Six women recognized for their faithfulness

ORLANDO | Six religious sisters will be celebrated this year during the Sisters Jubilee, Oct. 24, 2026. Writers Elizabeth Wilson and George Fournier share their stories.

50 Years

Sister M. Theodozia Fortunata Namuddu, Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Reparatrix

For Sister M. Theodozia, religious life runs in the family. She is the eighth of 11 children, raised in a Catholic family in Uganda. Her youngest brother has been a priest for 36 years. She has a niece who is a religious sister and many cousins who have entered priesthood or religious life. During their childhood, the family received visits from two aunts who were also religious sisters – one on her mother’s side and one on her father’s. Both at home and at their congregations, Sister Theodozia saw first-hand the life of a religious sister. By the time she was in sixth grade, she began to feel called to experience that life for herself.

“I used to talk to them, and they gave me all the information about religious life,” remembers Sister Theodozia. “I chose the order of my maternal aunt, and I joined after high school as a postulant in 1977.”

Sister Theodozia joined the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Reparatrix-Ggogonya. It is an order dedicated to restoring dignity to all people, particularly in marginalized communities, through education, healthcare and social services. From the beginning, Sister Theodozia’s ministry has been centered in healthcare, working as a nurse in health centers throughout Uganda, training as a midwife, serving as the diocesan health coordinator, and finally ministering to the elderly sisters at her mother house. While she was assigned at the mother house, the congregation received an invitation from Father Pat Sheedy at Blessed Trinity Parish in Ocala to begin a mission in Central Florida. Sister Theodozia arrived with two other sisters in August 2000, and has been serving the people of that community ever since. Her days are split between mornings at the school and afternoons working as an eldercare nurse in addition to serving in the parish as a sacristan, parish nurse, extraordinary minister of holy Communion, minster to the sick, and helping with perpetual adoration, Christ Renews His Parish, fundraising, and anywhere else her gifts are needed.

“When I look back over these 50 years, I am full of gratitude and thanksgiving for all God’s love throughout these years of my life. I was able to accomplish a lot spiritually and bodily,” reflects Sister Theodozia. “I have learned that ongoing internal transformation never truly ends. Spiritual, pastoral, and human growth must continue until one’s final breath.”

60 Years

Sister Ann Kendrick, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

In her 60 years as a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, Sister Ann has been honored by the Orlando Sentinel and Orlando Magic, frequently interviewed by news outlets, and has received two honorary doctorates. But her decision to enter religious life did not begin with such widespread approval.

“My boyfriend wanted to marry me, and one evening he proposed. I told him I’m not ready for that and he got out of the car and left,” Sister Ann recalled with a laugh. “I wanted to try this ‘nun thing’ first, so I did just that.”

Sister Ann met the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur at Trinity College in Connecticut where she was studying Spanish and psychology. She graduated in 1966, and joined the congregation that same year. Five years later, she was teaching Spanish when an invitation came from Bishop William Borders to work with farmworkers and low-income communities in north Orlando.

“I raised my hand and immediately signed up for that,” said Sister Ann, who developed a love of Hispanic culture while studying abroad in Guatemala during high school.

Four sisters arrived in 1971. They began talking with people to see what their needs were. Soon they were spearheading ministries that over the years have included medical clinics, literacy programs, youth mentoring, tutoring, immigration and legal services, citizenship classes, and advocacy. These efforts grew into the Hope CommUnity Center, an organization that celebrated 50 years of service in 2022.

“The majority of my religious life has been here,” Sister Ann said. “I have no regrets. I love the people. I love the community. They are so good and kind to me.”

Sister Ann is committed to working as long as possible, saying, “I’m not ready to sit around at home just yet.” But when health concerns mean occasionally slowing down or when the state of the world feels heavy, she draws strength from the community she has surrounded herself with for the last 60 years.

“Over the summer, when I would wake up and think, ‘I hate what’s happening in our world,’ then I would go down to our summer camp and watch the children and the teenage counselors” she shared. “They will be friends for the rest of their lives. It’s beautiful. They have something purposeful in their lives, and I’m in the middle of that. How lucky am I! My whole energy raises up. Coming here, it changed my life.”

Sister Dorothy Sayers, Religious Teachers Filippini

Sister Dorothy Sayers’ current assignment at Holy Family Parish in Orlando is fittingly titled, director of Mission Effectiveness. It is the current stop on her life-long mission of service and her deeply felt calling from God.

Her youth was spent growing up on the island of Malta and later in England. At the age of 7, she met Sister Madeline and thought, “I would like to be like her.” At the age of 13 that simple thought blossomed into a vibrant sense of God’s presence. “I was really falling in love with our Lord. It was an overwhelming feeling,” she shared.

Three years later, her life’s mission became clearer when she entered the Religious Teachers Filippini, an order co-founded by St. Lucy Filippini. It began an odyssey taking Sister Dorothy to the distant places God sent her. She taught high school in England. Then her provincial sent her across the Atlantic to teach at grade schools in the cities of Stamford and Bristol, Connecticut and to the challenge of adapting to an American way of life.

Directing the closing of a Catholic high school in Rhode Island was her next assignment. While she was announcing the impending closure at a parent/teacher meeting a parent exclaimed, “Sister, this is our school.” In response to God’s prompting, Sister Dorothy declared to the parents, “Fine, we’ll double your tuition.” The result was the continued operation of the school for the next 20 years.

The year 1995 brought Sister Dorothy to Florida to successfully open and serve as principal of Holy Family School in Orlando. Today she feels at home in a parish family that embraces mission. The church’s numerous ministries provide multiple opportunities for answering God’s call to service. Regarding her current parish home she adds, “I believe this place is special because of our adoration chapel. The presence of Christ is what brings blessing upon this parish.”

Providing spiritual support and comfort to parishioners keeps Sister Dorothy busy. It also gives her genuine joy. She added, “You’ve got to trust and you’ve got to turn your heart to God.”

Sister Marie Skebe, Adrian Dominican Sisters

Sister Marie Skebe is no stranger to traveling from place to place. Her father was a member of the U.S. Air Force and the family moved around the country. Throughout her travels, Sister Marie always made friends and believed, “the love of God has guided me every step of the way. … Seeds were planted along the way.”

Those seeds began with Baptism in Spokane, Washington, followed by the Sacraments of Holy Communion, Reconciliation and Confirmation in Little Rock, Arkansas. Also important was her developing understanding of religious life. She recalled the happiness shown by her aunt, an Ursuline sister. In fifth grade her teachers were Franciscan Sisters of Allegheny. In high school she encountered the Adrian Dominican Sisters. “They were just so human, so happy and so engaged with life,” she said.

In 1966, she entered the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ motherhouse in Adrian, Michigan. In 1975, prior to her final profession, she began a 30-day retreat. It was a time for discernment and resolving doubts. The question she honestly asked was, “God, are you really calling me?” She received her answer in John 15:16: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.” “From then on I floated,” she remembered.

It was an era of change. Vatican II had stressed the mutual relationship of the Church with the world and its people. It became her way of fulling the Dominican charism for preaching, teaching and sharing God’s word.

She first served as a second grade and catechism teacher at St. Mary’s in Rockwood, Michigan where she also started the religious education program. Ten years later she drove down to Fort Pierce, where she served as the director of religious education (DRE) at St. Anastasia Parish. After three years, she was on the road again to serve as the DRE and minister to the sick at Blessed Sacrament in Cocoa. Twelve years later she served at Our Lady Star of the Sea in New Smyrna Beach, followed by 12 years at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Orlando.

Today, Sister Marie promotes respect for life with her participation in organizations such as Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the Catholic Mobilizing Network.

She sums up her journey by saying, “I know God loves me and that’s what I want to share.”

65 Years

Sister Mary Schifferle, Sisters of St. Francis

Sister Mary Schifferle has spent much of her life in a classroom. During her own schooling in Buffalo, New York, Sister Mary was introduced to the Sisters of St. Francis (later to become the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in 2004). Inspired by their kindness, she joined their order immediately following graduation on September 8, 1961. She served in inner city schools in Buffalo, Chicago, and Greenville, South Carolina, earning her masters in education along the way.

“I really learned the benefit of being in community during those years,” recalled Sister Mary. “I had sisters to support me while I helped the very poor. They taught me with their example of prayer and kindness and peace. The annual retreats also have given me growth, healing, overwhelming gratitude, and awe at so many blessings received since I entered religious life.”

Sixty-five years later, she is still in the classroom, now at St. Paul’s Catholic School in Leesburg where she has been serving as a teacher’s assistant since 2015.

“I just spent a full day with kindergartners,” said Sister Mary, who arrives at 8 a.m. each morning, stays through aftercare and is present to the students for everything in between, from reading groups, lunch period, playground duty, and art. “I go wherever I’m needed. The children keep me young. I want to continue to work as long as I’m a help to others.”

Many of her students have never met a sister before her. She notes that it is becoming more unusual, especially in the South, to have sisters at school. But she would encourage anyone who feels a calling to religious life to respond wholeheartedly.

“If you hear the Spirit call, follow. There is such a peace that surpasses all understanding if you listen to the Spirit’s voice,” Sister Mary said. “It is not always easy, but it’s the best.”

The last 65 years have flown by, but when she looks back, it is that peace that stands out to her the most.

“After the Resurrection, Jesus said to His apostles, ‘My peace I give you’. To me, that’s the most important part of following God’s plan for us, the peace that comes to us. It’s a deep peace. No matter what’s happening from the outside, there is peace in knowing God is there for you and will provide.”

70 Years

Sister Ann Englert, Adrian Dominican Sisters

Sister Ann Englert grew up in Glendale, New York, the youngest of three children. From an early age, she was often in the company of religious sisters, either family members in religious orders or teachers at her Catholic elementary school. Their kindness and warmth planted the seed of her vocation that would continue to grow through her high school years. When she arrived at Barry University in Miami and met the Adrian Dominicans, she knew it was time to act on the idea in the back of her mind for so many years. She finished her freshman year of college and joined the congregation at 18 years old.

Sister Ann had imagined pursuing a career as a mathematics teacher. Far from abandoning that path, as a Dominican she would go on to receive a master’s degree in math and science and spend more than 15 years in classrooms teaching math, among other subjects, to students in Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Jacksonville and Rome, Georgia. During a one-year sabbatical, Sister Ann studied theology at the Catholic University of America after which she arrived in the Diocese of Orlando where she would serve for the next three decades.

In a departure from the classroom, Sister Ann arrived at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Melbourne in 1975 to work with the elderly and minister to the sick. From there she spent 20 years at Nativity Parish in Longwood running a robust religious education program for children and adults. By the time she left, the program had grown from 112 participants to 900, with more than 100 catechists assisting. Her final assignment was at St. Ann Parish in Debary where she served as a marriage tribunal advocate, offering compassion to people during a time of great suffering.

Sister Ann’s vocation has spanned seven decades and has encompassed the sweeping changes of Vatican II and the Civil Rights movement. She entered in 1962 in a full habit and veil and retired in 2007 with no habit. She oversaw the desegregation of an elementary school in the deep South in the sixties. She served in classrooms, hospitals, and parish centers, touching lives from the very young to the very elderly and everyone in between. Looking back over a long and varied life of service, Sister Ann said, “I have no regrets, only gratitude to God for allowing me to be a part of this. I’m grateful he’s given me 70 years to do this work and serve His people.”

By Elizabeth Wilson and George Fournier, Special to the Florida Catholic, October 16, 2026