Nun leaves as St. Catherine's chaplain to return to India - Waco Tribune-Herald

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In her final two months as chaplain for Ascension Providence Park-St. Catherine's, Sister Sini Paul — Sister Sini to almost everyone who entered her circle of warmth — found her ministry undergoing major changes.

A lockdown for residents in nursing care and assisted living because of coronavirus protective measures meant no more Mass celebrated in chapel, which she often set up with volunteers or pushed residents in wheelchairs to. It meant no meals together or group activities. It meant temperature checks before entering facilities and a mask that covered what many remember best: her smile.

Her eyes still would twinkle above that mask, and her voice still carried a friendly warmth and comfort when talking with residents. And, in a situation where contact with outside visitors was now rare, Paul's presence provided something many needed.

"She was the only outside person outside from the nurses and staff. She was the spiritual presence for many of them," said Father James Ekeocha, pastor of St. Jerome Catholic Church in Hewitt and Paul's spiritual director. "Her presence gave them meaning and consolation."

That came to a close June 5 when Paul, 43, ended five years as chaplain to the elderly to return to her native India at the request of her order, the Sisters of Sacred Sciences. It is a bittersweet moment for both Paul and the people who have worked with her.

"I have been blessed with a lot of friends here," she said. "Saying goodbye, that's what we do for the kingdom of God. We move on. I'm ready and willing to do what God says next."

For retired nurse and volunteer Barbara Luther, who helped Paul with preparations for Mass each Sunday until the shelter-in-place order in mid-March, the sad part is missing the usual farewells because of measures to contain the coronavirus.

"I think she's such a special person," Luther said. "She was like a little light going around, (but) we never got to say goodbye."

Paul is the last Sisters of Sacred Sciences nun who was serving in Waco after Sister Frisca Guria left last June. Father Antony Kolencherry in the Diocese of Mysore in southern India founded the order in 1997. The order, whose members are called to teach, preach and serve, has 10 communities in India, one in Tanzania and one in Switzerland.

Paul will return to the Indian state of Kerala, where she was born and grew up, but her departure hinges on the ability to get a flight from the United States to India, something limited because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Paul holds degrees in philosophy and theology from St. Peter's Pontifical Institute Bangalore, a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Mysore and a master's in spiritual theology from the Indian Institute of Spirituality Bangalore.

She took her final vows in the Sisters of Sacred Sciences order in 2004, the first sister to do so, and came to the United States the next year to serve as director of religious education at St. John The Evangelist in San Marcos. In 2007, she and other Sisters of Sacred Sciences nuns moved to Temple to work at Our Lady of the Angels Maternity Shelter. She worked there as a houseparent for six years, meeting Father Ekeocha at that time.

During her time in Temple, a Waco nun from the Sisters of Charity, who served at Providence Hospital for more than a century, invited her to consider the chaplaincy for the elderly at Providence. Two years of study and residency followed as Paul shifted from a ministry with women and young children to one with seniors.

Paul's kind, warm spirit meant she made fast friends with the people she served as chaplain.

"I talk to them, listen to their stories, pray with them … and hold their hands when they're dying," she said.

Luther said the Masses held at Providence's chapel often drew seniors from outside Providence and St. Catherine's, because it felt welcoming for people using oxygen tanks and wheelchairs.

The affection was mutual.

"She loved her ministry. Each day she couldn't wait to go to work," Ekeocha said.

When she suffered loss, as when her mother died in September, residents were there for her when she returned from India.

"I get a lot of love and care from the residents. Sometimes I feel like their daughter," Paul said with a laugh.

The advent of COVID-19 this spring changed that ministry. After her order called her back to India and she decided not to change to another order, she had prepared to leave in April only to find the pandemic shutting down global transportation.

With residents kept from any outside contact, Paul was a welcome presence, and for more than the residents. Staff members with families found themselves with worries and challenges in juggling new responsibilities of kids at home from school, she said.

The masked nun with smiling eyes provided a welcome contact for those largely confined to their rooms and with no personal visits from family and friends. Even those with impaired hearing found encouragement simply because she was there, Ekeocha said.

The support of her spiritual director, plus devotional music and walks, helped Paul cope during this time, she said.

Ascension Providence staff threw her a going-away party May 29.

"It was very touching, very beautiful," she said.

Paul, who lives in St. Jerome's old rectory, now spends her time waiting for commercial flights to resume to India, also under a surge of COVID-19 cases, continuing in prayer and remembering fondly her time in Waco.

"The hard part is to leave them all," Paul said. "I'm grateful God allowed me to come to this beautiful country. I am taking that with me to share with my sisters in India."

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