10 Gulf Pine Catholic • February 27, 2026 “She remains a gift in death,” he said. “When Jesus spoke about the greatest commandment, he had in mind such Servants of God as Sister Thea. ‘To love the Lord your God with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself,’ portrays her life-long commitment. Her loving heart, her prophetic spirit, her brilliant mind and boundless stamina even in illness inspired many, and became a beacon for the Church to embrace more authentically the essence of what it means to be Catholic.” Bishop Kopacz considers Sister Thea’s personal journey as a Black Catholic a great source of inspiration. Sharing Thea’s words, he said, “It means that I come to my Church fully functioning…I bring myself, my Black self, all that I am, all that I have, all that I’m worth, all I hope to become. I bring my whole history, my traditions, my experience, my culture, my African American song and dance and gesture and movement and teaching and preaching and healing and responsibility as a gift to the church.” “Her suffering over the final years of her life from an incurable cancer united her to the Cross of the Lord Jesus and served to deepen her love and her graceful spirit. Indeed, she lived until she died.” Sister Thea’s legacy, he further noted, is in tune with the Gospel passage about the vine and the branches, saying that in life sister Thea stayed conned to God and bore much fruit. “The image of careful cultivation for the sake of abundant life continues with the Lord’s words in the Gospel. Remain in me on the vine, and you will produce much fruit. Otherwise, we are dead,” he said. “With the mind of the Lord, Sister Thea wanted to prune away all of the dead branches of ignorance, prejudice, blindness, narrow mindedness and worse that still clung to the Body of Christ, like barnacles on the Barque of Peter. In this manner of living with Sister Thea, inspired with the same commitment for the Church and for the world we too become the Lord’s disciples in word and deed, no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens of the Household of God with Christ Jesus as the capstone. This is her legacy.” Following Mass, Bishop Kopacz presided over the Closing Session of the Diocesan Phase and Sealing of the Acts, which entailed sealing boxes of collected documents, testimonies, and evidence to be sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Cause of Saints for further, deeper investigation. At the conclusion of the session, the congregation broke into song singing one of Sister Thea’s favorites, “This Little Light of Mine.” Sisters Sue Ernster, Laura Nettles and Georgia Christensen stand with Bishop Joseph Kopacz in front of the sealed boxes that will be shipped to Rome. “This day is a sign of hope. It’s a real beacon of what the world needs, people who are authentically themselves and not letting any systems detract them from that and stepping into their fullness,” said Sister Sue Ernster, president of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration who was part of a contingency that traveled from the order’s motherhouse in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to take part in the celebration. “Sister Thea (exemplified sainthood) in her dedication to God and always living out what God needed and wanted. At this time in our history, we definitely need people for the goodness of who they are and not letting anyone take that away.” Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Georgia Christensen knew Sister Thea and remembers her as being “always full of life.” “Sometimes she would even get into mischief,” said Sister Georgia. “But she had a spirit about her that just radiated the love of God. I know there were things that were difficult for her when she was in the congregation, but she rose above it all. She had a spirit of joy and a spirit of God’s love. It is so easy to hear her break into song and try to bring joy to people.” Sister Georgia smiled broadly when asked how she felt to be on hand for the event. “Oh my goodness!,” she exclaimed. “This is the culmination of a life of service. How blessed are we to have someone from our community this close to sainthood and this close to God.” Many friends and former students of Sister Thea attended the Mass, including Myrtle Otto, who was one of ten children to attend Holy Child Jesus. “She started a choir and there were about 30 of us in the choir. The name of the choir was ‘The Voice of Negro America,’” Otto said. “We traveled to different places performing at jubilees and other programs. We sang acapella. We didn’t have a piano or anything like that. Those were wonderful times and today is a wonderful day. I know she’s looking down on us smiling and shouting ‘Hallelujah!’ That was her favorite word. “This is a great day. Who would have known that someone we came across and taught us could become a saint. It’s just a special day. The Lord has blessed us with good weather for this day and we are very happy.” SEE SERVANT OF GOD SISTER THEA BOWMAN, PAGE 11 Sister of God Sister Thea Bowman From page 1 Pictured during Mass, l-r, are seminarian Will Foggo, Bishop Kopacz, Archbishop Rodi and Bishop Baker. Photo/Terry Dickson Mary Woodward, Chancellor for the Diocese of Jackson and Diocesan Liaison to the cause of Canonization for Sister Thea Bowman, leads the closing of the Diocesan Phase. Photo/Terry Dickson
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