Farewell to the Missionary Sisters

The religious community of the Missionary Sisters of the Mother of God has staffed Assumption Catholic School and Parish in Perth Amboy, NJ for over fifty years. Earlier this month Bishop Andriy Rabiy, the Apostolic Administrator of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia and Mother Maria Kelly (M.S.M.G. Superior) had announced that the two sisters: Sr. Yosaphata and Sr.Thomas would be leaving the parish and school due to decreased vocations, aging of sisters and a desire to strengthen community life. Sisters will be returning to their motherhouse in Philadelphia (711 N. Franklin Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123) on July 1, 2018.

As a pastor and a school administrator, I will miss the sisters terribly. I feel blessed to know both sisters, but especially Sr. Yosaphata, who has impacted my priestly service, as she was among the first to guide and welcome me to Assumption School and Parish. It is with great sadness that I am saying goodbye to Sr. Yosaphata, this wonderful and dedicated woman of God and I thank her for her love, guidance, dedication, faithfulness and Gospel witness.

We are deeply grateful for the education, leadership and ministry that the Sisters have offered the Assumption community for over 50 years. They have been a remarkable blessing and a gift to us all and leave a beautiful legacy of the highest standard of excellency in Catholic education. This legacy will forever be remembered, not simply in the school hallways, or in our church building, but in the hearts of many students that they educated in so many years. We are grateful for the years of service of the sisters, and we wish them well in their new assignments.

Assumption Parish plans to honor Sr. Yosaphata and Sr. Thomas and the legacy of the Missionary Sisters of the Mother of God with a special Liturgies – Celebration of Presence and Service on Sunday, June 17th at 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., followed by a light reception in the church hall.

The Assumption Catholic School will honor the sisters on Friday, June 8th at 8:45 a.m. with a Liturgy. All parents and friends of Assumption School are welcomed to enjoy a light breakfast and presentation from the ACS Family.