Incoming superior general of Oblate Sisters of Providence outlines priorities

When Sister Marcia Hall was elected in April as the next superior general of the Baltimore-based Oblate Sisters of Providence, the nation’s oldest functioning Black Catholic religious order, she would have to wait for her new administration to meet to prioritize goals for their four-year tenure.

That weeklong meeting, which the Oblates refer to as their Chapter of Affairs, will begin June 25, the day after their formal installation at their motherhouse, Our Lady of Mount Providence on Gun Road in Arbutus.

Participants will include Sister Marcia, her assistant general, and a second, third and fourth councilor. They will scrutinize their ministries as teachers, tutors, chaplains, catechists, caregivers to children and the elderly, youth ministers, sacristans, how they promote vocations, take prayer requests and encourage membership in their lay associates program for men and women, Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Even so, the New Jersey native who was reared by devout Catholic parents and taught by Oblates, knows that some goals will always rank high for her 196-year-old order.

“The council will meet and talk about what the community’s concerns are as expressed by delegates and observers,” Sister Marcia explained, noting that some those areas of focus encompass the promotion of religious vocations, assessing properties and determining if they need upkeep or renovation, looking for opportunities for ministries, making the religious community more visible on digital platforms and promoting discernment retreats.

The former college professor for many years comes well-equipped to lead. She was an assistant principal at The Seton Keough High School in Baltimore, having earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology. She taught English at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, her order’s flagship school, and at St. Katharine School in Baltimore. She is also a former principal of St. Frances Academy.

Sister Marcia will step down as vocations director. “Some of our younger sisters along with maybe a lay person or two” will assume these duties, she figures.

Efforts to attract more vocations, she noted, will be up against parents who want to have grandchildren. Racism in both the church and society hurts too, she said.

“Parents don’t want their children to go through what they went through,” she said, adding that it is better to confront racism with godly love than run from it.

Another deterrent to winning new members, she said, is that many people just don’t know who they are.

“I was going to a vocation event in the Midwest a few years ago. I was with another sister in the airport,” Sister Marcia recalled. “A young woman, probably in her 20s, said to us, ‘What are you?’

“Not, ‘Who are you?’ ‘What are you?’ We told her that we are sisters.

“Her response was, ‘So, you mean like (the movie) Sister Act?’

“We calmly replied, ‘Not really.’

“She wasn’t trying to be mean and I did not take offense,” Sister Marcia clarified. “She was just trying to understand. So we talked to her, going more in depth about our ministries. That’s what we do; we explain.”

At present, there are 39 sisters in the order. Their median age is 83. Their eldest, Sister Katharine Brent, turned 105 on June 4 and is one of seven sisters in the motherhouse’s upper level healthcare unit. One sister will profess final vows in August, leaving only one other in formation as a junior professed.

“I am the last U.S. vocation currently, and everybody behind me is from Africa,” Sister Marcia noted. “For us, the trend has been for women in their 30s and 40s to show an interest in religious life.” 

Sister Marcia was 42 when she entered and has been an Oblate for 27 years.

Oblate Sisters include women originally from Costa Rica, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Honduras, Cuba and the United States.

Venerable Mother Mary Lange founded the order in 1829 with Sulpician Father James Nicholas Joubert. The religious community has been promoting the canonization cause of Mother Lange, whom Pope Francis declared “venerable” in 2023. A miracle attributed to her intercession is still necessary before she can be beatified.

“It would be lovely,” Sister Marcia, reflected, “if Mother Lange would become Blessed in four or five years, but that’s out of our hands. What we can do is continue to promote her cause and live out Gospel values.” 

Other Oblates elected to leadership positions include Sister Anthonia Ugwu, assistant general; Sister Bernarda Montenegro, second councillor; Sister Ricardo Maddox, third councillor; and Sister Brenda Cherry, fourth councillor. 

Also see:

St. Frances principal fulfills dream to become Oblate Sister of Providence

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Lay associates journey with the Oblate Sisters of Providence

Study: Devotion to Mary has significant impact on discerning, sustaining vocations

Expert: Religious show courage helping others, fear standing up for self

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Mount de Sales Dominican sister shares journey after pursuing science, finding faith 

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