By Sarah Whitman
Sister Roberta Bailey wakes up every morning and says a prayer thanking God for the day ahead.
Bailey, 71, has served as a sister at Holy Name Monastery in St. Leo for more than 50 years. She has traveled the country teaching and is currently Principal of St. Anthony Interparochial Catholic School in San Antonio. Education is her calling, she said.
Bailey was recently selected by the Benedictine Sisters of Florida to serve as Prioress of Holy Name Monastery in St. Leo.
Q: What was your life like growing up?
A: I was born in Delaware but my dad was in the Coast Guard so we lived all over the United States. We came to Florida in 1948, when I was 8 years old.
Q: Were you raised in a Catholic home?
A: Yes. I’m what they call a cradle Catholic. I was born into the faith.
Q: When did you begin thinking about becoming a sister?
A: I always sort of knew that I wanted to be sister. I knew I wanted to be a teacher and I had a dream of starting an orphanage. Back then, St. Leo had a boarding school for girls interested in the Sisterhood. In high school, I lived there and worked as a housekeeper for the parish priest. After finishing school, I went into the Sisterhood.
Q: Have you always been at Holy Name Monastery?
A: This has always been home. I’ve taught in several other places but when we go away to teach we always come home for Christmas and Easter. I’ve taught all over Florida, in inner city Chicago and at a boy’s military school in Virginia.
Q: What challenges do you face as a teacher and a sister?
A: It’s a daily challenge to keep recommitting yourself to what you promised to do.
Q: What are you duties as Prioress?
A: In the old days what we call Prioress now was called Mother Superior. My job is to be available to the sisters as a role model, to offer informal teaching and oversee the inner workings of the convent. It’s like being the leader of an orchestra. We all play different parts and when we work together there is harmony.
Q: What changes have you witnessed within the Sisterhood through the years?
A: It changed dramatically in the late 1960s when the Pope issued a mandate to modernize. We had to pick things from modern society to adapt to while still sticking o some of our traditions. We went from wearing full attire to conservative modern dress.
Q: Did the changes bring more young women to the Sisterhood?
A: Actually there are not many young people entering the Sisterhood at 18 like we did in my day because people are delaying life decisions now. Most of the women that come to us already have a career. We have a woman now who is aspiring to enter that is in her late twenties and she is the youngest. The youngest sister we have who has made the commitment is in her 50s.
Q: What advice would you give a women considering going into the sisterhood?
A: To come spend time with us and see if it is a good fit for you.
