Sister of Charity celebrates golden jubilee

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CINCINNATI — Sister of Charity Mary Alice Haithcoat is celebrating her golden jubilee as a sister.

The gentle kindness and joy that Sister of Charity Mary Alice Haithcoat guides her second-graders with traces itself back to picnics after Mass when Haithcoat was a little girl. Her parents stressed the importance of faith early on by making Sunday the most special day in their household, reflecting on the Masses they heard while enjoying time together. It is this focus on faith that led Haithcoat to join the Community 50 years ago this August.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio,Haithcoat was introduced to religious life first with the Sisters of Mercy at St. Cecilia grade school and then with the Sisters of Charity at St. Mary/Marian High School. After high school, she entered the Community and started working toward a degree in education from the College of Mount St. Joseph (now Mount St. Joseph University) in Cincinnati. One decade later, she went back to school to receive a master’s degree in administration from Xavier University (Cincinnati).

Haithcoat’s first love has always been teaching, she said. Her education ministry has taken her to three schools in various capacities: Holy Angels in Sidney, Ohio, as elementary teacher (1971-1979), St. Mary in Greenville, Ohio, as elementary teacher (1979-1984) and principal (1984-1993), and Piqua Catholic in Piqua, Ohio, as assistant principal and teacher (1993-2009), principal (2009-2011), and now second grade teacher (2011-). She is also heavily involved with the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program in the Piqua parishes, citing the days spent preparing her second-graders for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist as some of her most special and dear memories.

Haithcoat also has fond memories of mission trips she has gone on.

“A few years ago, I had the privilege to go to the islands of Haiti and Dominica with a group of teachers and parishioners,” she said.

They helped build houses in Haiti and visited their twinning parish in Dominica.

“On both islands, we met some very special people who are truly happy and worship God with great joy and peace.”

When reflecting on the Year of Mercy as called for by Pope Francis, Haithcoat’s hopes show her teaching spirit: “During these troubled times in our world, it is so important to be aware of God’s mercy and love. I feel, as a Sister and a teacher, that it is vital for me to communicate that mercy of God to my students by my words and actions. I want them to know that God’s mercy is more powerful than any hate or anger. I want them to grow up to be faithful disciples of Jesus who know and have experienced God’s great love and mercy.”

The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, an apostolic Catholic women’s religious community, exist to carry out the Gospel of Jesus Christ through prayer and service in the world. Sisters, using their professional talents in the fields of education, health care, social services and environmental justice, live and minister in 27 U.S. dioceses and in Guatemala, Mexico and the West Indies. They also sponsor institutions to address education, health care and social service needs, with particular concern for direct service to the poor. Approximately 329 Sisters are joined in mission by 199 Associates (lay men and women). Visit the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati website at www.srcharitycinti.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sistersofcharityofcincinnati.

Haitcoat
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2016/11/web1_haithcoat-2c-mary-alice.jpgHaitcoat

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