For those of us lucky to have known them, our grandparents provided both a window into our heritage and the foundation of who we became as people. While many were known to spoil their grandchildren with trinkets or loose change, the intangible gifts they gave us were the most precious. They taught us to cook, to sew, to work, to aspire and to pray.

For many of the School Sisters of St. Francis, their grandparents were first to establish their families’ footprints in America. Without their courage and perseverance paving the way, our Sisters would not have been rooted here to teach in parish schools and establish other ministries.

“My grandparents came from Europe,” explains Sister M. Virginelle Makos. “I was lucky to have known both sets. They came here expecting an easier life. The streets were not paved with gold, but they found jobs and provided for their family.”

Time has a way of shedding light on just how wise our grandparents were. The true brilliance of their insight may have been lost on us as children, but as we age, we come to recognize that Grandma and Grandpa were keepers of some of life’s most precious secrets.

“As a child I was not very patient when things didn't go the way I thought they should,” recounts Sister Barbara Ann Webster. “I’d moan and groan, and my grandmother would say, ‘Now Barbara Ann, you just didn’t hold your tongue the right way.’ So I’d push my tongue this way and that way until I got what I wanted to happen. This has translated into my adult life in a different context. When I'm tempted to say something unkind or sarcastic, I hear her words and I keep my tongue in the right position — behind my closed mouth.”

Grandmothers taught us traditional skills, bestowed sage advice and comforted us through the tiny tragedies of childhood — skinned knees, broken friendships and injured pride. Grandfathers took us fishing, told grand stories and held our hands in their weathered palms. They brought their work ethic and their sense of spirituality and, if we were lucky, they also brought their recipes.

“I especially remember that my grandmothers wore aprons,” Sister Virginelle remembers. “I can still recall the scents of baking that permeated from them when I hugged them. My one grandmother was noted for her strudel, and the other for her Perohi and Halupki.”

Spiritual life began at home, was cultivated in church, and has carried our Sisters throughout their decades of ministry work. For Sister Frances Marie Duncan, it all started with Grandma.

“My grandmother, Rose Giagnacovo, took me on every day-long pilgrimage offered by her church group,” Sister fondly recalls. “We went to varied shrines around the New York and New Jersey area for Mass and the Rosary. She taught me that deep faith comes not from advanced theology and degrees, but from the heart through simple forms of prayer.”

Of all the gifts — practical, spiritual and otherwise — the most priceless were the examples of perseverance and selflessness we found in our grandparents.

“They had a firm trust in God that He would always be there for them,” Sister Virginelle says. “Whenever times were difficult, my grandmother would say, ‘Whatever will be, will be.’ Their faith was an inspiration to me.”

On this Grandparents Day, we extended our gratitude to our own grandparents who came before and offer our blessings to those fortunate enough to have their own grandchildren gaze at them in the same wonder with which we looked to ours.