Story by EmmaLee Italia | Correspondent

St. Paul Parish and School, Princeton, will mark Sunday, May 22 with both sadness and joy, as during the 11:30 a.m. Mass parishioners and students will celebrate the 137-year presence of the Sisters of Mercy, who will be leaving in June.

Mercy Sisters Terena Gentili, Jane Higgins and Martha Harcar will go to their order’s retirement community in Watchung, joining Sister Mary Donald  and other former St. Paul’s-assigned Mercy Sisters. Sister Terena celebrated her 60th year of religious life in September; Sister Jane has been a religious sister for 74 years, and Sister Martha for 75.

Following Mass, a general reception will be held in the parish hall beneath the church at 214 Nassau St., Princeton, which is open to all who wish to attend. Other Mercy Sisters who have formerly served St. Paul’s have been invited to the day’s festivities as well.

The celebratory Mass, occurring on Trinity Sunday, will include the parish’s adult choir singing “Take From My Heart” by Karen Kilmer and John Kyler – a musical adaptation of the prayer composed by Ven. Mother Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy.

Invited in 1878 from Ireland by St. Paul’s then-pastor Msgr. Thomas R. Moran to administer the Princeton school and assist with parish ministries, the Mercy Sisters have been a source of spiritual and religious guidance ever since.

“Everyone has expressed sadness and a lot of nostalgia,” said SPS principal Ryan Killeen. “It’s hard to imagine the school without the sisters. We really want them to know how important and special they are to us. And of course we look forward to them coming back to visit.”

The students’ admiration of the sisters is easily seen when they interact.

“When you watch the eighth graders talking with the sisters, it’s as if they’re in kindergarten again,” Killeen said. “I think it’s beautiful to see the sweetness and respect they feel for them.”

The May 22 celebration is an opportunity for the parish and school to come together and show their appreciation for all the sisters have done over the years. Undoubtedtly it will be an emotional occasion, even though the sisters will still be at St. Paul’s for the school’s end-of-year celebrations and graduations in June.

The sisters’ convent building on St. Paul’s property, partially used in recent years for school and parish use, will no longer be the sisters’ home. But by no means will it stand empty.

Several of the convent’s unoccupied rooms have been utilized by both the school and parish across the years as the sisters’ population dwindled. The convent will continue to serve the education of SPS students and the parish religious education program. The SPS Little Lions Preschool was established in 2013, utilizing part of the lower floor of the convent, also referred to as the Sisters of Mercy Early Learning Center. 

A chapel expansion is planned for the summer, providing enough space for an entire class of students to attend private prayer time or Mass during school hours.

“This will [give] students more direct contact with the priests, the youth ministry and parish religious education program,” Killeen explained.

As for the future of the school, maintaining the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy is paramount, Killeen affirmed. St. Paul’s has reached out to other Catholic schools in the area who have seen their founding sisters retire, gathering ideas for how to move forward. And the school will continue to celebrate Mercy Day annually on September 24 – the anniversary of the order’s founding by Mother McAuley – with its opening school year Mass.

“It’s very important to SPS to have the Mercy spirit remain at the core of who we are,” Killeen said. “That’s why is so important to memorialize them, so we can keep them as a part of our tradition.”