November 2008 - Sister Ann Connolly, ASC

"I just get up every morning, see what the Lord is doing, and join him." For some sixty years of ministry, this has been the approach of Sister Ann Connolly, ASC. A missionary working in East St. Louis, Illinois, Sister Ann, 81, was the recipient of the 2004 Lumen Christi Award for her outstanding missionary work in a poor and remote area of the United States.

"Sis Ann," as she is affectionately called, entered into ministry at just 17 years old. After completing her novitiate, Sister Ann studied nursing and then worked as a registered nurse at St. Clement's Hospital in Red Bud, Illinois. In the early 1960's, she went back to college and received a degree in occupational therapy. While she was studying, she became involved in elder care and ultimately spent fifteen years at the motherhouse caring for her community's frail and elderly sisters.

From 1980 to 1984, Sister Ann worked in pastoral care, again at St. Clement's. In 1984, she moved to East St. Louis and began ministering with Catholic Urban Programs of the Diocese of Belleville. She has been there ever since. Founded in 1973, Catholic Urban Programs furnishes a wide array of services and assistance to the poor, disadvantaged and elderly of East St. Louis. It operates several programs and facilities, such as a soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless shelter and thrift store.

In her daily work, Sister Ann reaches out to the homeless, the sick, the young, the old, the addicted and the abused. After attending 7:30 a.m. Mass, she spends up to twelve hours a day serving those most in need. She visits the sick, stocks and sorts food for the food pantry, delivers food baskets, answers telephones, organizes the collection and distribution of gifts for children and families at Christmas, and assists with funeral arrangements for those who have no one else to help.

Sister Ann also places special emphasis on vocations and making children and youth aware of religious life. "I've been happy," says Sister Ann, "but children these days just do not have the exposure to religious life that I did when I was young. I want to make them aware of the possibilities." Sister Ann conducts vocation activities at various diocesan events, such as The Youth Day Conference held at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville.

In her easy-going, unassuming way, Sister Ann has become a beacon of hope and comfort for the poor and underprivileged of East St. Louis. For the children, she is the Easter Bunny or the "cookie lady," often making homemade birthday cakes for children who have never had a cake of their own. For others, she is the person who helps them find necessities such as medical care, housing or employment. And she does all this with a smile and with humility.