'Thank you for all you have done'

MIAMI � He has yet to meet every one of the sisters, brothers and priests in the Archdiocese of Miami, but Archbishop Thomas Wenski said that eventually he would like to meet them all.

�I still feel that I�m in the early part of my tenure here,� he said during a Mass Feb. 11 at St. Mary Cathedral to honor consecrated religious working in the archdiocese. �I want to meet and get to know all of you. I thank you for all you have done. I, and the Church of Miami, need you.�

Pope John Paul II established Feb. 2 as the World Day of Consecrated Life in 1997 to honor men and women who have chosen religious life. The date commemorates the presentation of Jesus in the temple.

�Like Jesus, the chaste, poor and obedient one, you have offered yourself to religious life,� Archbishop Wenski said. �Your life shows a contrast to the spirit of secularism of our time. How fulfilling life can be to live for the glory of God.�

The archdiocese honored six religious jubilarians, this year, all of them women.

Five were celebrating their golden anniversaries:

• Sister Linda Bevilacqua, an Adrian Dominican who serves as president of Barry University (she was unable to attend); 
• Sister Mary Elizabth Barbosa, a Carmelite Sister of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, who is vice-principal for development at Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School in Kendall;
• Sister Lucy Cardet of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, who works as academic advisor for working adult students at Barry University; 
• Sister Rosemary Sabino of the Sisters of Mercy, who serves as secretary of the board of directors for Catholic Legal Services (she was unable to attend); and
• Sister Christine Elizabeth Tenn of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, who serves as a chaplain at Mercy Hospital;
• Sister Yolanda Tostado of the Servants of Jesus of Charity, who works in pastoral care at St. Catherine�s Rehabilitation Hospital in Miami, was celebrating her silver anniversary.

The cathedral was filled with religious, mostly women, from the various congregations who work in the archdiocese. Some wore traditional habits, others are members of orders that no longer wear habits.

A group of Carmelite sisters joined Sister Barbosa at Mass. Members of her community wear floor-length brown habits and veils with white head bands.

�I love wearing the habit of my order,� Sister Barbosa said. �It�s a reminder to me of who I am.�