It began with her mothers faithful donations to Maryknoll, the American missionary society founded in 1911. A very young Ann Marie Singer literally devoured their magazine when it arrived each month with its pictures of lands and peoples quite different from those she encountered in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. Today, Ann Marie Singer is Sr. Maria Ann of Jesus, a Little Sister of the Poor for 21 years.  She readily admits that she discovered her missionary vocation long before she discerned her call to the religious life. A friend of  hers once asked, How do you know if you have a religious vocation? She responded, How would I knowI dont have one!

When Sr. Maria Ann was asked to connect the dots between the little girl in Cleveland and the Little Sister of the Poor who has served in Algeria, France, the Congo and now Evansville, IN, she traced the lines with awe at the workings of Gods grace! The fifth of six children, Sr. Maria Ann has 2 brothers and 3 sisters. She had just graduated from high school when her friend, Marie, invited her to go with her to volunteer at the Little Sisters home for the elderly in the Warrensville Heights section of Cleveland. Ann Marie really did not want to go but decided to tag along to make her friend happy. Much to her surprise, she liked helping at the home. Since Ann Marie had been working at a restaurant in order to meet college expenses and was not very enthused about either the job or the pay, she decided to ask if they had any job openings. Ann Marie was hired on the spot!

Ann Marie worked at the home as a nursing assistant during her freshman and into the first semester of her sophomore year; at college.  She was taking core requirements and did not have a major in mind. One day, Sr. Maria Ann was walking down a hallway at the home and the thought struck her, This is where I should be. But not as a nursing assistant, working a certain shift or number of hours per pay period but BE, in its deepest meaning: to exist. Ann Marie knew that she was being asked to make the spirit and work of Blessed Jeanne Jugan, the foundress of the Little Sisters, her very essence, her very being. So what did she do? I quit my job, Sr. Maria Ann replies, I quit to get away from the home because the call was really strong. I got a job at Burger King and lasted 2 weeks. I was so unhappy! So I went back to the Little Sisters and begged Mother Patricia for my job back! However, Ann Marie had learned that she had already been replaced in the nursing assistants position and was offered a job in the laundry. Working in the laundry proved to be temporary and Ann Marie was soon back in the direct care of the elderly whom she had grown to love. During the summer following her freshman year, Ann Marie had the opportunity to make a retreat at St. Anns Novitiate. After meeting the Little Sister novices and other young women discerning a religious vocation, Ann Marie found her objections evaporating and said yes to His call.

During her postulancy in Palatine, IL, Ann Marie had a severe bout of homesickness and seriously began to doubt her decision. She remembers how she had picked up a book at random from the shelf and a holy card fell out. Ann Marie replaced without even looking at it. This happened again and she tucked the card back into the pages. When the card fell out the third time, Ann Marie thought, Maybe I should look at this. On the front of the card was this quote: In his will is our peace. It is that toward which all things tend. This would have been comforting enough but when Ann Marie turned the card over, she was truly amazed. It was the memorial card of Fr. Berard Scarborough, O.F.M., who had been the chaplain of the Little Sisters home in Cleveland. When Fr. Berard was dying and unable to respond, 102 year old Little Sister Ange had gone to visit him and asked him to send a postulant to the Little Sisters once he had reached heaven. Fr. Berard squeezed Sr. Anges hand in reply; that had been the only sign of response he had given in his final illness. Finding his memorial card, Ann Marie realized that her vocation was this gift. She said, Yes, Lord and meant it.

Sr. Maria Ann of Jesus obedience after her profession on September 11, 1982 was to the home in San Francisco, CA. After further doctrinal studies in Scranton, PA, she went to Montreal, Canada where she studied French in addition to her mission of caring for the elderly. Her call to the missions was confirmed after her perpetual profession in 1987 when she was sent to Algeria. Sr. Maria Ann served for 1 1/2 years in Annaba and then in Oran. From there, she left for Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo. Her time in the Congo coincided with the civil war which raged from June 5 to October 25, 1997. At its outbreak, French soldiers went to the home to evacuate the Little Sisters but not the Residents. When the Little Sisters learned this, they refused to leave and risked their lives daily in order to continue the care of the elderly. While they managed to obtain food, the gunfire and bombings were constant and the Residents were very fearful. The presence of the Little Sisters helped the elderly survive this terrible event although one resident died when a bomb struck the building.

From her experience in Africa, Sr. Maria Ann realized how much nursing care could benefit the elderly in the missions and was given the opportunity of studying nursing. She graduated from Harper College in Palatine, Illinois in May 2003. Since then her mission is St. Johns Home in Evansville and Sr. Maria Ann knows that this is part of the yes that she said to the Lord by her profession of the vows of chastity, poverty, obedience and hospitality. Drawing from the spirituality of Blessed Jeanne Jugan, Sr. Maria Ann tries to deepen the spirit of abandonment and trust that she has seen in Jeannes life. She knows that this demands letting go of what she wants in order to do what God wants. The daily rhythm of prayer and community that weave through a Little Sisters day are a great support to her.

Since the elderly are so often channels of grace in the lives of the Little Sisters, Sr. Maria Ann was asked if she could share the memory of a moment when she has experienced this. I remember Monique who came to us in Brazzaville. She was from Central Africa and spoke Sango rather than Lingala. Fortunately, a young woman who worked with me understood a little Sango. One day, Monique told her, Now I know there is a God because Sr. Maria Ann came from so far away to take care of me.

For more information about the Little Sisters of the Poor, please visit their website at www.littlesistersofthepoor.org or write to info@littlesistersofthepoor.org.