FSPA Profiles in Faith

Dorothy Amon
Thea Bowman
Sr. Silvana Panza
Archives

Dorothy Amon

In retrospect, my life has been confronted with many and diverse challenges met by the grace of God and what God gave me to work with.

One of my greatest challenges from the beginning was religious life, per se, with all that it offers and all that it asks. The high spiritual and moral ground one begins to travel opens vistas that widen with each successive year: the marvels of God's grace, that intimacy with Jesus, the helping love and the Holy Spirit are a never-ceasing marvel. For all this as it has and continues to play into my life, I give unending gratitude and sincere thanks.

As an FSPA member of a school supervisory team I was responsible for the growth and development of the best educational theories and practices of the time. Having been given an excellent education, I felt able to meet the challenge. As a supervisor of the La Crosse diocesan schools and all FSPA schools and later as Congregational Director of Education, I have been challenged and privileged to witness the initiative, creativity and outstanding accomplishments of our sister teachers and devoted lay teachers. Due to the interest and support of our FSPA community in education, I think it can freely be said that our schools were second to none in meeting and providing for the up-do-date educational offerings of the time.

The gradual closing of our schools due to a sister personnel shortage was a challenge we could not surmount. The loss of educational and spiritual values which permeated our teachings is a tremendous void to our Catholic children and youth. Our education department was proud of the injunction by our leadership and we supported it fully. "Every child or student under our jurisdiction was to be respected and treated as such at all time. No child was to be touched for disciplinary reasons. If a teacher failed in this regard, she was to write home to the motherhouse."

Leaving the education ministry in competent hands, I asked and received permission in 1964 to transfer to the Western Province. In the West, I appreciated the experience of teaching philosophy and educational philosophy at Carroll College in Helena, Montana.

The challenge here was to compete with newness and loneliness. Moving on to Spokane, I was pleased to teach philosophy, per se, at Gonzaga University, and applied philosophy and psychology of education at Eastern Washington State University. I found the state university (thousands of students) a special but delightful kind of challenge. At the close of the semester, a group of young men (my students) waited for me outside the main building. They said there was something different about me. So they researched my background, knew all about me and then they knew why. They stated further they were glad they hadn't known I was a sister at the beginning of the semester or, from bias, they might have missed an excellent class.

I was challenged when asked to join a Jesuit team directing 30 day retreats. What a wonderful opportunity to experience trust in an atmosphere of God's love. And, what a challenge to grow in that love. I also conducted several day retreats at Immaculate Heart Retreat Center in Spokane.

As elected provincial of the western province, I was challenged to provide the best spiritual and temporal opportunities in every way for the optimal growth of the members of the province.

A really significant but different challenge came my way when I was approached by some members of the local Secular Franciscan Order in Spokane urging me to come to their assistance and to become their spiritual director. Praying about such an undertaking, I felt it was God's will and acquiesced. I further explained it would have to be a side job as I was fully engaged at the time.

Immediately, I saw the need for a sound formation program. About this I was very firm: Class every week for 1 to 2 hours for a time of one to two years. God blessed our work and effort. Our small group grew from a handful to, today, 70 to 80 members of men and women from every walk of life, committed to walk the Way of Francis in the Northwest. I receive the SFO newsletter monthly and follow clearly their activities of prayers and commitment.

Back to top.

Thea Bowman (1937-1990)

Sister Thea

Sister Thea Bowman, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, lived life with hope, love, and justice. Born December 29, 1937, in Yazoo City, Miss., Thea was reared as a Methodist until age nine when she asked her parents if she could become a Roman Catholic.

Gifted with a brilliant mind, beautiful voice, and dynamic personality, Sister Thea shared the message of God's love through teaching. After 16 years of teaching at the elementary, secondary, and university levels, the bishop of Jackson, Miss., invited her to become the consultant for intercultural awareness.

In her role as consultant, Sister Thea, an African-American, gave presentations across the country—lively gatherings that combined singing, gospel preaching, prayer, and storytelling. Her programs worked to break down racial and cultural barriers. She encouraged people to communicate with one another so they could understand other cultures and races.

In 1984, Sister Thea was diagnosed with breast cancer. She prayed “to live until I die—to live fully.” Her prayer was answered, and Thea continued her gatherings seated in a wheelchair.

In 1989, the U.S. bishops invited her to be a key speaker at their conference on Black Catholics. At the end of the meeting, at Thea's invitation, the bishops stood and sang “We Shall Overcome” with gusto.

Sister Thea lived a full life. She fought evil, especially prejudice, suspicion, hatred, and things that drive people apart. She fought for God and God's people until her death in 1990.

For more information about Sister Thea Bowman, contact

archives@fspa.org

Sr. Silvana Panza

“Your passport, please!” After a few minutes of searching on the computer and after having looked closely at the pages of my passport, the immigration official gave me a smile and welcomed me to the United States of America.

I left the airport and looked around. I was in a country where I didn't speak the language and hardly knew anyone. I was completely alone. I took my suitcase and went in the direction of the sister waiting for me. And so I began again my life. My name is Silvana and this is my story.

I was born in a small city in Italy near the Mediterranean Sea. From the time I was a small child I loved to look at the sea and think that there was a God who created all this. At the same time, I felt a joy and longing for the infinite and for eternity. These were the same sentiments, along with peace and consolation, that I felt as an adolescent when I prayed in the parish church. I remember that I was very involved with a movement called Catholic Action in those years, and while I served the poor and taught catechism, I began to feel a desire to consecrate myself to God. When I was twenty I entered religious life, happy to serve the Gospel.

After I completed my years of formation and my liberal arts studies at the university, I studied theology at the Gregorian University in Rome. These were the years after the Second Vatican Council and there was renewal everywhere in the Catholic Church. The instruction I received helped me discover new perspectives in religious life, especially in regard to obedience to the will of God and a style of community life in the spirit of the “signs of the times” as indicated in the Gospel.

Years of mission followed: teaching, leadership, editing and writing, and giving workshops. The joy of serving others, doing something beautiful for God, and the life of prayer gave me peace and serenity. But that which gave strength and direction to my life was the sweet certainty that my life belonged to God forever. Yet, these were the years when I also clearly discovered my weaknesses and my limits, suffered because of communitarian situations that didn't change, and was frustrated because I was unable to make use of all my potential in the mission. “What was I seeking in my life?” and “Where was God in all this? Where was the God of my youth?” These were the questions I often asked myself.

In the meantime, I experienced great sorrow at the death of several sisters with whom I had shared difficulties and hopes, and above all I suffered because of the death of my parents. These separations were like a purifying fire. I became accustomed to Qoheleth and, like him, felt that “all things are vanity” and that life is brief. In the end, the request of my superior to leave my editorial work for another “obedience,” left me with “empty hands” of all that was a security for me.

Through a series of events, I met a sister from an American religious congregation and I was impressed both with her comportment as an uninhibited woman and with the style of religious life in her congregation. This experience reawakened in me new life and a desire to begin my religious life again in a different way, like that that I had envisioned when I was a theology student and that I longed for within me. But no religious congregation in Italy had made this kind of passage. Only in America . . .“But it's impossible! After all these years I couldn't leave the congregation! How could I do it, alone, in a strange country where I didn't even speak the language? How could I support myself economically? What kind of work would I be capable of doing? And above all, how could I leave my sisters, my brother, my relatives, and friends?” I prayed at length, in silence and with tears. I felt like the poor of Yahweh to whom God said “I am your God and I will provide for you.” And with the experience of Job I began my journey on this new path: “Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I will return.” I asked for exclaustration for three years, and with the help of my family I left for St. Louis, Mo., where a religious congregation had offered me hospitality.

After a short time, I found a small house that I shared with another sister. I also found work as a pastoral associate in a parish where the pastor was Italian-American. After a few years I was invited to teach Italian at Washington University. Working with young university students from all over the United States was an extraordinary experience.

The most exciting experience of these years was the providence God showed me by opening up before me the road I was to travel. Each time I felt the need for something, it was given to me at the opportune moment: a car, work, health insurance, friends . . . and a new congregation. I asked God to open a path for me . . . and he opened a magazine! I was drawn to a picture of a young sister who was shown moving from a downward to an upward position. This movement recalled within me the dynamism of transformation and conversion. The phrases accompanying the photo were: “Sacred tradition and modern lives” and “you can give all your potential at the service of God in mission.” I had found the congregation that expressed my same sentiments.

Now, at the end of three years, I am ready for the process of incorporation and have been welcomed as a member of FSPA. But my story is not finished. I continue to feel that God opens the path before me every day. When we place our life into the hands of God, we discover the mysterious ways in which God leads us to himself each day.

Click here to return to the About Us page.

Printer-Friendly Page