Angels in the 'Hood'

By Sr. Monica Mary DeQuardo, OSF

Two Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity of Manitowoc, Sr. Sara Hale and Sr. Maureen Bomaster, were recently honored by Holy Angels Parish and School in Chicago as "Angels of 'the Hood'"(slang for "neighborhood.")

They received the honor for their educational contribution and participation in the Black Community by means of "Joseph's Coat," an outreach to the neighborhood and the marginalized that remains a positive expression of the African American Catholic faith amidst economic impoverishment.

	S p e c i a l   S e c t i o n : Vocations Awareness Week 2004
	• Bridging the Gap by Bishop David A. Zubik --     'Many are called:' Let's all be vocations directors  • Profiles of the men who became priests last year     Just what kind of men become priests today?  • How one person made a difference for a seminarian     Support can make all the difference for those     discerning a vocation  • Deacon candidates should show background of service     'Deacons are not simply created by ordination'     • Sidebar: Deacon eligibility  • Joining a religious community is a process     Years of discernment follow a gentle invitation     • Sidebar: Signs of a call  • Norbertine finds that God is always there     God comes to us in many ways, including in the flesh  • Things have changed since the days of veils     Formation for community life has adapted more     for individuality  • Editorial -- Our vocations     One of our callings as Catholics is to look for and     encourage call to the priesthood

Joseph's Coat is a resale shop in the Ida B. Wells Housing Development in the inner city. The building is inhabited, but many others in the neighborhood are boarded up. The store itself has barred windows. The ceiling drops, and the lime-green paint is buckling and chipped.

The conditions are typical of the "projects." Regular customers at Joseph's Coat include itinerant sojourners seeking temporary refuge in the cramped quarters on 37th Street. Other customers have housing, but are low on food. A good number often just need clean clothing.

Others hunger for a kind word. These include street people, recovering addicts, children without parenting, single mothers and fathers gone astray. "Folks come for some of everything!" Sr. Sara and Sr. Maureen said.

Dorothy Hale (Sr. Sara) attended St. Boniface School and Holy Family Academy (now Silver Lake College) in Manitowoc. Wanting to serve the People of God, she joined the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and became a teacher and a principal. She went to the University of San Francisco for a master's degree in private school leadership and administration. Since 1995, she has served at Holy Angels as an art teacher, outreach coordinator and catechist.

Sr. Maureen is a native of Gastra, Mich. After high school, she and her family moved to Brillion, where she was influenced by the Manitowoc Franciscans. She became "Sr. Maureen" in 1960. In subsequent years, as teacher and catechist, she ministered in Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay, Seymour, Hollandtown, Brillion, and Kaukauna. She also taught in Rhinelander and catechized in the Upper Peninsula. The rest of her religious life has been serving the people of Holy Angels in Chicago, in particular as a teacher, but also assisting in outreach service through Joseph's Coat.

Because Sr. Sara and Sr. Maureen are members of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and grew up in the Green Bay Diocese, many donations to Joseph's Coat - food, clothing, books and school supplies - come from persons and organizations there.

Holy Angels' celebration honoring the two women was called "Uniting the Village." Each Sister received a plaque remembering their service, untiring "hand of giving," and their presence at Holy Angels for almost 25 years.