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A Year of Jubilation

Sisters of Mercy who are celebrating their jubilee anniversaries this year renew their vows during a special celebration June 18 at Queen of the Apostles Church. BELMONT — The familiar tones of a five-part “Regina Caeli” filled Queen of the Apostles Church over the summer as the congregation celebrated the jubilees of nine Sisters of Mercy. Affectionately called “The Big Regina,” the musical antiphon has been a part of every significant occasion and feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Belmont-based religious community.

Hearing the “Regina” again was bittersweet for some, including Sister Martha Hoyle.

“When people started going out into the community more, singing it became less frequent, and then there are those who have gone to the Lord,” she said. “It’s going to become a part of our history, not our present. For me it was such a gift to hear it, and we all remembered our parts. People were really getting down with it!”

The jubilee Mass and reception were held on June 18 to honor the sisters’ lengths of service, ranging from 25 to 70 years. Sister Martha, a 50-year jubilarian, says that 2022 has been an entire year of celebration, noting a beautiful reception at St. Francis of Assisi, her parish in Mocksville, and the many friends and family members who have honored her years of service to the Lord.

“You feel very humbled by it because what did you as a person do to earn something so special? It’s another gift from God to make you feel loved and worthy of this,” she said. “I’ve been so blessed as a Sister of Mercy. Everything I’ve done, whether I wanted to do it or not, turned out to be such a gift. The time has gone so fast. It seems that all of a sudden I’m finding out I’ve been here 50 years. I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. I’m too young to be this old. What happened?’ I hope that I have given back as much as I have been given.”

Noting that she and Sister Jill Weber professed their vows on the same day 50 years ago, she expressed her admiration for all her fellow jubilarians. “I feel very humbled,” Sister Martha said. “There is so much faith and talent in this group of celebrants.”

SHARING A JUBILEE WITH THE DIOCESE

The Sisters of Mercy have left an indelible mark on the Diocese of Charlotte, caring for the sick and those who have disabilities, educating future nurses, leading parochial schools and contributing countless other corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Celebrating their 50th jubilees the same year as the diocese’s 50th anniversary is something truly special for Sister Martha, Sister Jill and Sister Soledad Aguilo. Sister Martha remembers fondly Bishop Michael Begley, the first bishop of the diocese.

“The early days were really exciting,” she said. “Bishop Begley was such a part of our community. He brought this wonderful personality, and he was a very human person.”

To illustrate the bishop’s affability, Sister Martha shared this anecdote:

“The funniest thing that ever happened to me was when I was running late one day. Bishop Begley was there for a celebration at the motherhouse, and as I was barreling down the steps and came out, he was coming up the hall and – bam! And I thought, ‘I’m done, I’m out, it’s over.’ And he said, ‘I’m sorry I was in your way.’

He laughed, and I was like, ‘Oh.’ And he instantaneously became my favorite person.”

Reflecting back, she added, “Everything was new. He was the right person for that particular time because he was a shepherd. He looked beyond the trappings of the office and reached out to people. He laid a good foundation.”

LIVING OUT HER VOCATION

Besides serving the people of her parish, Sister Martha volunteers as a nurse at A Storehouse for Jesus, a Christian ministry in Mocksville offering goods and services to the poor. In the past, she has cared for AIDS patients and continues to care for anyone in need.

Growing up in nearby Cooleemee, Sister Martha and her family were members of the Methodist Church. She felt called to convert to the Catholic faith in the late 1960s when she was a student at Mercy School of Nursing.

“Nursing was my gift. If you take that – whatever your gift is – and use it with your gift of vocation, then it only deepens and enriches the experience and helps you keep from becoming self-important,” she says. “You’re not doing this for you; you’re doing this for God in the tradition of someone like Catherine McAuley, our foundress, or the sisters who built Mercy Hospital.”

Sister Martha also shared her advice to young women discerning a religious vocation.

“You listen, and then your heart tells you which is right,” she advised. “After all the places I visited, coming home to Belmont was right. Good, bad or indifferent – it was right.”

She added, “It’s like any relationship. It’s going to have its ups and downs, but you have to work on a vocation just like you would on any relationship. Don’t throw it away at the first bad time. Keep the prayer lines open, find someone who can guide you and direct you that you trust spiritually, and just listen. Be open to new things and still be surprised when they happen. It’s part of the fun!”

— Annie Ferguson. Photos Photos Provided by Sister Pratricia Pepitone, Sister Martha Hoyle and Archives of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americans

Jubilarians

25 YEARS
Sister Jacqueline Laster

50 YEARS
Sister Soledad Aguilo
Sister Martha Elizabeth Hoyle
Sister Jill Katherine Weber

60 YEARS
Sister Mary Louise

70 YEARS
Sister Monica Perez
Sister Mary Andrew Ray
Sister Doris San Agustin
Sister Francis Jerome