Sister Barbara King: A Journey of Faith, Community, and Lifelong Service

Growing up as the oldest of five children in Queens, Sister Barbara’s life was rooted in deep family and parish ties — the same parish her family had attended for generations. When the family finally outgrew their small city home, they moved to Long Island, where her father’s job with the Long Island Railroad brought a special perk: free train rides. That benefit opened possibilities, allowing Barbara to apply to Catholic high schools near train stations. She earned acceptance to St. Michael’s and faithfully commuted an hour and fifteen minutes each way.

Though she hadn’t known the Presentation Sisters before attending St. Michael’s, she soon discovered a family connection: one of the church’s side altars had been donated by her great-great aunt and uncle. “My time at St. Michael’s were some of the best years of my life,” she says. “I knew the sisters were great women and this has been amplified throughout my years in the community.”


Barbara’s call to religious life began quietly in childhood but deepened during high school. While she once considered joining the Peace Corps, the sense of being called by God grew stronger. Joining the school’s vocation club rekindled that call. “Something about the way the sister interacted made it obvious that they actually liked each other’s company,” she says. “That sense of joy and community drew me in.” At age 17, Barbara entered the Presentation Sisters.

It was the era of Vatican II — a time of great change in the Church and religious life. Although her novitiate was rather typical, she remembers the excitement of new ministry opportunities, like visiting the county nursing home and running a summer camp in Newburgh. “It was a big change from the semi-cloistered life the sisters had lived,” she recalls.

Despite feeling that she didn’t quite fit the image of an “ideal nun” — her small frame made her habit cuffs fall over her hands — Barbara knew she was where God wanted her. Vatican II soon called religious communities to return to the spirit of their founders, and the Presentation Sisters renewed their mission inspired by Nano Nagle’s original vision of service and education. In this new era Barbara only took a religious name for one year and wore the habit for merely two years.

Barbara began her ministry as a teacher, a role she found both demanding and deeply rewarding. “Two younger sisters in the house helped me tremendously with lesson planning and understanding new ways of teaching to which I had not previously been exposed,” she says.

After eight years teaching at several area Catholic schools, Barbara found a home at St. Rose of Lima in Rockaway Beach. “Those 32 years were fantastic,” she beams. “I was there long enough to teach the children of my former students! The parish and school community became a wonderful support system.”

In 2009, Barbara was elected to congregational leadership — a shift that brought both challenge and growth. “Leaving teaching was the hardest part,” she admits. “Education has always been my passion — it’s the key to freedom from poverty and abuse.” Yet in leadership, she found another passion brought back into focus. “God works in mysterious ways,” she reflects. “It reawakened in me a deep passion for justice.”


Through leadership, Barbara’s world expanded. She connected with Presentation Sisters across the U.S. and around the globe through attendance at national meetings and an International Presentation Association assembly in Australia. She also enjoyed accompanying Lantern Light Collaborative Ministry in New Orleans through the transition to lay leadership.

Closer to home she also came to know the sisters in New York and Massachusetts more personally. “The greatest blessing of community life is the people — the incredible sisters I’ve been privileged to know,” she says.

After her leadership term, Barbara continued her ministry of presence by visiting sisters in nursing homes — a service she still finds deeply meaningful. Today, she visits the Cabrini Nursing Home daily, advocating for the sisters there and ensuring they remain connected to the congregation. “It’s life-giving work,” she says. She helps them celebrate birthdays and special occasions, keeping their bonds strong.

When she’s not ministering, Barbara cheers on her beloved New York Yankees or enjoys quiet moments reading. A recent pilgrimage to Ireland — walking in the footsteps of Nano Nagle and visiting the origins of the Presentation Sisters — stands out as one of the great blessings of her life.

“It was truly one of the highlights of my journey,” she says — a journey defined by faith, service and the unshakable joy of community.