Holy Cross sister in administrative internship learns generosity of people in Utah

Friday, Oct. 31, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY — Holy Cross Sister Lucy Lalsangzuali grew up in Mizoram, India and knew after high school that she wanted to give her life to God as a sister in return for him giving his life for her on the cross. 

“I just wanted to serve God wherever it may be,” Sr. Lucy said. “Jesus died for me, and I prayed for the answer for what I could give him in return; the answer was my life.”

Sr. Lucy entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1998.

She arrived in Salt Lake City in February to complete an administrative internship and has been observing the administration and students at Holy Cross Ministries, and Saint Vincent de Paul, Our Lady of Lourdes and J.E. Cosgriff schools. 

Those who work with Sr. Lucy have enjoyed spending time with her, they said.

“We have all wanted alone time with her to get her thoughts and feelings,” said Marjorie Sansone, St. Vincent de Paul School secretary. “She has such a pure heart; she became part of our family here. It’s going to be hard to see her leave. The kids have loved her; she always has a good perspective and looks at things from a different way of life. It’s been a positive experience for us to be around her.”

Sr. Lucy built an instant relationship with the students, “who were impacted by her story,” said St. Vincent de Paul principal Mark Longe. “She has been a calm, spiritual presence in our school. We are so blessed to have so many resources, and it’s a reminder when we hear her story.”  

Sr. Lucy came from a poor family and a poor school, so “I know how to live with humble means,” she said. “I’m learning to live in abundance here; I admire how people here are so generous and so willing to share. This experience has made my decision to give my life more meaningful, and I do even the smallest deed with greater love. I feel blessed.” 

From 2005 to 2013, Sr. Lucy taught full time in a parish school and also supervised in a Holy Cross Boys Town orphanage in Bodhjungnagar, India. 

When Sr. Lucy returns to India in November she will return to the Salka Holy Cross School, which the Holy Cross sisters took over in 2012. “A lay man who knew little English asked us to teach English to the students,” Sr. Lucy said. “The classrooms were initially built out of bamboo; there were no desks or benches. With the help of donors, aluminum walls were built, desks and chairs were added and the students received uniforms. When we started there were 50 students and now there are 250.”

Sr. Lucy grew up in a Catholic family in northeast India, but due to her family’s financial insecurities, she had to put her vocation on hold. So she worked in her parish and at the same time attended college, she said. 

“The principal was very understanding,” she said. “I was admitted to college, but I did not attend the classes or read any books because I had no money to buy them; I did the assignments and attended class only to take the exams.”

She played volleyball for the college and was involved in a volunteer organization that helped the needy, was active in the parish youth ministry and was a teacher’s aide. She graduated in 1999.

However, Sr. Lucy’s call to become a sister did not go away; although it seemed impossible to leave her family, she prayed for God to help her, she said. 

In 1998, a Holy Cross priest introduced Sr. Lucy to the Holy Cross sisters who had just arrived from Bangladesh to open a house in Shillong, India; she joined them.

“They were not expecting to have a vocation only six months after their arrival, but they welcomed me and I felt at home,” Sr. Lucy said.