“The first students … all passed State Board exams in Nursing, and their grades were the best in the country,” she remembers. “We had to do without many necessities, but working hard with the eager students in an Islamic country was such a worthwhile task that produced excellent results. I still receive grateful letters from former students.”

Returning to North America, Sister Rosemarie earned her Master’s Degree in Community Health Nursing from Boston College. She worked as teacher and nurse in Utah, California, and Canada. In 1981, she was missioned to Swaziland, Central Africa, where she taught nurses and midwives at Good Shepherd Hospital in Siteki, and then at Phalombe Hospital in Malawi. “When I repatriated (to the U.S.), I left my heart in Africa,” she says.

“Now, thank God, my mission in these golden years is working in areas of social justice, as well as with children in religious education and academic work, which is such a joy,” Sister Rosemarie shares. She lives in San Diego, and has been involved in a small Christian community, an interfaith council group, a pregnancy counseling center, and a CCD program. She tutors young children, serves as a Eucharistic minister and member of the choir in her parish, and is a member of a Centering Prayer group.

“It is great to be alive in the new millennium, to experience changes in all spheres of life,” says Sister Rosemarie. “I am grateful to God for the many blessings that I am gifted with at every moment.”