Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth

Teresa at 15 – a Bayonne
High School Student

In front of her home in Bayonne, NJ

Nazareth Novitiate
Convent Station, NJ

THE LIFE OF THE SERVANT OF GOD SISTER MIRIAM TERESA:
A CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW – (1901 – 1927)

The Roman Cross

1901, March 26:
Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

The Byzantine Cross

1901, March 31:
Baptized and confirmed according to the Greek-Catholic rite

1905-1913:
Attended elementary school

1913:
First Holy Communion

1913-1917:
Attended secondary school

1917-1919:
Domestic interval

1919, September:
Entered the College of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey

1923, June 14:
Baccalaureate in Letters

1923-1924:
Taught at Academy of Saint Aloysius in Jersey City, New Jersey

1924, December 8:
Decided upon her vocation to the Sisters of Charity, Convent Station, New Jersey

1925, February 11:
Entered the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth

1925, May 17:
Received the religious habit

1925-1926:
Taught as a postulant and novice at the Academy of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey

1926, June:
Received the request from her spiritual director to write the conferences for the novitiate

1926, December 20:
Operated on for a tonsillectomy at Saint Joseph Hospital, Paterson, New Jersey

1927, January:
Entered Saint Elizabeth Hospital, Elizabeth, New Jersey

1927, April 2:
Religious profession in articulo mortis (danger of death)

1927, May 6:
Operated on for appendicitis

1927, May 8:
Holy death

1927, May 11:
Funeral at Holy Family Chapel, Convent Station, New Jersey and burial at Holy Family Cemetery on Motherhouse grounds, Convent Station

On a certain night, a little before ten o’clock during Teresa’s sophomore year, Agatha Spinella, a close friend of Teresa’s, knocked lightly on Teresa’s door to say "Good-Night." She walked in. The room was dark. Teresa was kneeling on the window-seat, unable to sleep. After a long silence she confided to her friend what had happened the night before.

"Do you remember how beautiful the sky was last night? Well, I was kneeling here on the window-seat saying my rosary. I was praying for a long time. I think it must have been about 11 o’clock that the heavens seemed to get brighter and brighter. And finally, when the light was almost unbearable, I saw Our Blessed Mother in the midst of all the light. The light and her beauty overpowered me. I could not move. After what seemed like a few minutes, she disappeared and the light gradually faded. And all day yesterday and today I could not keep my mind on anything else but the beauty and sweetness of it all. You will never tell anyone, will you?"
- Words of Teresa quoted by Sister M. Zita Geis in:
Sister Miriam Teresa (A Biography) pp.56-57

Agatha kept the secret until after Teresa’s death.

Academy of Saint Elizabeth,
Convent Station, NJ

Santa Rita dormitory at the
College of Saint Elizabeth. Our
Lady appeared on campus outside
the window of Teresa’s room.

Teresa

Agatha Spinella

Sister Miriam Teresa League Headquarters | P.O. Box 476, Convent Station, NJ 07961-0476
E-mail: msmith@cse.edu or dolacass1@aol.com | 973-290-4084 or 973-290-5465