A Woman of Faith

Woman of deep faith, educator, leader, historian, writer … these are just a few of the words that describe Maria Vincent Brocato, SCN.

She is indeed very accomplished, and very approachable. Anyone who meets Sister Maria

Vincent cannot help but be charmed by her southern accent and abundant hospitality. Come to her door and she’s likely to invite you in to sit down and enjoy a meal, one she’s prepared from fresh herbs and vegetables grown in her garden.

Sister Maria Vincent is grateful to have known SCNs nearly all her life. A native of Clarksdale,

Mississippi, Sister Maria Vincent came to know the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth when she attended Sacred Heart Academy in Helena, Arkansas, followed by Nazareth

Academy/College in Kentucky. She feels blessed to have been educated by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. After attending her first year of college, she felt called to religious life and made her first vows on March 25, 1951.

Sister Maria Vincent later earned her master’s degree from Fordham University in New York, New York.

Initially, Sister Maria Vincent served in the ministry of education. Her first teaching experience was to fill in for three months at Presentation Academy. She was only 20, teaching young women just a few years younger than herself. Yet that time in her life, and memories made at Presentation, she has always cherished. Her first full-time teaching role was at Our Lady of Sorrows School in Memphis, Tennessee, followed by St. Gabriel School in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2016, Sister Maria Vincent was invited back to St. Gabriel to see the school receive the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award. The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth were some of the original teachers at St. Gabriel and an entire wing of the school is named the “Nazareth Center.”

Sister Maria Vincent has also stayed in touch with the students from Our Lady of Sorrows, where she taught when she was in her twenties. She even attended a 50th reunion, as she has remained close to former students and their families.

Ellen McLean Martin, originally from Memphis, has known Sister Maria Vincent for most of her life. Sister Maria Vincent taught her siblings at Our Lady of Sorrows, and they have been lifelong friends, calling and visiting each other frequently. Two of Ellen’s siblings, Merrill McLean Liggett and Don McLean of Memphis, share, “Over the years our five siblings often talk about nuns we loved at school, and Sister Maria Vincent’s name always comes up.” Sister Maria Vincent taught both Don and Merrill at Our Lady of Sorrows in the 1950s. She was a favorite teacher. “Sister didn’t need to discipline 4th graders because all the boys behaved in her class. They hung on her every word, and thought she was beautiful,” Don recalls. “She would pull the pitch pipe out of her pocket in choir, and everybody got really

Top: Maria Vincent Brocato, SCN, welcomes Sisters visiting from India. She has visited India several times and has hosted SCNs from India at her home on a number of occasions. Bottom: SCNs Rebecca Miles and Maria Vincent share a light moment on the SCN Motherhouse Campus, Nazareth, Kentucky.

quiet.” Another student, Breen Bland, adds, “The two things that come first to my mind about Sister Maria Vincent are the joy she radiated and her love for music. I think her example helped me to love life and the people around me; I know that she created in me a life-long love of music and singing. I’ve tried to hold on to both.”

Despite the distance, Ellen lives in Virginia, Sister Maria Vincent is in Kentucky, the two share a deep friendship. Ellen shares, “I’ve enjoyed stories of Sister’s youth, sharing Italian recipes, discussing her vegetable garden, and her bright eyes when talking about family, cooking, and sharing meals. She has such a wonderful infectious laugh!”

In fact, Ellen is so fond of Sister Maria Vincent that she has opened her home to yet another young woman that Sister Maria Vincent mentors, at Sister’s request. The young woman from Kentucky attends college in Virginia. This is what Sister Maria Vincent does, she brings people together.

Yet another former student, who became an Associate with the SCN Congregation, is also very close to Sister Maria Vincent. The two share a home. SCN Associate Mary Gene Frank first met Sister Maria Vincent when she was her student at Spalding College (University). Sister Maria Vincent was a professor teaching American History. The two became fast friends, working together on missions, traveling, and eventually living in community together.

In addition to being a mentor and educator, Sister Maria Vincent has been part of the SCN Formation Team, and has served on leadership teams. In 1980, she became provincial of the SCN Southern Province. She next served as the SCN Health Corporation vice president for mission. In 1990, she became the assistant executive director of Sacred Heart Southern Missions in Mississippi, and in 1995, was appointed executive director.

Top: Maria Vincent Brocato, SCN, has been part of numerous volunteer mission trips, including trips to New Orleans and Eastern Kentucky. Bottom: Maria Vincent, SCN, greets a volunteer at the 2019 Nazareth 5K.

Maria Vincent Brocato, SCN, answers questions from the audience upon the release of her book about the second 100 years of the SCN Congregation. It is one of the books in the “Impelled by the Love of Christ” series.

In 1998, Sister Maria Vincent was elected president of the SCN Congregation. During this time, the community opened a new ministry in Botswana, Africa. After her term, she was appointed director of the SCN Office of Sponsored Ministries in 2004. Sister Maria Vincent next joined a committee that researched and wrote about the second 100 hundred years of the Congregation, the “Impelled by the Love of Christ” book series.

Sister Maria Vincent has spent recent years preserving and sharing the history of the Congregation. She spends countless hours in the Archival Center pouring over files, photos, and documents. She is also a member of the Marie Menard Committee which interviews Sisters about their lives and ministries. Assistant archivist Kelly McDaniels, SCNA, says Sister Maria Vincent has a way of coaxing shy Sisters to share about their lives and ministries. “Sister Maria VIncent doesn’t ask the Sisters to talk about themselves. Instead, she asks them to share what God has done in their lives,” says Kelly. “When they share a happy memory or a tale of success, she rejoices with them. When they relate a time of sadness in their life, Sister is with them in their sorrow.” These stories,

countless collected by Sister Maria Vincent, are invaluable to the Congregation.

Sister Maria Vincent has served on a number of boards, including the first Archdiocese of Louisville Senate of Religious, St. Vincent Infirmary, and Presentation Academy. She also has been part of volunteer mission trips to New Orleans and Eastern Kentucky. She is most devoted to Presentation Academy where she has facilitated board meetings, assisted with strategic planning, attended open houses, and accompanied students on mission trips. This fall, Sister Maria Vincent will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from Presentation Academy. It is a well-deserved honor, says Presentation Academy President Laura Dills.

Sister Maria Vincent shares that she is humbled by the recognition and grateful to all along her path. “When I think about my life as a Sister of Charity of Nazareth, I am deeply grateful for the blessings God has given me … the students I have taught, the dear friends I have made, and those with whom I have been in ministry.”