She was abused in Catholic school, then Sister Bernadette became a nun
Sister Mary Bernadette Newton joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1953.
Chris Farrell | MPR News
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Sister Mary Bernadette Newton joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1953. The order, founded in France around 1650, came to the U.S. in 1836.
The order spread to several communities in the U.S., and four sisters arrived in St. Paul in 1851. The nuns are called to social justice and, according to the Orders website, they serve as educators, nurses, administrators, artists, musicians and poets, cooks and gardeners, spiritual directors and social activists.
In our series Connect the Dots, we’re asking community elders to share their wisdom and lessons learned about what really matters in life. MPR’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell recently met with Sister Bernadette.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: One of my first jobs was working as a switchboard operator at the old St. Mary's Hospital in Minneapolis. It was run by the Catholic order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. There, I had the chance to meet a number of amazing CSJ sisters. The order, which was founded in France around 1650, came to the US in 1836. And the order spread to several communities in the US, including here in St. Paul.
The nuns are called to social justice, and they serve as educators, nurses, administrators, artists, musicians, poets, cooks, gardeners, spiritual directors, and social activists.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
We're going to meet Sister Mary Bernadette Newton, who joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet in 1953. In our series, Connect the Dots, we're asking community elders to share their wisdom and lessons learned about what really matters in life. MPR senior economics contributor Chris Farrell recently met with Sister Bernadette. I can hardly wait to talk to you about Sister Bernadette.
By the way, how are you?
CHRIS FARRELL: I'm doing well, and it's great to be here again.
CATHY WURZER: Thank you. Introduce us to Sister Bernadette, if you would.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK. So she's 91 years old, and she lives in the Carondelet Village in St. Paul.
CATHY WURZER: How did she end up being with the CSJs, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet?
CHRIS FARRELL: OK. Cathy, as you know, life moves in mysterious ways at times for all of us, although the twist to her story is-- well, it's more dramatic than many. So let me set up the background that made her choice. So she grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in a blue collar family, and she went to a Catholic school. And she was abused in the first and in the fifth grade. And here's what happened in fifth grade to her and her brother, who was a year older.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: Eau Claire was divided between the upper class and the blue collar class. And we went down to sing for a novena. And the wealthy kids were there, throwing rocks at the lanterns. And I grabbed him and I said, we're getting right in there because you're not going to be blamed for that. And the next morning, she called us out and asked us why we broke the lanterns. And I tried to say, we didn't do it, Sister. And she punished us for it.
And that day, I went home and said, I will never go back to that school. And so then I went to public school. Well, then, it never even was the furthest thought in my life that I was going to be a sister.
CATHY WURZER: I can only imagine here, Chris. I mean, obviously what happened was wrong. But something changed for her, obviously.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK. So let's fast forward. She was working in Minneapolis and living with three other women near Lake of the Isles. And one night, having a cup of tea with a housemate, she unexpectedly said she was going to become a nun. And she shocked herself by making that statement. Where did that idea come from, she wondered. Yet, she couldn't get the thought out of her mind. And she consulted with a young priest at the basilica. And long story short, before she knew it, she was being fitted for a uniform.
Here's Sister Bernadette, recalling that moment.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: Oh, my God, this is a death sentence. [LAUGHS] It can't be. It can't be true. [LAUGHS] But it was. I mean, that was the agreement. I mean, he said, you'll know. So then, my mother was very much against it. And I struggled all summer to do it. And I thought, this is it. I've got to do it. And so I did. Best decision I ever made in my whole life.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, my gosh. OK. So did she have a calling, a focus, as a nun?
CHRIS FARRELL: Yes. So she became a teacher, and she taught in schools in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the one that she loved the most-- Hawaii.
CATHY WURZER: Nice.
CHRIS FARRELL: And the Order wanted her to teach. And it was a path because of her background. She initially resisted that idea. But she says her unhappy experience in Catholic school, it shaped her for the better as a teacher.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: And so what it did, it made me the best teacher. And I promised God that I would never, ever have a child come into my room and not give him or her every opportunity to learn. And I became a wonderful teacher. And so I just treated children the way I would have liked to have been treated. And so I was highly successful.
CHRIS FARRELL: And, Cathy, she also worked with student teachers from programs at St. Thomas and St. Kate's. And she encouraged these future teachers to see the worth and the value of the children in class.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, my gosh, I think she would have been fun as a teacher, I bet. So because she took this unique career path, I'm wondering if she has any advice for young adults.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, I had to ask her, right?
CATHY WURZER: Of course.
CHRIS FARRELL: And I did. And here's what she had to say.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: Listen to your heart. Listen to your soul. That's something that people don't do. Our soul and our body are working together. And our soul has the inspiration. And our body has the energy and does the work.
And if young people are looking for-- and rightfully so-- they're working for a career that's going to give them a lot of money and a lot of freedom and all these secular, material things. But what does your soul really want? Listen to that.
CATHY WURZER: Wow. Yeah, I love that. So obviously, she's very comfortable with the choice she made, what, 70 years ago. And she listened to her soul, right? She's also part of this very close-knit community that looks out for one another, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, that's a really powerful insight because it is a wonderful community. And when we were talking, I got to learn about a number of other sisters. And so that led me to ask Sister Bernadette, what matters to you?
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: My vocation. I didn't want to be a sister. But now, I look back and I think, oh, my gosh, the opportunities I've had, the security I've had. I've never had to worry about what I needed. I could always get what I needed. And it really is a life of luxury. I mean, I miss not having my own children, of course. But then I thought, I've had thousands of children. And I've nurtured them. And, oh, I could write books on the experiences I had with teaching children.
CATHY WURZER: Yes, of course, when you're a member of a religious order, you are cared for in that community, right? And community and connection are always important for anyone at any age. And there are a number of sisters who are in their 90s, and I give them a lot of credit. So I'm presuming she's being cared for by the other sisters in the community, right?
CHRIS FARRELL: That's right. So for example, she mentioned she has a number of ailments, which, at 91 years old, you're going to have. And she has a Sleep Number bed. And her doctor recommended she get a new mattress. She thought, oh, it's going to cost around $400, right? When she learned it would be around $900, she reached out to the treasurer for the Sisters.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: I said, I have to check with someone before I make the purchase, so I'll call you back. And I called our person, our treasurer for our community, and I told her. And she said, will it help your back, Bernadette? And I said, yeah, I think it will. Get it. $900. So we are so blessed. We get everything we need, a lot of what we want, but we are so well cared for. It's a wonderful community.
CATHY WURZER: Yeah, she has support from the community and obviously a great sense of purpose and meaning.
CHRIS FARRELL: And sticky buns.
CATHY WURZER: What are you talking about?
[LAUGHTER]
OK.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK. So I had to say, in a sense, she's still giving back. And this is what I took away from her sticky bun story-- which are really caramel-pecan buns. And these sticky buns are her specialty.
CATHY WURZER: OK.
CHRIS FARRELL: And people in the office at Carondelet Village love them. And now they want to make them available to more people at the Village.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: And now they're working on making them on a large scale so that we can say, OK, this time, we're going to make sticky buns for assisted living. And then, care centers, they can have them, or then, different neighborhoods. And we're going to begin to spread this on a huge-- now, you plan it, I'll do it. I'll help you. But we got to have people helping, too. Well, they're going to do it.
CATHY WURZER: I love that. You plan it, I'll do it. That's exactly-- that is the nun, I'm telling you. Very cool and fun.
CHRIS FARRELL: It is. And I have to take a little bit of an aside here, Cathy, because this story reminded me of my Aunt Ella because-- very quickly-- when I was growing up, there were these three remarkable women in the background of my family, Aunt Ella, Aunt Agnes, Aunt Julia, and they were nuns with the Sisters of Charity of New York. And we loved them. They were wonderful. And the last time I saw Aunt Ella-- Sister Marie Lucille Farrell-- was at the Convent of Mary the Queen. It's a home for aging nuns in Yonkers.
And what has stayed with me ever since was the moment she signaled it was time for me to leave. "I have to go now to take care of the elderly," she said. "There's work to be done."
Now, she was 96 years old.
[LAUGHTER]
CATHY WURZER: Aunt Ella, I love that. Anything else you want to tell us about from your conversation with Sister Bernadette?
CHRIS FARRELL: So one final note. It touches on the returns to having purpose and meaning in life. I mean, knowing why you get up in the morning doesn't mean life is easy, but it's always engaging. And I was impressed at how resilient Sister Bernadette is. Resilience makes a difference.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: That I'm content, that I'm happy-- and I'm not always happy, but I have ways of dealing with it. And life isn't a bowl of cherries. [LAUGHS] You get knocked down, and then you say-- you either give up or you say, I can deal with this. I can go for help. I can go talk to somebody.
And that doesn't mean-- I've got terrible health right now because I've got curvature of the spine and spinal stenosis and severe arthritis. And now the curvature of the spine is beginning to press on the hip and so I have a lot of pain. But when I'm sitting down or in bed, I have no pain. So I think, well, God, you give me pain, but you give me a break, too. [LAUGHS]
CATHY WURZER: She is delightful. Sister Bernadette, I'm so glad you got to meet her. Thank you, Chris.
CHRIS FARRELL: Thank you.
CATHY WURZER: Chris Farrell is MPR's senior economics contributor.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The nuns are called to social justice, and they serve as educators, nurses, administrators, artists, musicians, poets, cooks, gardeners, spiritual directors, and social activists.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
We're going to meet Sister Mary Bernadette Newton, who joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet in 1953. In our series, Connect the Dots, we're asking community elders to share their wisdom and lessons learned about what really matters in life. MPR senior economics contributor Chris Farrell recently met with Sister Bernadette. I can hardly wait to talk to you about Sister Bernadette.
By the way, how are you?
CHRIS FARRELL: I'm doing well, and it's great to be here again.
CATHY WURZER: Thank you. Introduce us to Sister Bernadette, if you would.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK. So she's 91 years old, and she lives in the Carondelet Village in St. Paul.
CATHY WURZER: How did she end up being with the CSJs, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet?
CHRIS FARRELL: OK. Cathy, as you know, life moves in mysterious ways at times for all of us, although the twist to her story is-- well, it's more dramatic than many. So let me set up the background that made her choice. So she grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in a blue collar family, and she went to a Catholic school. And she was abused in the first and in the fifth grade. And here's what happened in fifth grade to her and her brother, who was a year older.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: Eau Claire was divided between the upper class and the blue collar class. And we went down to sing for a novena. And the wealthy kids were there, throwing rocks at the lanterns. And I grabbed him and I said, we're getting right in there because you're not going to be blamed for that. And the next morning, she called us out and asked us why we broke the lanterns. And I tried to say, we didn't do it, Sister. And she punished us for it.
And that day, I went home and said, I will never go back to that school. And so then I went to public school. Well, then, it never even was the furthest thought in my life that I was going to be a sister.
CATHY WURZER: I can only imagine here, Chris. I mean, obviously what happened was wrong. But something changed for her, obviously.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK. So let's fast forward. She was working in Minneapolis and living with three other women near Lake of the Isles. And one night, having a cup of tea with a housemate, she unexpectedly said she was going to become a nun. And she shocked herself by making that statement. Where did that idea come from, she wondered. Yet, she couldn't get the thought out of her mind. And she consulted with a young priest at the basilica. And long story short, before she knew it, she was being fitted for a uniform.
Here's Sister Bernadette, recalling that moment.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: Oh, my God, this is a death sentence. [LAUGHS] It can't be. It can't be true. [LAUGHS] But it was. I mean, that was the agreement. I mean, he said, you'll know. So then, my mother was very much against it. And I struggled all summer to do it. And I thought, this is it. I've got to do it. And so I did. Best decision I ever made in my whole life.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, my gosh. OK. So did she have a calling, a focus, as a nun?
CHRIS FARRELL: Yes. So she became a teacher, and she taught in schools in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the one that she loved the most-- Hawaii.
CATHY WURZER: Nice.
CHRIS FARRELL: And the Order wanted her to teach. And it was a path because of her background. She initially resisted that idea. But she says her unhappy experience in Catholic school, it shaped her for the better as a teacher.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: And so what it did, it made me the best teacher. And I promised God that I would never, ever have a child come into my room and not give him or her every opportunity to learn. And I became a wonderful teacher. And so I just treated children the way I would have liked to have been treated. And so I was highly successful.
CHRIS FARRELL: And, Cathy, she also worked with student teachers from programs at St. Thomas and St. Kate's. And she encouraged these future teachers to see the worth and the value of the children in class.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, my gosh, I think she would have been fun as a teacher, I bet. So because she took this unique career path, I'm wondering if she has any advice for young adults.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, I had to ask her, right?
CATHY WURZER: Of course.
CHRIS FARRELL: And I did. And here's what she had to say.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: Listen to your heart. Listen to your soul. That's something that people don't do. Our soul and our body are working together. And our soul has the inspiration. And our body has the energy and does the work.
And if young people are looking for-- and rightfully so-- they're working for a career that's going to give them a lot of money and a lot of freedom and all these secular, material things. But what does your soul really want? Listen to that.
CATHY WURZER: Wow. Yeah, I love that. So obviously, she's very comfortable with the choice she made, what, 70 years ago. And she listened to her soul, right? She's also part of this very close-knit community that looks out for one another, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, that's a really powerful insight because it is a wonderful community. And when we were talking, I got to learn about a number of other sisters. And so that led me to ask Sister Bernadette, what matters to you?
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: My vocation. I didn't want to be a sister. But now, I look back and I think, oh, my gosh, the opportunities I've had, the security I've had. I've never had to worry about what I needed. I could always get what I needed. And it really is a life of luxury. I mean, I miss not having my own children, of course. But then I thought, I've had thousands of children. And I've nurtured them. And, oh, I could write books on the experiences I had with teaching children.
CATHY WURZER: Yes, of course, when you're a member of a religious order, you are cared for in that community, right? And community and connection are always important for anyone at any age. And there are a number of sisters who are in their 90s, and I give them a lot of credit. So I'm presuming she's being cared for by the other sisters in the community, right?
CHRIS FARRELL: That's right. So for example, she mentioned she has a number of ailments, which, at 91 years old, you're going to have. And she has a Sleep Number bed. And her doctor recommended she get a new mattress. She thought, oh, it's going to cost around $400, right? When she learned it would be around $900, she reached out to the treasurer for the Sisters.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: I said, I have to check with someone before I make the purchase, so I'll call you back. And I called our person, our treasurer for our community, and I told her. And she said, will it help your back, Bernadette? And I said, yeah, I think it will. Get it. $900. So we are so blessed. We get everything we need, a lot of what we want, but we are so well cared for. It's a wonderful community.
CATHY WURZER: Yeah, she has support from the community and obviously a great sense of purpose and meaning.
CHRIS FARRELL: And sticky buns.
CATHY WURZER: What are you talking about?
[LAUGHTER]
OK.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK. So I had to say, in a sense, she's still giving back. And this is what I took away from her sticky bun story-- which are really caramel-pecan buns. And these sticky buns are her specialty.
CATHY WURZER: OK.
CHRIS FARRELL: And people in the office at Carondelet Village love them. And now they want to make them available to more people at the Village.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: And now they're working on making them on a large scale so that we can say, OK, this time, we're going to make sticky buns for assisted living. And then, care centers, they can have them, or then, different neighborhoods. And we're going to begin to spread this on a huge-- now, you plan it, I'll do it. I'll help you. But we got to have people helping, too. Well, they're going to do it.
CATHY WURZER: I love that. You plan it, I'll do it. That's exactly-- that is the nun, I'm telling you. Very cool and fun.
CHRIS FARRELL: It is. And I have to take a little bit of an aside here, Cathy, because this story reminded me of my Aunt Ella because-- very quickly-- when I was growing up, there were these three remarkable women in the background of my family, Aunt Ella, Aunt Agnes, Aunt Julia, and they were nuns with the Sisters of Charity of New York. And we loved them. They were wonderful. And the last time I saw Aunt Ella-- Sister Marie Lucille Farrell-- was at the Convent of Mary the Queen. It's a home for aging nuns in Yonkers.
And what has stayed with me ever since was the moment she signaled it was time for me to leave. "I have to go now to take care of the elderly," she said. "There's work to be done."
Now, she was 96 years old.
[LAUGHTER]
CATHY WURZER: Aunt Ella, I love that. Anything else you want to tell us about from your conversation with Sister Bernadette?
CHRIS FARRELL: So one final note. It touches on the returns to having purpose and meaning in life. I mean, knowing why you get up in the morning doesn't mean life is easy, but it's always engaging. And I was impressed at how resilient Sister Bernadette is. Resilience makes a difference.
MARY BERNADETTE NEWTON: That I'm content, that I'm happy-- and I'm not always happy, but I have ways of dealing with it. And life isn't a bowl of cherries. [LAUGHS] You get knocked down, and then you say-- you either give up or you say, I can deal with this. I can go for help. I can go talk to somebody.
And that doesn't mean-- I've got terrible health right now because I've got curvature of the spine and spinal stenosis and severe arthritis. And now the curvature of the spine is beginning to press on the hip and so I have a lot of pain. But when I'm sitting down or in bed, I have no pain. So I think, well, God, you give me pain, but you give me a break, too. [LAUGHS]
CATHY WURZER: She is delightful. Sister Bernadette, I'm so glad you got to meet her. Thank you, Chris.
CHRIS FARRELL: Thank you.
CATHY WURZER: Chris Farrell is MPR's senior economics contributor.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
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