Three Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur with ties to the Diocese of Honolulu were among 12 who celebrated anniversaries of the entrance into religious life at a Mass of Thanksgiving in Cunningham Memorial Chapel on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.
Celebrating 50 years each were Sister Marie Annette Burkart, Sister Carol (Mary Matthew) Kenning and Sister Barbara (Andrea) Thiella.
Sister Annette taught in elementary schools from Marysville to Los Angeles to Hawaii. With advanced degrees in music, she also taught several years in the music department at the College of Notre Dame (now Notre Dame de Namur University) and was director of liturgy at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in San Jose. She is now involved in vocations ministry.
Sister Carol taught in schools from Los Angeles to Honolulu to Alameda. While primarily a high school teacher, she also taught at College of Notre Dame where she also served as assistant dean. She continues to help teachers prepare their religion classes and prayer services for the children, and to help them develop their own spirituality.
Sister Barbara, brings to her current work as chancellor for the Diocese of Stockton many years of pastoral and teaching experience in dioceses and Notre Dame schools from the Bay Area and California’s central valley to Hawaii. Sister Barbara also served as a campus minister at the University of the Pacific, Stockton.