Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart

06/25/2026

The Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart join more than 170 religious communities who have signed the Declaration of Commitment with the LCWR — and who are praying now and all the days of the celebration of 250 years, of our story as a nation. Please join with us in prayer.

This statement is available below as a PDF document that can be printed. Leadership Conference of Women Religious Declaration of Commitment In preparation for the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious has entered a period of reflection on....

06/25/2026

Celebrating her 70th Jubilee, Sister Eleanore Therese Martinez, GNSH, has found her greatest joy in her work with counseling others.

Born and raised in Jackson Heights, New York, Sister Eleanore Therese Martinez first encountered the Grey Nuns as a student, drawn to their spirit of peace and joy—an impression that would quietly guide her toward religious life.

After teaching science in the classroom, she devoted herself to helping people overcome addiction. Sister Eleanore was the founding director of halfway houses for both men and women and later served for almost thirty years as director of Renaissance Campus, a residential program for addicted youth in Western New York.

To learn more about Sister Ellie, please visit our website:
https://www.greynun.org/2026/06/sister-eleanore-therese-martinez-70th-jubilee/

06/24/2026

As she celebrates her 70th Jubilee, Sister Marlene Butler, GNSH (Sister John Marlene) reflects on a vocation that has led her from the classroom to college campuses, congregational leadership, and spiritual retreat ministry.

A native of Buffalo, New York, Sister Marlene Butler (Sister John Marlene) first encountered the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart as a student at Holy Angels Academy. Her connection deepened quickly, and in 1959 she entered the Grey Nuns. Along the way through her diverse ministries, she discovered the wisdom of listening deeply and working with others, finding that collaboration often opens the clearest path to God’s call.

To read more about Sister Marlene, please visit our website:
https://www.greynun.org/2026/06/sister-marlene-butler-70th-jubilee/

06/23/2026

As Sister Dolores Beatty (Sister Mary of Nazareth) celebrates her 70th Jubilee, she looks back with deep gratitude for the people who have shaped her life and ministry.

With a heart dedicated to forming minds and nurturing faith, Sister Dolores has spent her entire religious life as an educator—beginning as a kindergarten teacher and later inspiring students as a history and social studies teacher at St. Pius X High School in Atlanta and Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote, Pennsylvania.

In 2024, Sister Dolores was honored to be inducted into the Bishop McDevitt High School’s Hall of Fame, as a ‘Legend of McDevitt’. She calls her twenty years at Bishop McDevitt the “best years of her life”. After her time at Bishop McDevitt, Sister Dolores was appointed principal of Grey Nun Academy in Yardley for the next thirteen years.

To read more about Sister Dolores, please visit our website:
https://www.greynun.org/2026/06/sister-dolores-beatty-70th-jubilee/

06/22/2026

Sister Diane Bardol (Sister Dorothy Ann) celebrates her 70th Jubilee as a Grey Nun of the Sacred Heart with a spirit deeply rooted in faith, justice, and the transformative power of peace. A native of Buffalo, New York, she first encountered the Grey Nuns at Holy Angels Academy, where the seeds of her vocation were quietly planted.

Her ministry in education led her far from home to Kodiak, Alaska, where she served for many years as principal of St. Mary’s School. There, she not only guided students academically but also formed them in the values of peacemaking and justice. From her time in Alaska to today -- where she shepherds the congregation’s social justice efforts -- she has learned to trust God’s leading and to see the world itself as one family, united in the life of God.

To read more about Sister Diane, please visit our website:
https://www.greynun.org/2026/06/sister-diane-bardol-70th-jubilee/

06/21/2026

Today we give thanks for all fathers, grandfathers, godfathers, and father figures whose love, guidance, and faithful presence bless our lives. Happy Father’s Day!

06/21/2026

Born in Winthrop, a small town in northern New York, Sister Mary Teresa LaBrake (Sister Maria Goretti) grew up on a 165-acre family farm alongside her thirteen siblings, learning early the values of hard work, generosity, and reliance on God.

For 75 years as a Grey Nun, Sister Mary Teresa LaBrake, GNSH, has accompanied others in faith through teaching, parish ministry, and spiritual formation. She has found that a deep life of prayer can become a source of hope and healing for others.

Read more of her story here: https://www.greynun.org/2026/06/sister-mary-teresa-labrake-75th-jubilee/

06/20/2026

At 102 years young, Sister Eileen Murray (Sister Paul Francis) celebrates her 85th Jubilee as a Grey Nun Sister—a remarkable milestone that reflects a lifetime of faithful service.

A native of Ogdensburg, New York, along the St. Lawrence River, Eileen grew up in a close-knit community and was educated by the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart. After graduating from St. Mary’s Academy, she followed their example and entered the congregation in 1941, just as the United States was entering World War II. Like many sisters of her generation, she quickly learned to do whatever was needed—teaching, of course, but also driving tractors, painting, and handling repairs when help was scarce.

From her early years teaching in schools across the Northeast and South to her cherished ministry at St. Joseph’s Home and later service to the elderly and homebound, her life has been shaped by a generous spirit and a deep commitment to caring for others.

To read more about Sister Eileen, please visit our website:
https://www.greynun.org/2026/06/sister-eileen-murray-85th-jubilee/

06/19/2026

This year we are blessed to celebrate nine Jubilarians, whose combined 640 years of service have formed a living legacy among us. Every day this week, we will share their unique stories. Our 2026 Jubilarians are:

85th Jubilee (entered 1941)
- Sister Eileen Murray

75th Jubilee (entered 1951)
- Sister Mary Teresa LaBrake

70th Jubilee (entered 1956)
- Sister Diane Bardol
- Sister Dolores Beatty
- Sister Marlene Butler
- Sister Eleanore Therese Martinez
- Sister Maureen O’Hara
- Sister Pierrette Remillard

60th Jubilee (entered 1966)
- Sister Catherine Bleiler

Like a great tree rooted in faith, their lives have stretched outward into classrooms, hospitals, parish communities, and places of healing. They have been teachers, administrators, nurses, social justice advocates, pastoral ministers, and counselors who cared for others, raised them up, and restored dignity to the less fortunate.

Their ministries span generations and geographies yet they share a common spirit:
a willingness to respond wherever the need was greatest. The fruit of their service is measured in both years and the countless lives that have been touched by them.

But no tree flourishes alone. To our benefactors and friends, we offer our heartfelt gratitude. These Jubilarians were able to serve God and God’s people because of you. Your unwavering support has allowed their ministries to take root and thrive. Your generosity to the Grey Nuns is woven into this legacy. Thank you, and God bless you!

06/19/2026

On this day of remembrance, LCWR renews our commitment to dismantle systemic racism in all its manifestations

…“the memory of past complicity and blindness in the face of the injustice of slavery becomes a call to vigilance. What we have learned must be translated into discernment and responsibility in the present.” — Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas, no. 177.

“Juneteenth is a significant date in American history and the African American experience. The name is a play on the date of June 19th, 1865. On that day, the Union Army made its way into Galveston, TX under the leadership of General Gordon Granger, and he announced to the people of Texas that all enslaved African Americans were free.

Even though we know that the Emancipation Proclamation freed African Americans in rebelling states (Texas being one of them, from as early as it when the Proclamation went into effect on January 1st, 1863) and we know that the Civil War had ended in April of 1865, it took a while for freedom to make its way to the western most rebelling state. Although there were enslavers who were aware of the implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation, it wasn’t until June 19th, 1865, that it was actually enforced with the Union Army. June 19th freed enslaved people in the rebelling states, it did not free enslaved people throughout the nation.” Mary Elliott, Curator of American Slavery

courtesy of National Museum of African American History and Culture