sisters of MERCY

Community of New York Pennsylvania West | 2020 JUBILARIANS

Sister Joan Laboon, RSM
75th Jubilee

The youngest of three Laboon sisters who became Sisters of Mercy, Sister Joan had a varied and distinguished career in education. She taught children in grade schools and high schools in the dioceses of Pittsburgh and Greensburg.

She was the chair of an English department and a high school principal. Sister Joan also served as Supervisor and Assistant Superintendent of schools in the Archdiocese of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

When she retired from education, she worked in admissions at Carlow College and eventually moved on to volunteer and direct volunteers at Mercy Hospital. Perhaps the best kept secrets are Joan’s artistic sensibilities and interior decorator talents, which she applied graciously in the framed scenes of Pittsburgh along the corridor beyond Holy Family Chapel at Mercy.

A friend said of her, “I am grateful and amazed at her dedication and talents, which Joan shares so uniquely as a friend, a leader and a prayerful religious woman. To know her is to experience greatness.” Her sisters would likely agree.

Sister Fidelis
McDonough, RSM
75th Jubilee

Some years ago, Sister Fidelis McDonough, RSM wrote a reflection on her 60 years as a Sister of Mercy and the motto inscribed in her profession ring: “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.”

Indeed, Fidelis has done many and varied things in her life. She’s a musician, a teacher, an administrator, an executive director and a founder. In her youth, she studied in New York City, in Florence, Italy, at Harvard and at the University of Pittsburgh. Sister addressed the needs of underserved communities in Memphis, Tenn., and in Mississippi and was a vice president in planning areas at Carlow College. In 1999, Fidelis founded Mercy Neighborhood Ministries, taking her vow of service into the neighborhoods surrounding the Sisters of Mercy Motherhouse.

 “When I look at my motto now,” she writes, “I realize how I have changed. But the meaning continues — the robust sentiment of ‘I can do all things’ continues to nourish me.” Fidelis lives in the Mercy Hall Infirmary.

Sister Sandra Pelusi, RSM
50th Jubilee

Taught by the Sisters of Mercy from the age of 4 when she started piano lessons at Mount Mercy, Sandy grew up in Mercy schools where she learned not only music, but also the value of service.

With a degree in music from Carlow University, and a master’s degree in counseling from Duquesne University, she has blended her talents for the past 44 years at Mercy Hospital (UPMC Mercy), where she serves as music therapist and chaplain.

Sandy launched the Sandwich Project, which brings together a faithful group of volunteers who make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the recipients of Pittsburgh Mercy’s Operation Safety Net medical outreach.

“It all started in 1994 when I exercised at lunch time.” Sandy writes. “I’d walk into town and, along the way, I’d see people living under bridges. It moved my heart to do something for them.”

After a brief encounter with Dr. Jim Withers, founder of Operation Safety Net, the Sandwich Project was born and continues to this day.

Other 2020 Milestones

70 Years
Sister Margaret Haring, RSM
Sister M. Vivian McElhinny, RSM
Sister M. Malachy O’Neill, RSM
Sister Jeanne Snyder, RSM
Sister Maria Goretti Zamberlan, RSM

 65 Years
Sister M. Therese Martin Fetch, RSM
Sister Patricia Mary Hespelein, RSM
Sister Patricia Ann Lang, RSM
Sister Patricia McCann, RSM
Sister Georgine Scarpino, RSM
Sister Catherine Snyder, RSM
Sister Judith Worden, RSM

60 Years
Sister Judith Stojhovic, RSM