Sister Miriam Claire, former president of Manor College, honored on her 50th jubilee (01/05/03)

Sister Miriam Claire, former president of Manor College, honored on her 50th jubilee

FOX CHASE MANOR, Pa. - Pope John Paul II once commented that "a sense of mission is at the very heart of every form of consecrated life." For some, that mission is modest and unidirectional. For others it is a series of large and small goals within the larger framework of a life dedicated to serving God through multi-faceted service to community.

One individual who has truly embodied this broader sense of mission is Sister Miriam Claire Kowal. In a very moving 50th jubilee celebration held on Saturday, November 16, 2002, at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Basil the Great, tribute was paid to this indefatigable member of their community, recalling and extolling the optimism and enthusiasm that has enabled sister to extend Christ's presence into the world and make it a better place.

Born in Auburn, N.Y., in 1935 to Michael and Justine Orysyk Kowal, Sister Miriam Claire entered religious life at the age of 17. The multiple focus of her life's mission began to evolve within the long-established educational tradition of the Order of St. Basil the Great. She earned a B.A. and a master's in Education from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and spent several years as a teacher at St. George School in New York City. In 1995 sister's mission took her to Canada, where she earned a Certificate of University Studies in Theology, with a specialty in Eastern Christian Studies, from St. Paul University in Ottawa.

From 1962 to 1972 she served as director of admissions and registrar at Manor Junior College; from 1972 to 1976 she served as the school's Academic Dean. Always eager to do more than fulfill the minimum requirements of any task assigned to her, Sister Miriam Claire excelled in her work, inspiring those around her to reach for greater goals and dream greater visions.

As president of Manor College (1976-1985), she prompted several new initiatives to make the college better known and more competitive with other institutions of higher learning in the Philadelphia area. While at Fox Chase she sought and achieved new goals to augment and enhance her sense of mission. Among these was a desire to promote, preserve, and perpetuate Ukrainian culture, values and traditions, and to this end, she worked with Dr. Ivan Skalchuk, Dr. Stefania Pushkar and Sister Dia M. Stasiuk to establish the Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center. The center has grown and flourished over the years, and bears further witness to Sister Miriam Claire's vision for a mission that encompasses many different themes.

While busy with manifold administrative duties, sister participated fully in the life of the community of the Province of Jesus, Lover of Humanity. She served on many chapter committees, both in the province and in Rome, and in 1985 was elected provincial superior. It was during her 10-year tenure as provincial superior that her life's mission was directed once more into new horizons. It was Sister Miriam Claire who envisioned the need for the Holy Trinity Chapel that is the centerpiece of the Order's Spirituality Center and who re-established ties with the Sisters of St. Basil the Great in Ukraine soon after the country proclaimed its independence in 1991. She also responded to the need for more living space for the sisters in Fox Chase by having the motherhouse renovated.

Currently, Sister Miriam Claire resides in Parma, Ohio, where she has been the driving force as principal of St. Josaphat's School. Always willing to participate in the decision-making process that is to shape the destiny of the Basilian Order, she continues to serve as a member of the Provincial Council.

In honor of sister's 50th jubilee, a divine liturgy of Thanksgiving was celebrated by Bishop Robert Moskal of the Parma Eparchy. Concelebrants were the Rev. Msgr. Thomas Sayuk and the Rev. Robert Hitchens, the Basilian Sisters' chaplain. A festive dinner followed in the sister's dining room for family, friends and sisters.

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