Retirement not in nun's plans

School principal leads ministries at St. Jude Church

After serving 39 years as principal at St. Jude Catholic School in Joliet, Sister Rita Mandella is far from retirement.

At the suggestion of the Rev. Michael Lane, pastor, Mandella is now spearheading several other church-related ministries. Surprisingly, she is not missing the educational portion of her life.

"I'm at the age where school has too many details and my health is not 100 percent, as it used to be," Mandella said. "Father has been very good to me. He said my schedule is fluid, that I can work at home some of the time and set my own hours."

Her successor, Sister Mary Elizabeth Sallese, is a Dominican nun with the congregation of St. Cecelia in Nashville, Tenn. Although Mandella came from the post-Vatican II Council that directed certain orders to shed their signature wardrobe, she is delighted that today's children are interacting with nuns in full habits.

"It signifies their dedication," she said. "You can't miss them."

For her, the elimination of the habit and a strict, monastic-style schedule of work and prayer enabled a closer ministry with the parish's lay community.

"Everything was very regulated," Mandella said. "I remember my mother getting very sick and needing special permission to go see her for two hours. We could now go to that birthday or graduation party. We were able to bring more to the people because we were more available to them."

Mandella taught every elementary grade except kindergarten. And although she says she has "education in her blood," thanks to the Franciscan nuns who taught her at the former St. Bernard School, her earliest experiences did not reflect it. As a child, she hated kindergarten and lasted only three weeks in classes.

"I was only 4 ... and I didn't want to go. I cried every day," Mandella said. "So one day my mother had to pick me up to bring me into the classroom and I kicked poor sister."

Aside from that incident, Mandella has fond memories of her school years. She enjoyed the choir and school plays and loved the nuns, especially the music teacher who taught her voice and piano.

This lifelong Joliet resident and member of Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate began teaching in 1958, spending most of her educational career in the Joliet area. She helped open St. Andrew the Apostle School in Romeoville, going from a Chicago school with 1,000 children to one with 86 students.

Mandella has also taught at Guardian Angel Home, Cathedral of St. Raymond School and Holy Family School, where she unexpectedly served as principal before coming to St. Jude.

"One day the principal called me into her office and said, 'I am leaving and you are now the principal,' and I said, 'oh,' " Mandella said. "In those days, you didn't question, you just did it. So over the weekend I had to change responsibilities."

Mandella is proud to have been an integral part of Joliet's legacy of outstanding Catholic education since the Franciscan nuns supplied so many of those schools. But she is also excited about her new roles.

For instance, Mandella keeps in touch with people grieving a death and assists Deacon William Hetzel with distributing the Eucharist to shut-ins and those in hospitals and nursing homes. Recently, she paid hospital visits to cancer-stricken women.

"I felt so bad for them," Mandella said. "What I've learned so far is that when you go in and say 'hello' to someone and tell them who you are, it takes them a little while to tell their story, but if you give them time they will tell you how they are feeling and what they are going through. It's a wonderful ministry."

Mandella is beginning a senior citizens ministry for her church where people can pray, play, minister and even perform low-impact aerobics together. "I'll be 72 in December, so I'm even looking forward to it," she said.