Current Ministry Location: Maryknoll Sisters Center-Maryknoll, NY

Sister Louise, from Brooklyn, New York, entered Maryknoll in 1945.  She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Mary Rogers College in Maryknoll, NY, and then was assigned to Honolulu, Hawaii.  Sister Louise was primary and high school teacher in three schools in Honolulu.

Sister Louise returned to the mainland to earn an MA in Theology from Manhattan College in New York City, and then returned to Honolulu.  She taught theology classes at Maryknoll Intermediate School, and then was the Adult Education Coordinator in the Honolulu Diocese.

Sister Louise became the associate pastor at Malia Puka O Kalani Church (Mary Gate of Heaven) with Father George DeCosta.  Sister Louise helped people to respect the role of women in the Church, and helped educate women so that they felt confident. She also encouraged lay people’s participation.  As a result of this, the parishioners agreed to pay salaries for lay leaders, and five lay people were hired.  The parish, which originally had less than one hundred members, became a very active parish.  The annual Big Island Liturgy and Arts Conference continues to attract hundreds of people to this small parish for three days each November.  The parish team also organizes the July Big Island Summer Institute which offers adult education classes.  Father George retired in 2002, and Sister Louise retired in 2007.  The spirit of lay participation started by them has spread throughout the islands.

Sister Louise currently resides at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in NY, where she enjoys a God-given creativity with needle and thread and takes many sewing requests from fellow members of the Rogers Community, among other activities.