Sister Julie Ciccolini Shares the Mission by Helping Open People's Eyes (HOPE)

Sister Julie Ciccolini shares, “I remember talking to my spiritual director and reflecting on all the things that I was part of (in the past) and he reminded me that my favorite scripture quote is ‘I know full well the plans I have in mind for you and a future full of hope (Jeremiah 29:11).’” He went on to explain that hope means “helping open people’s eyes” and Julie has lived that expression throughout her many years as a Presentation sister.

Julie did not anticipate the changes that would soon take place for her personally when attending a workshop in New Jersey. She had fallen a few times and had accepted the fact that things were going to change in her life but had no idea they would change so quickly. Soon after her return to Massachusetts, Sister found that she had reached the point in her health where extra care was needed and she would be moving to Knollwood at Briarwood, a skilled nursing facility in Worcester. She has lived here for nearly eight years now, making the most of the transition and shining her mission and charism in the facility that has become her home.

This transition in Julie’s life was made a bit easier when she arrived to find two social workers and the director of nurses waiting for her with open arms. All three were former employees of Presentation Health Care Center and were pleased to reunite with the sister who had hired them years ago.

Sister’s journey with the congregation began as a child in Leominster. She knew the sisters from St. Leo’s Parish and joined her friend in taking on the laundry and other duties at St. Leo’s when the sisters left for the summer. During these summers she could feel something happening within her.

Though she had dreamed of going to hairdressing school and opening a shop with her father, the call to vowed religious life was stronger and she entered the September after she graduated from high school.

Sister’s first ministry was teaching second grade in Clinton, Massachusetts. She later taught in Riverside, Connecticut. It was while she was in Riverside that the changes resulting from the Vatican II Council began to be implemented.

“The pastor there was an advocate for change and got to know you as a person,” Sister shares. “He was what the parish needed to move aggressively but gently into the direction of Vatican II. People were important to the parish, not just the sisters and the priests.”

After being transferred back to Clinton, Sister continued the call of Vatican II and “always tried to connect so that people could see me as just a regular person who had the call to religious life.”

While principal at Holy Family School in the 1980s, Sister met a priest who was involved with AIDS ministry. Together they established a prayer partner connection between women religious and those living with AIDS.

Following her years in the classroom, Julie served as assistant superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Worcester. This was an honor for her, and she enjoyed this position before she was called to congregational leadership in 1989. With the same positive spirit ready for her next adventure, she embraced her new role as president of the congregation.

In this role Julie became a part of a collaborative of women religious in the diocese who came together nearly 35 years ago to explore how they could collaborate. Sister sees hope for the future, reminding us that “things are not always handed to you. You’ve got to search them out. You have to commit to it.”

While in congregational leadership Julie also saw the need for skilled care increasing for the sisters. To meet this need, she decided to go back to school for her license in health care administration. She did her internship at St. Francis Home in Worcester, where she was able to learn from the compassion of the Franciscan Sisters.

“I never regretted moving into health care to meet the needs of our own sisters. I loved it,” she explains.

The connection to the Franciscan Sisters came full circle when Julie met a Franciscan sister she had known as a novice who now works as a hospice nurse at Knollwood. While the two get together to catch up often, over a year ago this sister asked Julie if she would meet with her for an hour each Saturday to prepare for Sunday Mass and to reflect upon what it means in their journey of vowed life.

From the moment she moved to Knollwood, Julie knew that she wanted to share her vowed life with those she encounters, even though it is not a Catholic facility. She hung a copy of her vows near the hand sanitizer dispenser so those coming into her room have the opportunity to read them while they sanitize their hands. They often ask questions about vowed life, and she points to the photo of Nano Nagle that hangs above her door as a guiding light.

Sister carries on her call to be a leader as president of the resident council, a group that meets to address concerns and advocate for the residents. They invite others to come share information as well. “I know how the residents feel but recognize from my time in health care administration that we need to look at the whole picture, to see it from both perspectives,” Julie says.

In the spirit of her community, she continues to respond to the needs she encounters in her daily life. Her goal is that Knollwood does not feel like a nursing center, but rather a home for those living there. She explains, “We have excellent staff but to make it a home we’ve got to increase our interaction with one another.”

Living at Knollwood has brought the discovery of a gift for painting. For the past six years Julie has taken an art class taught by the assistant to the activities director and has even painted special pieces for each of her family members.

Sister continues to seek out ways to live the congregation’s Chapter commitment. She learned that there is a house for unwed mothers in the area and recognized in its mission the congregation’s call to meet the needs of women and children impacted by economic, environmental and racial inequity. She donates to this facility and prays for the women and children there.

Julie keeps the Presentation spirit alive and strives to “help open people’s eyes” as she recognizes that she is called to live the mission each day, wherever she is.