Like many of the Sisters, Sister Ruth served as teacher and principal for a number of years. She then served in administration as a Councilor
before being elected as Provincial for two terms. In addition to serving on the
Provincial Council in the current administration, much of Sister Ruth’s energy
and ministry is focused on managing the Religious Gift Shop at the Mount.
Sister Elizabeth Jane came to the community from St. Mary’s Church in Trauger, Pa. After devoting her energies for over thirty years to teaching, Sister Elizabeth Jane moved on to parish ministry at St. John the Baptist Church in Uniontown, Pa., a ministry which was very special to her. Presently, Sister Elizabeth Jane devotes her time and energy to the Card Shop and Prayer Ministry at the monastery.
The 60th, 70th and 75th Anniversaries of the following Sisters were celebrated on July 24th during Community Days.
Sister Dolores Ann Vanischak and Sister Valeria Evanyo celebrated 60 years as Sisters of St. Basil. Sister Dolores Ann joined the Community from SS. Peter & Paul Church, Braddock, Pa. Since 1984, she has been in charge of the Monastery Library. Sister Dolores Ann also is very active in the Fayette County Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and has served alternately as the society’s president and secretary for many years. Sister Valeria is a former member of St. John the Baptist Church, Pittsburgh, Pa. Following her assignments in teaching, Sister Valeria worked at the Vatican in the Secretariat of State and at the Generalate in Rome. Later, she served in the Eparchy of Parma as secretary to the late Archbishop Basil Schott. Currently, Sister Valeria serves as receptionist at the Archieparchial Offices in Pittsburgh.
Celebrating their 70th and 75th Anniversaries respectively were Sister Maria Petruska and Sister Martha Dzura. Sister Maria entered the community from St. Mary’s Parish in Mahanoy City, Pa. Sister Maria taught at the elementary, high school and college levels both within the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Province and abroad in Palestine, Guam, Japan and Tanzania. Upon her return home, she tutored for the Intermediate Unit I Adult
Learning Center in Uniontown. Sister Maria presently resides at the monastery. Sister
Martha Dzura hails from the Greenfield section of Pittsburgh, attending St. Mary’s (Nativity) Church before entering the community. Sister Martha’s teaching career spanned more than a half-century. Since she sometimes returned to a school where she had taught previously, Sister Martha often taught the children and/or grandchildren of her earlier students. Presently, she is a resident at Mount Macrina Manor.
Without question, all of these Sisters have lived out and continue to live out their religious commitment with generosity and enthusiasm. We offer to all our warmest
congratulations!