Religious sisters played role in pope's formation in grade school, N.J. province discovers

MENDHAM, N.J. (OSV News) — As the Sisters of Christian Charity watched the white smoke rise from the Sistine Chapel in Rome May 8 and awaited the appearance of the new pope on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, they had no idea they had played a vital role in his early formation.

When Cardinal Robert F. Prevost’s name was announced and he stepped onto the balcony as Pope Leo XIV, joy rippled through the crowd — and among the sisters — as the world learned that the new pope was an American. A Chicago native. An Augustinian. An alumnus of Villanova University and the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Details emerged that he hailed from the South Side of Chicago, from the suburban town of Dolton, Ill., and attended St. Mary of the Assumption Parish and School in nearby Riverdale. That revelation deepened the sisters’ excitement: from 1918 to 1988, the Sisters of Christian Charity were educators at St. Mary School.

Pope Leo XIV delivers his homily as he celebrates Mass and ordains 11 new priests for the Diocese of Rome in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican May 31, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

They quickly began poring over archives in search of records of those who had taught there during the grade school years of Pope Leo XIV. The North American province of the Sisters of Christian Charity is based in Mendham, in the Diocese of Paterson.

The story of this connection traces back to the Sisters of Christian Charity’s founding. Pauline von Mallinckrodt established the congregation in 1849 in Paderborn, Germany. Amid political upheaval under Otto von Bismarck and in response to calls from America for German-speaking sisters to educate immigrant children, the sisters arrived in the United States in 1873.

They established schools in many states across the country. Little could Pauline have imagined that one day, her community would help form a future pope’s early faith and education.

In September 1961, young Robert began first grade at St. Mary School. Under the guidance of the sisters, he received the foundational education that would one day support him in leading the Catholic Church.

Two Sisters of Christian Charity who served at St. Mary’s during Prevost’s time were Sister Rosalie Erdmann, now a member of the Sisters of the Living Word, and Sister Leocadia Salbert, now known as Sister Jeanette Salbert, also of the Sisters of the Living Word.

Sister Rosalie taught sixth and seventh grades during Robert’s eighth-grade year. Though she did not teach him directly, she remembers seeing him serve Mass and play on the school playground. She also fondly recalls his mother, Mildred.

“Robert’s mother was wonderful. She was the school librarian and deeply involved with the school and parish,” Sister Rosalie said in an interview for The Beacon, Paterson’s diocesan news outlet.

Sister Jeanette arrived at St. Mary during the second half of Robert’s eighth-grade year and taught science. Although she does not remember him, she recalls the school’s nurturing environment.

“It was more than a school,” Sister Jeanette said. “It was a family.”

Even before Sister Jeanette arrived, the Prevost family had already made an impression. In 1964, Mildred organized the St. Mary’s Altar Rosary Society and mobilized school families to collect S&H Green Stamps, which were used to purchase a car for the sisters.

Sister M. Alypia Schalkowski, who died in 2003 and was Robert’s first-grade teacher, remained connected to him throughout the years. Her address books listed his successive addresses, first as the provincial of his Augustinian order in Illinois and later as the prior general in Rome.

The Sisters of Christian Charity joyfully celebrate Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate and the path he will chart for the church. They are honored and proud to have played a small yet meaningful role in his early formation.

This story was originally published by The Beacon at Beaconnj.org, the diocesan news and information outlet for the Diocese of Paterson in northern New Jersey, and distributed through a partnership with OSV News. Sister Ann Lavelle is director of mission advancement for the Sisters of Christian Charity in Mendham.