Lest We Forget
Sister Louise Dempsey, CSJP (1915-2008)
Welcome to the celebration of the life, death and resurrection of Louise Dempsey, our beloved sister and friend.
Louise was a woman of great strength, energy, discipline, intellect and emotion. She was true to the stars and elements that were present when she was born on November 15, 1915. A true daughter of the sun.
Her mother Helen and father James gifted this earth with Edward, Louise, Robert, Bill, Mary, and Charles. She and her siblings were raised in Penns Grove. St. James Grammar and High School were considered mission territory in those days. Louise first met the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace when she was in the 5th grade after the Immaculate Heart Sisters had withdrawn from the school.
1933-1935
She entered the Congregation in 1930 at the tender age of 15. In 1933 she was assigned to St. Joseph’s Boys Home here on the cliffs. Her stories of those two years were vivid and revealed great energy and compassion for the boys even though she and Sister DePazzi were overwhelmed in their assignment. She described herself as lacking in the ability to maintain discipline in the classroom. She described the large play room where 70 boys of assorted ages would be running wild at recess. When it was time for recess to end there was no bringing them to order. Louise remembered Sister DePazzi coming out with a broom, moving in the middle of the pack and sweeping the boys to the perimeter of the room in order to get them ready to resume their lessons. Mr. Gerrity was an older gentleman whose job was to help maintain discipline. Mr. Gerrity had lost his hand and used a hook for a prosthesis. She said her was very imposing and when he extended his damaged hand and said “Come here boy” she would cringe but ultimately was on his side because somebody had to keep order. She was always practical.
1935-1957
From the orphanage Louise went to St. Luke’s in 1935. There she spent the next 22 years of her life as a teacher and principal. She loved St. Lukes and her stories of school and community life were funny and rich. The pain of the 2nd world war, as her brother and students signed up, were formative in her future development as a Peacemaker. Catholic Education, the Church, Society and Religious Life were experiencing their halcyon days after the war and Louise grew from young adulthood to full maturity while at St. Luke’s.
1957-1965
From St. Luke’s she was assigned to the Juniorate in Saddle River. Louise spent the next 8 years inviting the Junior Professed sisters to emotional, spiritual and intellectual maturity. She called the Juniors to freedom and adult responsibility in a way they were never called before. She also played a lot of Bridge.
During this time Louise was also on the General Council. She joined Mother Patricia, Mother Monica, Sister Bernard and Sister Thecla.
1965-1968
In 1965 Louise was assigned to go to the Philippines to build a Novitiate. Apparently whoever made the assignment was not paying attention to the signs of the times.
Before she went she spent 3 months in Cuernavaca, Mexico and this experience proved to be transformative for her. She would recall that conversations with Ivan Illich, the other professors and priests and nuns who were in the program were so out of the ballpark and exhilarating that she didn’t know what to do with it all. She came home from Mexico and said she remembered saying to Jean Celeste “Jean you won’t believe what they are saying! In five years the nuns will be out of habits and living in apartments.” It was a predictor that none of us were ready for.
From Cuernavaca she went to the Philippines to build the Novitiate. It was this time in the Philippines that Louise took the documents of the Second Vatican Council and ate them whole. Her intellectual capacity and open spirit absorbed one of the finest moments in our Churches history.
1969 found her in Sacred Heart Church in Lyndhurst, N.J. as director of Religious Education.
We have just covered 40 years of her life and she still hadn’t peaked.
1970-1978
Louise was elected President of the Congregation in 1970. She led with dignity, courage, strength, and tremendous spiritual and intellectual integrity. She called us to unity and a radical embracing of our world. Some of our finest and most challenging documents in relationship to justice, women, and the poor and oppressed of our world were formulated during her time in leadership. She loved the members of the Congregation and we loved her back. This allowed the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace to survive one of the most difficult and tumultuous times in our history.
1978-2008
From 1979 through 1995 Louise was still a major player in life. After two years of study she became the Director of Pastoral Ministry at St. James Hospital in Newark. She left the position in 1984. She attended the International Woman’s Conference in Beijing in 1985 and in 1988 worked for three months in McAllenTexas with immigrants at Casa de Merced. She attended prayer groups in St. Peter’s, tutored for Literacy Volunteers and finally in 1995 (85 years old) she slowed down.
Her last 8 years at Grand Street could fill a book. Her emotional depth and compassion were unfiltered. She would read the N.Y.Times, hold her head and sometimes weep over the suffering that often times filled the front page. She could never understand cruelty or any behavior that did uphold human dignity. The last book she could really read was Quantum Theology by Diarmud O'Murchu. She was still fascinated and challenged in her longing for God. Her last two years in the infirmary brought untold grace into our lives.
And so let us enter into the Liturgy that she loved so much with full heart and voice.
Kristin Funari, CSJP