Our Lady of Peace gave Sister Barbara Kolesar O.P a wonderful send-off to her eternal reward on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Father Kevin Kavanaugh, a long-time former pastor here, reflected on her life of dedication to Jesus Christ and His Church during his homily.
Sister was quite a remarkable woman. I did not know until recently that she served as the principal of St. Brigid of Kildare School in the year before it welcomed students, obtaining the State charter, readying the facility and assisting to hire the first staff for founding principal, Kevan Hartman.
Sister Barbara was the last physical link between the Dominican Sisters of Peace and Our Lady of Peace School. It was the Dominican Sisters who founded our school back in 1946. When my first child, Lauren, came to Our Lady of Peace, Sr. Mary Catherine Kaeppner was the principal. I remember that some parents criticized her for having candy in her office, a tradition that I uphold to this day. Indeed, until Mrs. Carol Folian became principal in 1992, Sisters were always the principal of the school.
A few weeks ago, I gave a tour to alumni of the Our Lady of Peace class of 1971. As they passed each classroom, they had fond memories of their teachers here. Most of them were Sisters.
My connection to the Dominican Sisters of Peace was when I began teaching at Bishop Watterson in 1979. There were at least a dozen sisters on the faculty there when I began. The large convent that sat on the grounds of the school east of the main building was their home. On the Sunday mornings of our spring musicals, they would host my family and the other directors to breakfast there, laughing as our small children rolled around in their walkers.
On my first year at Watterson, I wrecked a motorcycle at the bend in the parking lot not far from the convent after school one day. I blacked out for a moment or two. When I opened my eyes there were at least a half dozen sisters standing over me. I thought I had died, and they were the angels ready to escort me to heaven. I had not died, but they were angels, nonetheless.
Four years ago, both as a tribute to the Dominican Sisters and as a reminder to us of their values, we adopted the four pillars of the Dominican order. You can see them on our website and in our main hallway: Prayer, Study, Service and Community. We strive to remember that all of these pillars serve as the foundation for a faith-filled life.
Sister Barbara’s connection with our students towards the end of her time here at Our Lady of Peace was to work with the students who would be lectors at our weekly Mass. She helped them with pronunciation and would always say to them, “Now imagine that your grandparents are in the very last row. Make sure they can hear you.” Mrs. Katie Leonard now works with our weekly readers, and I know that Sister Barbara would be proud of her and our students.
We are blessed to have The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Hear of Mary occupy our convent now. We are especially fortunate to have Sister Mary Meritta on our faculty. May our otherwise lay faculty always remember not only the Dominican Sisters of Peace but all sisters of dozens of orders around the country who established the academic excellence and commitment to Christ and His Church in our Catholic schools that we still strive to continue today.
Jim Silcott