{"id":346978,"date":"2026-09-15T02:28:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T02:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346978\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T02:28:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T02:28:50","slug":"after-30-year-absence-religious-sisters-return-to-new-york-catholic-school-national-catholic-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346978\/","title":{"rendered":"After 30 Year Absence, Religious Sisters Return to New York Catholic School| National Catholic Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first morning of school brought the familiar sights and sounds back to St. Mary\u2019s Academy<\/a> in Glen Falls, New York: students filing in with backpacks, classrooms filling and school year routines beginning once again.<\/p>\n

But this year, there was something \u2014 or rather, someone \u2014 new at the door.<\/p>\n

Sister of the Resurrection Laurie-Marie Parisi greeted students as they arrived for the first day on Sept. 10, welcoming them into the pre-K-to-8 academy where she now serves as principal. For St. Mary\u2019s, the sight of a religious sister greeting students on the first day was more than a new school-year tradition. <\/p>\n

It marked the return of something St. Mary\u2019s has not seen in more than three decades: religious sisters living and serving in the school and parish.<\/p>\n

Sister Laurie-Marie is joined at St. Mary\u2019s, which serves more than 200 students, by two other Sisters of the Resurrection, Sister Angela Marie Leo and Sister Mary Lucille Borowski. The three sisters live at a newly established convent on the parish\u2019s property.<\/p>\n

And so far, the sisters seem to be getting high marks.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter came home from school so excited after seeing the sisters,\u201d said Jan VanSchaick, a St. Mary\u2019s parent and parishioner. \u201cShe had a wonderful first day.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Father Scott VanDerveer, pastor of St. Mary\u2019s Church, the arrival of the religious sisters is the culmination of a long-shot effort to restore something he and other parish and school leaders believed the academy had been missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had been talking about the gifts of religious life and how being around vowed religious just always uplifts everyone that\u2019s present,\u201d Father VanDerveer recalled.<\/p>\n

In recent years, school and parish leaders began looking back at periods when St. Mary\u2019s had been most successful. They saw a recurring feature: religious sisters were leading the school.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the last 15 years, our attendance has declined, and we\u2019ve had several lay principals in the last five years,\u201d said Gary Patton, the parish\u2019s business and operations manager. \u201cWe determined that sisters are what we were missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

St. Mary\u2019s was founded in 1883 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, who staffed the school for most of its history. The school eventually included a high school, but that program closed in 1989. The Sisters of St. Joseph left around the same time, with the last religious sisters gone by the early 1990s.<\/p>\n

St. Mary\u2019s story reflects a much broader shift in American Catholic education. In the mid-1960s, more than 100,000 religious sisters<\/a> were teaching in Catholic classrooms. Today, the number of sisters in the United States has fallen by more than 80%<\/a>, and religious sisters make up only a small fraction<\/a> of Catholic-school faculty nationwide.<\/p>\n

But despite the odds, St. Mary\u2019s made finding sisters for its school a priority.<\/p>\n

\"St.St. Mary\u2019s Academy has more than 200 students for the 2026-2027 school year. (Photo: Courtesy of St. Mary\u2019s Academy)
\n A Search for Sisters <\/p>\n

About two years ago, the parish began looking for a religious community willing to establish a presence at St. Mary\u2019s. Leaders put together a 15-to-20-page pamphlet detailing the parish, school and its history, as well as the space available for a convent.<\/p>\n

They sent it to roughly 25 to 30 religious communities across the United States, Canada and Ireland. The responses were largely variations on the same theme: The communities were too small, too old or simply did not have enough sisters to take on another mission.<\/p>\n

Ironically, one community was not included in the mailing \u2014 the Sisters of the Resurrection, whose provincial house was only about an hour away in Castleton, New York.<\/p>\n

The connection was made in August 2025, when Father VanDerveer and Sister Laurie-Marie happened to serve together on a panel for new Catholic educators organized by the Diocese of Albany. Sister Laurie-Marie was then completing an internship as part of her certification in school-building leadership.<\/p>\n

Father VanDerveer \u2014 whose great-aunt was a Sister of the Resurrection \u2014 asked her whether she would consider becoming principal of St. Mary\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that would be possible,\u201d Sister Laurie-Marie recalled thinking. The Castleton convent was too far away to commute to Glens Falls, and moving a community to a new location would be no easy feat.<\/p>\n

But after she told her provincial superior about the conversation, her superior offered a different perspective. \u201cI think it might work,\u201d she told her.<\/p>\n

\u2018What God Is Calling Us to Do Next\u2019 <\/p>\n

What followed was months of prayer, discernment and conversations between the Sisters of the Resurrection and St. Mary\u2019s. Eventually, the community concluded that establishing a new mission at the school was what God was calling them to do.<\/p>\n

Father VanDerveer was struck by the reasoning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sisters said, \u2018We are small in number and our average age is old. And we need to stay focused on what God is calling us to do next. And that\u2019s why we\u2019re going to come,\u2019\u201d Father VanDerveer said. \u201cThose were the reasons everyone else said they couldn\u2019t come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making that possible, however, was a significant undertaking for the parish.<\/p>\n

The former rectory became the sisters\u2019 convent, while Father VanDerveer moved into a nearby condominium. Parish offices that had occupied the rectory for more than a century were moved into renovated classrooms in the school basement.<\/p>\n

Parishioners then helped furnish and prepare the convent, donating furniture, curtains, bedding and kitchen supplies. Father VanDerveer\u2019s former office was converted into an accessible bedroom and bathroom suite for Sister Mary Lucille, who celebrated her 75th jubilee of her religious profession this year. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was truly an act of love,\u201d Sister Laurie-Marie said.<\/p>\n

Sister Laurie-Marie, who has about 20 years of teaching experience ranging from preschool through high school, now serves as principal. Sister Angela Marie is approaching her final vows and will divide her ministry between the school and parish, while Sister Mary Lucille, retired from active ministry, will assist primarily with the parish food pantry.<\/p>\n

The Sisters of the Resurrection<\/a> were founded in Rome in 1891 by a widow, Celine Borzecka, and her daughter, Hedwig. Their spirituality centers on the Risen Christ in prayer, hope and selfless service. That mission shapes how Sister Laurie-Marie understands her role at St. Mary\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am here to serve the students, to help them in their spiritual and academic growth,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m here to prepare the teachers to assist them \u2026 and to serve the families, the parents, so that we can work together to bring our students to heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SisterSister Laurie-Marie Parisi is joined at St. Mary\u2019s, which serves more than 200 students, by two other Sisters of the Resurrection, Sister Angela Marie Leo and Sister Mary Lucille Borowski. They students appreciate their presence.(Photo: Courtesy of St. Mary\u2019s Academy)
\n A New Presence <\/p>\n

For Alison Hancock, a St. Mary\u2019s parent and volunteer coordinator whose son is entering eighth grade, the sisters\u2019 arrival represents a return to the school\u2019s roots.<\/p>\n

Hancock\u2019s mother, grandmother, aunts and uncles all attended St. Mary\u2019s, but she had never personally experienced the religious sisters who had been such an important part of the school\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great to return to our roots,\u201d Hancock said. \u201cWe have a very lively parish, and everyone was just so overjoyed to learn of the sisters\u2019 arrival.\u201d<\/p>\n

VanSchaick, who attended the school herself through sixth grade, said she was surprised when she learned that sisters were returning. <\/p>\n

She had never encountered religious sisters at St. Mary\u2019s as a student, but said her mother, who attended Catholic school, was excited that her grandchildren would now have that experience. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just think it\u2019s a happy change,\u201d VanSchaick said, adding that she hopes the sisters will bring consistency to the school and give students a firsthand experience of religious life.<\/p>\n

Planting a Seed <\/p>\n

That visibility could also give young people an opportunity to consider religious vocations, something both Sister Laurie-Marie and Father VanDerveer hope may happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be wonderful if we could encourage vocations to the religious life,\u201d Sister Laurie-Marie said. But, she added, the sisters\u2019 primary goal is to help people live faithfully \u201cin whatever state God calls them to.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Sister Laurie-Marie, one challenge is that many people simply have little firsthand experience with religious sisters.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany young people \u2014 and actually, it\u2019s not just children \u2014 haven\u2019t met religious,\u201d she said. \u201cThe closest thing that they\u2019ve come to religious is watching Sister Act or The Sound of Music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Religious life, she added, is \u201cnothing like what it is in the movies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better,\u201d she added. \u201cIt\u2019s far more deeper than what Hollywood portrays it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father VanDerveer believes that simply encountering religious life can plant a seed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many people do have that calling and have just never had it watered or never had it modeled?\u201d he asked. \u201cOn the first day, the students just gravitated toward the sisters immediately and recognized them as safe, holy people. It\u2019s the same way I felt about my great-aunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Sister Laurie-Marie, the entire development has been unexpected.<\/p>\n

\u201cA year ago, I never would have guessed I\u2019d be here today,\u201d she said. \u201cNot in my wildest dreams.\u201d But after months of discernment, the sisters believe they are exactly where they are supposed to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod is good,\u201d Sister Laurie-Marie said. \u201cGod truly makes what seems impossible possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first morning of school brought the familiar sights and sounds back to St. Mary\u2019s Academy in Glen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9895,9,11,10],"class_list":["post-346978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-catholic-schools","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}