Our Founder and Father A recollection of Cardinal O’Connor’s paternal heart and spiritual legacy by Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, S.V.
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ll priests are called to be fathers — that is, to generate the life of souls through the grace of the sacraments and to protect and guide the growth of that same spiritual life. Fatherhood, like anything worthwhile, is not an easy task: It demands sacrifice. It requires that one give God permission to move beyond self-seeking or the fear of failure and to live for others with keen awareness that one’s presence is a gift that matters well beyond one’s lifetime. A father’s love, after all, gives us a hint of the loving providence of God, our heavenly Father. The notion of fatherhood prompts a happy memory of John Cardinal O’Connor, the father and founder of our religious community, the Sisters of Life. My large family was present in 1991 for the simple ceremonies surrounding my acceptance as a postulant with the newly formed community. Cardinals were unfamiliar company, and when introduced, the proper title “Your Eminence” stuck to the tongue of one of my sisters. She blurted out with a smile, “It is good to meet you, Father O’Connor.” Immediately realizing her mistake, she apologized profusely. The cardinal graciously responded, “My dear, you may always call me Father. It is the only title I ever desired in life.” Little did I expect that religious life would bring an experience of the power and possibilities of paternity. In this respect, Cardinal O’Connor’s spiritual fatherhood revealed elements essential to a father’s love. THE POWER OF PRESENCE For nearly a decade, we knew our founder as father. Cardinal O’Connor was an intensely private and intellectual man, yet upon his arrival at a Sisters of Life convent, nothing would commence until he had personally greeted each sister with a hug. In greeting several dozen sisters, identically clad in the blue-and-white habit that he had designed,
Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, superior general of the Sisters of Life, and Cardinal John J. O’Connor (1920-2000) greet one another in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Cardinal O’Connor, a proud member of Our Lady, Star of the Sea Council 6701 in New York City, founded the Sisters of Life in 1991. In addition to the three traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, members of the New York-based community — which now includes nearly 70 sisters — are consecrated under a special, fourth vow to protect and enhance the sacredness of human life. The community is also present in Toronto and in Stamford, Conn., where the sisters operate Villa Maria Guadalupe, a retreat center owned by the Knights of Columbus. 20 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦
JUNE 2010