Bishop Alfred Schlert and the clergy of Incarnation of Our Lord Parish are joined by Sisters Mary Martha Zammatore, Regina Ann Rokosny, Bonnie Marie Kleinschuster, M. Virginelle Makos, Loretta Motko, Jean Makovsky, Donna Pusch, Marian Sgriccia, Francine Garganta, Marie Therese Sherwood, Ann Marie Yenca, Roseann Velas, and Boncy Chalissery for a special Mass of Thanksgiving on March 22.
Roots That Remain
Sisters, Congregation CELEBRATE Long History of Faith & Friendship
Our late Sister Martin Pavelko teaches at SS. Cyril & Methodius School in the early 1980s.
For more than 75 years, we have been blessed by our ministry and friendship with the clergy, parishioners and school children of SS. Cyril & Methodius Parish in Bethlehem, Pa. While so many memories remain, our time there ended at the close of 2024 when the last of our Sisters serving there moved on to minister elsewhere.
Last weekend marked a bittersweet occasion as more than a dozen of our Sisters attended a Mass of Thanksgiving at the parish, now known as Incarnation of Our Lord, celebrated by the Most Rev. Alfred Schlert, Bishop of Allentown. Also present were Father Andrew Gehringer, pastor; his assistant, Father Miguel Ramirez; and Msgr. Robert Kozel.
The Mass and testimonial dinner that followed were wonderful opportunities to pray and share with many of the people who have meant so much to us since we began our ministry there on June 18, 1948. Among the Sisters to attend was Sister Roseann Velas, who grew up in the parish before entering our community in 1973.
“After all of the places I’ve served,
I ended up back in my roots.”
In the 5o years since her first vows, ministry assignments took Sister Roseann to Hellertown, West Lawn, Emmaus, Palmerton, Girard and even to New Jersey. But eventually, she made her way back to that beloved, familiar church in Bethlehem. “After all of the places I’ve served, I ended up back in my roots,” Sister says of her 2013 return to the parish to teach at Holy Infancy School.
She and Sister Marian Sgriccia, our provincial minister, spoke during the testimonial dinner, which was filled with touching moments and fond recollections. “I tried to take everyone on a trip down Memory Lane,” Sister Roseann says. “I shared my experiences in school there, my time with the Sisters as my teachers, and so on.”
Sister now serves at St. Matthias School in Somerset, N.J., but her heart will always be at Incarnation. “My parents, my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins … they all went through the church. All of our family milestones have been there,” she says. “And I absolutely love the kids there.”
On behalf of Sister Roseann and all of our Sisters who have served at SS. Cyril & Methodius and Incarnation of Our Lord, we extend our deepest gratitude to the people of the parish and wish them God’s many blessings.