Sister Mary Owen Mullaney

Elizabeth Mullaney was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Her father’s job location changed and the family moved to St. Francis Assisi Parish in Astoria, New York. Devout Catholics, her parents took their children to Mass on Sunday and during Lent and, since they were attending the local public school, made sure they attended catechism classes. After graduating from elementary school, Elizabeth planned to continue her education as a public-school student. Then, one of her teachers suggested she should enroll in a Catholic School. Elizabeth followed through and, with the recommendation of her pastor, she was accepted into The Mary Louis Academy.

At Mary Louis Elizabeth met the Sisters of St. Joseph. Sister Muriel Angela was particularly kind to her. She helped Elizabeth adjust to a different environment and update her background courses. Elizabeth was successful at Mary Louis and graduated in June, 1951. Under Sister Muriel Angela’s sponsorship, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph that September and at Reception received the name Sister Mary Owen.

S. Owen’s first mission was to teach the second grade at Our Lady of Victory School in Floral Park. Then she moved to the fifth grade in St. Patrick’s in long island City. However, her father had a strong connection with the Maryknoll community and she had absorbed his love of the missions. She volunteered for Puerto Rico and in 1961 she was sent to teach at Colegio San Conrado in Ponce.

Puerto Rico became the major focus of her ministry for the next thirty years. She loved the island and the people. She began by teaching in the elementary school and then moved to high school math and science. From 1971-79 S.Owen served as Principal at Academia San Luis in Lajas, Then, a new diocese was formed, the Diocese of Mayaguez. The bishop asked S.Owen to assume the position of Superintendent of Schools and she accepted.

The new diocese included nine schools. S.Owen was appalled to find that none had av materials. The libraries consisted of paperbacks donated by parents. Computers were coming into the schools and there were none in any of these nine. She also discovered that there was federal funding available but it had not been requested. Sister Anita de Lourdes, who ran Centro San Francisco and had the expertise, offered to teach her how to write grants. She learned quickly and set to action.

S.Owen formed a consortium of the schools. It was decided to rotate the schools for funding. Each year two schools would request computers and the others would request av materials and library books. It worked beautifully. By the time she left the position, all the schools were equipped and four new schools had been opened.

Then, her mother required her care and S.Owen returned to the United States.

In 1998, she was invited to return to Puerto Rico and assume the position of Director of External Resources at the Catholic University of Puerto Rico. She held this position for ten years before she returned to the States once again.

Her ability to write grants and acquire funding led her to the Congregational Development Office. There, her skill at grant writing was invaluable. She was able to acquire funding and equipment for care of the retired sisters as well as for other needs.

S.Owen still offers her skills in the congregation’s Office of Grants and Foundation Relations even though she is retired. Her connection with the Puerto Rican people and their culture continues visible in her recent facilitation of the Three Kings pageant on the feast of the Epiphany.  

“When you work for the neighbor do it with a very unselfish love which expects no reward for its services.
Maxims