Above: Sister Janet Abbacchi, SSND, flanked by Msgr. Terence Nolan, is delighted with the parting gift to her of a statue of St. Joseph. Left: Sister Janet in earlier days.

SAN ANTONIO • As a student at Rosati-Kain, a Catholic girls high school in St. Louis, Mo., Sister Janet Abbacchi, SSND, was queried by her beloved history teacher, Sister Timothy Ryan, SSND, as to what she planned to do after graduation. Her answer — that she was thinking of becoming a social worker — was met with the suggestion, “Why don’t you become a social worker for Jesus? You could become a School Sister of Notre Dame.”

Sister Janet decided to give it a try, and the rest is history — and a blessing for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, which she has served for 24 years. She departed the end of June for a new ministry in the Diocese of Amarillo, where she will serve as director of faith formation, drawing on her many years of experience in this field.

Her career began as a first grade teacher in Washington, Mo., for two years, followed by two years teaching fifth and sixth grade in St. Louis, and then on to Baton Rouge, La., where she shortly became principal, simultaneously, of two elementary schools. “I learned at a young age to use all the skills I could muster up,” she recalls, “but they were great times.”

From there, she came to San Antonio, where she became principal of St. Gerard Elementary School, which merged with Holy Redeemer School. “We were not only conscious of the academics,” remembers Sister Janet, “but the faith transformation that was so important to the children.” The school, since closed, became a demonstration school and she remarks what a privilege it has been to see former students from there as adults and realize the impact of their education, not only on themselves, but on their children.

Next, she was called to be assistant superintendent of Catholic schools, followed shortly by becoming superintendent, and worked in this ministry for 10 years. It was a time of growth and challenge, she relates, with emphasis on getting schools accredited by the state. “There was a lot of energy that had to be put forth in order to get that accreditation,” she says, “but we knew it was important for the academics, as well as the faith and culture of our people and of our students.”

Sister Janet’s next ministry took her to Italy, as the international secretary of education at the SSND’s generalate. “It was a great opportunity to meet the sisters in the different cultures in which we reside,” she says, noting that while she did not get to visit all 32 of these countries, she did make it to a goodly number, including Japan, Guam, Yap, Saipan, Germany Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Canada, as well as traveling throughout the United States.

She was in Slovenia when a letter arrived from Archbishop Patrick F. Flores, asking her to consider becoming coordinator for the Archdiocesan Synod. “And I had to go to canon law to make sure what that was,” she says, with a chuckle. Her response to the archbishop was the same as she had given her high school teacher long ago: “I’ll give it a try.”

And “give it a try” she did, helping put together the first synod held in the archdiocese in 60 years, one that for the first time would involve the laity. One of the bishops would accompany Sister Janet as she visited the various parishes throughout the archdiocese, where she talked with pastors, men and women religious and parish members.

In speaking with parish gatherings, she would ask, “What are the great things going on in your parish? What gives life? What helps spirituality in your parish?” Their answers, particularly from the lay people, were amazing, she related. “They could name off things that they held dear in their parishes,” she said, “and they were so proud of the strides they had made.” They also had ready answers when asked what could be better: learning to pray better, strengthening Catholic education, addressing social concerns.

Sister Janet refers to this time as one of the highlights of her life. “I was so impressed to see the entire church working together,” she said. “The gift of the Holy Spirit just outpoured among our parishioners, among our pastors.”

One of the continuing outgrowths of her work during implementation of the synod findings are the biannual “Evening of World Faith” interfaith dialogue events hosted at Oblate School of Theology (OST), which she, along with Sister Marcella Hoesl, MM, and former Today’s Catholic Editor Martha Brinkmann helped initiate as part of the ecumenical outreach mandated by the synod.

Her past two years in the archdiocese were spent as Director for Religious, involving 55 congregations of religious women and 29 congregations of religious men. “It was just such a beautiful time to meet so many of the religious,” she said, “and realize how much they have been doing over the years in this archdiocese.” She notes their ministries run the gamut from health care and retreats to education, including three Catholic universities and OST.

“As I leave the archdiocese,” she said, “I leave with a heart full of gratitude.” She notes she will miss the people she has worked with in her pastoral ministry and those she has worked with at the pastoral center, “because they have made me who I am.” She adds, “I really feel that we are formed by the people with whom we live and work, and I have found so many rich experiences in this pastoral center.”

She will miss the friends she has made here, she says, calling them a gift of her life. “I was once told,” she said, “that with every goodbye, there is a little bit of dying. But we, as Christians, know that friendship lasts for all eternity.”
As to her new ministry in Amarillo, she adds, “I know that I will love what I do, because I love being an educator and, at the heart of who I am, I am an educator, as a School Sister of Notre Dame.”