Reflections - Sister Dolorita Lutsie

As a youngster growing up in Western Pennsylvania and then in West Virginia, Sister Dolorita Lutsie didn't attend church, but she did receive a moral education from her parents. During her teen years she attended the Methodist Church to sing in the choir and to be with her friends. She knew God was pushing her toward something but she was not sure what.

After high school graduation, Dolorita went to Lancaster, Pa., to work as a secretary for an architect. "But I couldn't see the point. It seemed there was something more to life. If I wanted to do something, I thought I needed to become a nun. So I took instruction in the parish church. When my parents found out about it, they insisted I come back home."

A friend took Dolorita to a party in Morgantown, W. Va., where she was introduced to Ursuline Sisters Carmel Price and Edith Ruppenkamp. Later they invited her to the Ursuline convent to meet Mother Columba Ishanski, the community superior who was visiting from Louisville. Dolorita knew then and there that this was the group for her. About four years later, after she had moved to Louisville to become an Ursuline Sister, her father came for a visit. Seeing how happy she was, he concluded that the choice was a good one. "Everything was okay. None of the negative tales they had heard back home about Catholicism were true."

Sister Dolorita's ministry has included teaching and, for 20 years, serving as the librarian at Providence High School in Clarksville, Ind., where she continues to serve part time helping with clerical work. She also volunteers at Nativity Academy, a new middle school for at-risk children in Louisville. Colleagues know her well as a seamstress and a cook, talents she generously shares.

Sister Dolorita says she was not affected by the struggles in the church during the 1960s. She had already done her own struggling before coming to community. She remembers clearly thinking as she came down the Motherhouse Chapel aisle on Investment Day (when she became an Ursuline Sister), " 'This is it. My mind is made up,' and I never questioned the decision again." Over the years, learning more about St. Angela Merici has confirmed her vocation. "There are problems in all walks of life, but these are external. The real thing is the vocation, and that is internal. It is a gift from God."