Your Diocese

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Joliet Franciscan Sister Marianne Cardosi retired from full-time work in 1992, yet she still puts in close to 40 hours doing the Lord’s work at the Kankakee County Training Center for the disabled. Sister Cardosi admitted that there’s no such thing as a traditional retirement in her congregation, despite the increasing median age. She commented, “We’re active in the work the Lord has called us to do.”

At the age of 75, Sister Cardosi teaches basic education to about 20 adults each day four times a week at the center in Bradley. The nun, who taught for over 20 years in elementary and secondary education before focusing on adult education, couldn’t imagine stopping her work during a recent telephone conversation with Your Diocese. She said, “I like to teach and I’m healthy. And I like my students. I’m hoping I can continue to do this for a long time.”

Basic reading and math are essential skills disabled adults need to function in the world, she noted. The former coordinator of the Dr. King Adult Education Center in Kankakee said she hopes to improve her students’ abilities so that they might obtain employment and develop practical life skills such as become better consumers at the grocery store. “I’m interested in maintaining their skills and keep them alive in learning.”

In addition to her “part-time” position as a teacher, Sister Cardosi also assists at her home faith community, St. Rose of Lima Parish in Kankakee. She helps out with the parish’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and women’s group as well as lector during Masses. She said, “I try to be as active as I can.”

Sister Cardosi is just one active member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, however, there are a number of the religious that cannot engage in ministry. Unfortunately, the cost of caring for the elderly nuns has surpassed the amount of contributions from its younger members. The Joliet Franciscans were among 528 religious communities of men and women that received $21 million in basic grants from the Retirement Fund for Religious. The National Religious Retirement Office of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops collected the funds through an appeal in 2004.

Other congregations in the Joliet Diocese that benefited from the collection included Congregation of Christian Brothers in Joliet, Benedictine Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Lisle, Brothers of the Good Shepherd in Momence, Poor Clare Nuns in Minooka, Mantellate Sisters Servants of Mary of Plainfield and Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Wheaton.

“A great portion of a religious community’s resources is now used to care for elderly religious. Those resources, however, combined with modest Social Security benefits and a portion of salaries earned by those still employed are still not sufficient to provide the care that is needed,” stated Bishop Joseph L. Imesch in a recent letter regarding the appeal.

Information provided by the Retirement Fund for Religious offered a good example of the need and how the religious communities are trying to address it. Last year, almost 24 percent of the 696 religious institutes that provided data to the National Religious Retirement Office had the capacity to pay less than 20 percent of projected retirement costs. On the other hand, the religious communities have managed to keep the average cost of skilled care for the elderly at $126 day a day; meanwhile the average cost of nursing care in the United States is $145 a day.

In previous years, the people in the seven-county Joliet diocese have responded kindly to the call to assist the aging members of religious communities with a contribution of over $440,000 to last year’s fund. This year, the diocese plans to collect funds Dec. 10-11.

“I’m particularly grateful for the generosity of donors in the Diocese of Joliet,” said Precious Blood Sister Andrée Fries, executive director of the National Religious Retirement Office, in a statement. “Your donations enable grant awards to your local institutes and also help ensure that institutes that may have served your diocese but whose motherhouses are located elsewhere also benefit.”