Sister Marcia Hall – daughter of Diocese – embraces Superior General role
July 19, 2025 at 9:50 a.m.
In her 27 years as an Oblate Sister of Providence, Sister Marcia Hall has faithfully relied on the mantra of her community’s founder for guidance and inspiration: “Our sole wish is to do the will of God.”
And now the Diocese of Trenton native whose home parish is Sacred Heart, Trenton, believes those words uttered by Mother Mary Lange some 196 years ago will guide Sister Marcia’s work as the newly elected superior general of the Oblate Sisters of Providence.
The Oblates are the first U.S.-based religious order of black women founded by the now-Venerable Mother Mary Lange in 1829. Sister Marcia was formally installed as the superior general during a June 24 Mass celebrated in the community’s motherhouse, Our Lady of Mount Providence in Baltimore.
A large contingent of family, friends and well-wishers – including many from the Diocese of Trenton – traveled to Baltimore to attend the Mass and witness the installation. Josephite Father Anthony Bozeman, a longtime friend of Sister Marcia’s, was principal celebrant and homilist. Concelebrants included Sacred Heart Parish priests, Msgr. Dennis Apoldite, pastor, and Father Charles Muorah, parochial vicar, and Divine Word Father Pierre Claver (Fleury) Lunimbu, pastor of St. Ann Parish, Browns Mills.
As Sister Marcia’s installation as superior general occurred on the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Father Bozeman, who is the vocations director for his religious order, drew parallels between the evangelization missions of the Baptist, as the forerunner of Christ, and Sister Marcia as the new leader of her community.
Just as John the Baptist called out in announcing the coming of Christ, Sister Marcia and her team are “being called out. They are being challenged to share the Good News of who we are” as Catholics, Father Bozeman said.
Describing his friend as being “super intelligent, yet down-to-earth,” he said that “she uses her intelligence and wit and is very productive in all she does.”
“She makes us want to join with her and be part of her infectious desire to serve God and God’s people,” Father Bozeman said.
As superior general, Sister Marcia will collaborate with other newly elected community leaders on various tasks including reviewing the progress and responsibilities of community members’ work. They will explore ways to attract more vocations, especially through digital and social media, deal with financial and property matters and determine the ministries which can best use the sisters’ talents and skills.
The sisters serve as catechists, teachers, chaplains and sacristans and provide outreach to populations including the elderly and youth. There are currently 38 Oblates of Providence, including several sisters who are elderly and a significant number hailing from Africa.
Distinguished Background
Sister Marcia’s own vocation story began as a student in Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd Grammar School, Trenton, where she was inspired by the Oblate Sisters of Providence who staffed the school.
She attended high school at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Princeton, and her college education included studying sociology at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. She worked in the education field, both teaching and in administrative positions, and spent several years as a college professor.
Sister Marcia was in her 40s and a faculty member in Simmons College in Boston when she began wrestling with her life’s direction. It was also then she recognized she might have a potential religious vocation. In discernment, she spent time in prayer and commuted weekly to the community’s motherhouse in Baltimore. In 1997, she relocated to the motherhouse to live and work among the sisters and determine if she did indeed have a religious vocation.
Once she transitioned to Baltimore Sister Marcia admitted there were adjustments to make, especially in having to relinquish her independence after living on her own for nearly 20 years.
Sister Marcia entered the community as a postulant in 1998, becoming a novice in 1999. She made her first profession of vows in 2001 and final vows in 2006. Her assignments included serving as principal of St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, the oldest black Catholic school in the country, founded in 1828 by Mother Mary Lange, which continues to operate today. She also served on the community’s leadership team, as motherhouse coordinator and liturgy coordinator, and as vocations director.
Humbled Servant
Sister Marcia noted how humbling it was for her to be an Oblate Sister of Providence when the community celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2004 and to participate in the celebration at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Another day when she was overjoyed and proud “to be a daughter of Mary Lange” was June 22, 2023, when Pope Francis declared her Venerable.
“It is an honor to be elected Superior General of my community,” she said. “I am grateful to everyone who has prayed for me since I entered the Oblate Sisters of Providence. I implore them to continue their prayers, for me and the congregation.”
“I pray that I can continue to be open to the Holy Spirit so that I can do God’s will, not my own.”
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In her 27 years as an Oblate Sister of Providence, Sister Marcia Hall has faithfully relied on the mantra of her community’s founder for guidance and inspiration: “Our sole wish is to do the will of God.”
And now the Diocese of Trenton native whose home parish is Sacred Heart, Trenton, believes those words uttered by Mother Mary Lange some 196 years ago will guide Sister Marcia’s work as the newly elected superior general of the Oblate Sisters of Providence.
The Oblates are the first U.S.-based religious order of black women founded by the now-Venerable Mother Mary Lange in 1829. Sister Marcia was formally installed as the superior general during a June 24 Mass celebrated in the community’s motherhouse, Our Lady of Mount Providence in Baltimore.
A large contingent of family, friends and well-wishers – including many from the Diocese of Trenton – traveled to Baltimore to attend the Mass and witness the installation. Josephite Father Anthony Bozeman, a longtime friend of Sister Marcia’s, was principal celebrant and homilist. Concelebrants included Sacred Heart Parish priests, Msgr. Dennis Apoldite, pastor, and Father Charles Muorah, parochial vicar, and Divine Word Father Pierre Claver (Fleury) Lunimbu, pastor of St. Ann Parish, Browns Mills.
As Sister Marcia’s installation as superior general occurred on the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Father Bozeman, who is the vocations director for his religious order, drew parallels between the evangelization missions of the Baptist, as the forerunner of Christ, and Sister Marcia as the new leader of her community.
Just as John the Baptist called out in announcing the coming of Christ, Sister Marcia and her team are “being called out. They are being challenged to share the Good News of who we are” as Catholics, Father Bozeman said.
Describing his friend as being “super intelligent, yet down-to-earth,” he said that “she uses her intelligence and wit and is very productive in all she does.”
“She makes us want to join with her and be part of her infectious desire to serve God and God’s people,” Father Bozeman said.
As superior general, Sister Marcia will collaborate with other newly elected community leaders on various tasks including reviewing the progress and responsibilities of community members’ work. They will explore ways to attract more vocations, especially through digital and social media, deal with financial and property matters and determine the ministries which can best use the sisters’ talents and skills.
The sisters serve as catechists, teachers, chaplains and sacristans and provide outreach to populations including the elderly and youth. There are currently 38 Oblates of Providence, including several sisters who are elderly and a significant number hailing from Africa.
Distinguished Background
Sister Marcia’s own vocation story began as a student in Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd Grammar School, Trenton, where she was inspired by the Oblate Sisters of Providence who staffed the school.
She attended high school at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Princeton, and her college education included studying sociology at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. She worked in the education field, both teaching and in administrative positions, and spent several years as a college professor.
Sister Marcia was in her 40s and a faculty member in Simmons College in Boston when she began wrestling with her life’s direction. It was also then she recognized she might have a potential religious vocation. In discernment, she spent time in prayer and commuted weekly to the community’s motherhouse in Baltimore. In 1997, she relocated to the motherhouse to live and work among the sisters and determine if she did indeed have a religious vocation.
Once she transitioned to Baltimore Sister Marcia admitted there were adjustments to make, especially in having to relinquish her independence after living on her own for nearly 20 years.
Sister Marcia entered the community as a postulant in 1998, becoming a novice in 1999. She made her first profession of vows in 2001 and final vows in 2006. Her assignments included serving as principal of St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, the oldest black Catholic school in the country, founded in 1828 by Mother Mary Lange, which continues to operate today. She also served on the community’s leadership team, as motherhouse coordinator and liturgy coordinator, and as vocations director.
Humbled Servant
Sister Marcia noted how humbling it was for her to be an Oblate Sister of Providence when the community celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2004 and to participate in the celebration at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Another day when she was overjoyed and proud “to be a daughter of Mary Lange” was June 22, 2023, when Pope Francis declared her Venerable.
“It is an honor to be elected Superior General of my community,” she said. “I am grateful to everyone who has prayed for me since I entered the Oblate Sisters of Providence. I implore them to continue their prayers, for me and the congregation.”
“I pray that I can continue to be open to the Holy Spirit so that I can do God’s will, not my own.”