Responding to God's Call: Three sisters celebrate significant jubilees in their religious callings

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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From left, Daughters of Charity Sr. Lucia Lam Nguyen and Sr. Germaine Sarrazin, Bishop Oscar A. Solis and Benedictine Sr. Marilyn Mark at the April 20 dinner celebrating the jubilarians.

SALT LAKE CITY — Together, Daughters of Charity Sister Germaine Sarrazin and Sister Lucia Lam Nguyen and Benedictine Sister Marilyn Mark have ministered for 125 years.

The three sisters, who minister in different parts of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, celebrate significant jubilees of their religious vows this year and were honored at an April 20 dinner.

Victory Noll Sister Paula Wellnitz, who is celebrating her 70th jubilee, was not present at the dinner.

Each year the religious women in the diocese recognize the significant jubilees celebrated by their members. This year, Sr. Germaine is celebrating 60 years as a vowed religious, Sr. Marilyn is celebrating 40 years and Sr. Lucia is celebrating 25 years.

During the Mass that preceded the dinner, Bishop Solis thanked all of those gathered for their ministry.

In his homily, the bishop said he has read the history of the religious orders in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. In the 1800s, representatives of several of the orders came to the Beehive State to open schools and hospitals, and serve miners and their families in remote areas of the state. They and their successors brought “the gospel of love and salvation to the people here in this wonderful state,” Bishop Solis said. “It brings so much joy and hope to the mission of the Church in the state of Utah. … I know for sure that you are one of those contributing factors of why our Church continues to remain strong in Utah.”

The seed that was planted by the members of the religious orders who pioneered the ministries in Utah continues to bear fruit and makes his job easier, the bishop said, so “we lift our prayers in gratitude for your continued presence and ministry. … It is more than a delight for me as bishop to have women religious as partners in the mission of our evangelization. … We were chosen, sent, in order to make a difference in the lives of these people here, and to build His church.”

The bishop’s prayer for all of the religious who serve in the diocese is that the work that God began in them find its fulfillment “by the time He calls us into our final, eternal destiny,” he said. Then he added, to laughter from the women, “Let’s enjoy the ride together and recognize how blessed we are to be chosen by God to become His agents of change and transformation.”