By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Here are brief biographies of the three women religious who were honored at this year’s celebration of the World Day of Consecrated Life. Click here for the story.
DOUBLE DIAMOND JUBILEE – 70 YEARS
Sister Clemencia Fernández, Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
Sister Clemencia Fernandez, Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, marking 70 years in religious life.
Born in Nuevitas, Camagüey, Cuba, Sister Clemencia studied at Maria Auxiliadora School. She entered the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul at the Real Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad, Havana, Cuba, Sept. 8, 1948. After completing her formation, she was assigned to Nuestra Señora de la Caridad School in Güines, in the province of Havana. She was later sent back to the Real Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad, where she took care of poor orphan girls.
After five years, she was transferred to Mina Truffin School in Marianao, Havana, until 1961, when the Castro government closed all the private schools. She went to Puerto Rico that same year and worked at the Hospital Auxilio Mutuo in Hato Rey until 1971, when she was able to go work as a missionary — work she always wanted to do.
She was sent to Istanbul, Turkey, to the Bebeq School for poor Christian girls from Iraq’s border zone. Later, she was transferred to the Psychiatric and Geriatric Hospital of La Paix, where she worked for 26 years.
In 1998, she came to Miami, where she resides at the St. Vincent de Paul Convent. She helps with the missions of the community, with the Christian formation of adults, and serves in a food bank that helps families in need.
DIAMOND JUBILEE – 60 YEARS
Sister Kathleenjoy Cooper, Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sister Kathleenjoy Cooper, Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, marking 60 years in religious life.
Sister Kayjoy, as she is known, is an Irish American Philadelphian who became a Handmaid of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at 17. This international congregation is rooted in Ignatian-Rafaelan spirituality, and she grew into great love for its charism of Eucharist-based reparation and reconciliation.
After studying secondary education, a sabbatical spent at St. Louis University gave her exposure to more in-depth Ignatian studies. Her graduate degree in marriage and family therapy at St. Thomas University allowed her to blend her spiritual direction, pastoral counseling, and formation ministries with studies in marriage and family dynamics. Sister spent 12 years in the Archdiocese of Miami and nine away, and recently returned to serve on the R.C.I.A. team at Corpus Christi Parish, and on the pastoral team of the Mission of St. Francis and St. Clare. She also continues to practice spiritual direction and counseling.
Sister Kayjoy says she is grateful to God to “have come this far by faith,” since she is now on her second kidney transplant.
SILVER JUBILEE – 25 YEARS
Sister Stephanie Flynn, Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine
Sister Stephanie Flynn, Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine, marking 25 years in religious life.
Sister Stephanie was born in Massachusetts and is one of six children. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine, Fla., Aug. 15, 1993.
After completing her formation in St. Augustine, she was missioned to Orlando and then to St. James School in North Miami. Sister holds a master’s degree from St. Thomas University and a specialist degree in education from Barry University.
Sister Stephanie has had a lifelong love of education and has served in Catholic schools for 35 years. She has served the Haitian community in the ministry of education in the Archdiocese of Miami for more than 20 years. She is presently principal of St. James School and supervising principal of Holy Family School in North Miami.
