STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF
SISTER MARY JEAN MEIER, R.S.M.
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony
Archbishop of Los Angeles
August 9, 2010
God’s
graces and blessings surround us in our daily lives, but often we do not notice
and appreciate those gifts. However, now
and then God sends us a gift of such extraordinary value that everyone
immediately recognizes that gift and gives thanks to God for the gift.
The
special gift of God whom we remember now is Sister Mary Jean Meier, R.S.M., a
Sister of Mercy whose life, heart, and soul nourished the Archdiocese of Los
Angeles in unprecedented ways over the years.
Her death on August 8th now allows us to appreciate more
fully how God’s light shone upon the faith journey of one of the most creative,
energetic, and generous people I have ever known.
Sister
Mary Jean was officially the Director of Special Services for our Archdiocese,
but that title does not capture the extraordinary range of activities in which
she was involved over these past 25 years. While the myriad of programs and
projects which she headed is remarkable, her greatest gift was her deep
interest in every single person whom she met.
She was the
preeminent “people person” over all the years, and the amount of time she spent
with people is astounding. She was concerned for the well-being of everyone she
met, and her phone calls, brief notes, and countless personal visits were the
source of encouragement and hope for so many.
Her office of
Special Services was the creative instrument in developing fund-raising
programs to serve the poorest members of our Local Church of Los Angeles. An
Angelino herself, she was personally acquainted with all of the Catholic
families whose histories created the strong foundation for the Church in Southern California.
Week after week
Sister would prepare birthday cards for me to sign, would ask me to phone
someone who needed encouragement, and would ask me to celebrate Mass for so
many people in need. Her personal touch was a tremendous grace for us all.
Sister Mary Jean
was the one who helped to begin the Catholic Education Foundation to provide
tuition assistance for students in our poorer elementary and high schools. She
helped plan out strategies which resulted in one of the largest tuition
assistance programs in the country. She was the spark which began the annual
Cardinal’s Awards Dinner which has raised large sums year after year to assist
our poorest parishes and most needy parishioners. Without her deep involvement,
it would not have been possible to build the Cathedral of Our Lady of the
Angels.
While she led the
efforts for so many other great apostolates across the Archdiocese, her latest
love was the Cardinal Timothy Manning House of Prayer for Priests begun in
1975. Located in the Los Feliz area, the House of Prayer has become the
spiritual oasis for all of our priests. Given her great love for priests, she
found this project particularly inviting and fulfilling — the one project she
had planned to focus on had God given her more days with us.
Now that Sister Mary Jean has returned home to
our loving God, all of us who still remain on our faith journeys are pausing to
recall the goodness of her life, the range of her creativity, her boundless
energy, and her influence in bringing all of us closer to God and to one another.
Thank you, our
loving God, for the immeasurable gift of Sister Mary Jean Meier in our Local
Church of Los Angeles!
