Sr. Stanislaus Mackey, CCVI, 88, a COAR pioneer (1983-9) and former Clinic Teresita director, died at the Order's Mother House in Houston, TX, March 17. She spent many years serving as a nurse in Texas and Guatemala before coming to COAR to run the clinic. In an interview in 1985, Sr. Stan captured the integrated physical, emotional, and spiritual healing that is COAR's mission:

“When we first got here so many of the little children were malnourished, and they all had lice and worms. Once they begin to eat a balanced diet, their minds become sharper. They get a sense of importance when people stop commenting on their illnesses.

“It's the saddest thing in the world to see someone so young whose nerves are shot. Little Nelson had awful fear when he got here. He got very emotional whenever anyone would say anything about his parents' murder. But as time goes on he has begun to see that he's part of a community that loves him here at COAR. We can never replace his parents, but he begins to feel that the loss is at least bearable.

“What moves me most is their longing for love. They miss their parents so much that they cling to you. The other thing that strikes me is their gentleness. I think that when God took their parents, He gave them something very special”

“I feel that God is always with me. I feel that I should put my life at stake for something as important as the lives of these children. If they shoot my head off tomorrow, I don't mind. I feel I've done my best. I love these children. We sow our destiny here. We won't walk this way again, and very few are walking it now. I'm sure all the Sisters feel privileged that the Lord has called us here.”

Given the circumstances in El Salvador and the violence that had touched the Cleveland Mission with the murders of Sr. Dorothy Kazel, OSU, and Jean Donovan in 1980, Sister's words, “if they shoot my head off tomorrow . . .” were not empty rhetoric. In 1989, while riding back to COAR with several of her sisters, a man in a passing pick-up truck shot Sr. Stan in the head. Neither the shooter nor a motive were ever identified.

Sr. Stan's critical injury was stabilized in San Salvador after which she was rushed to St. Joseph Hospital, Houston. She lost the sight and hearing on her left side and her voice was injured, but otherwise she made a remarkable recovery. She remained at Villa de Matel until her death except for occasional visits to Latin America.

Sr. Mary Pat Driscoll, CCVI, the current director of COAR visited Sr. Stan in Houston while returning from Cleveland's annual COAR Board meeting in February. She pointed out that Sr. Stan had always felt it significant that she left for her first mission to the States on St. Patrick's Day, and is sure she is pleased that her final mission should begin on this same day almost 70 years later.

In an interview given several years after the shooting, Sr. Stan said of her time at COAR, “I was afraid but I was determined not to run out on any of the children. I'd say to myself, ‘Suffer the little children to come unto Me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' If you know you are doing something good for the poor and for Almighty God, you're not as scared.”

Find out more about Sr. Stan at the Sisters of Charity
of the Incarnate Word web site:
http://www.sistersofcharity.org/sisterstan.htm

Sr. Stan at COAR Clinica Teresita^




Sr. Stan with a group at COAR, Sr. Stan is framed in the doorway ^



At ease at Villa de Matel last year^