PITTSTON — As a young woman growing up in Brooklyn, NY, the eldest of five and the daughter of an immigrant father from Ireland, Mary Ann Cody would never have imagined a 50-year career as sister in the Catholic church.
Sr. Mary Ann will celebrate her 50th anniversary as a nun with a special Mass of celebration at 11 a.m. Sunday at Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish Church on North Main Street. Frs. Jeffrey Walsh, Thomas Maloney, Joseph Verespy, James Alco, along with Msgr. John Bendik, will participate in the celebration Mass, which will be followed by refreshments at the parish hall.
Sr. Mary Ann practices every day what her father instilled in his children: faith, family, education, compassion for people and work ethic. Service to others and service to the church was the mainstay of a young Mary Ann Cody’s life which eventually guided her in choosing to serve God as her life’s work.
Early life
Sr. Mary Ann graduated from Catholic school in 1964 before entering the convent at Marywood College in September of that year. She completed the five-year formation, becoming a sister while earning an undergraduate degree in math. She later received Masters degree in math from the University of Dayton.
She began serving her ministry with the Diocese of Scranton at St. Rose Church in Carbondale before moving into teaching.
Sr. Mary Ann taught math for over 40 years, moving on from Carbondale to the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Rockville Center where she served serving as rincipal, before returning to the Diocese of Scranton where she taught at the former Bishop Hoban, Bishop O’Reilly and finished her teaching career at Seton Catholic.
Post teaching
When Blessed Sacrament, Hughestown, St. Mary’s Assumption, Pittston and St. Mary’s Help of Christians, Pittston were about to merge, Sr. Mary Ann was hired as business manager and pastoral associate under Fr. Thomas Maloney.
Sr. Mary Ann served alongside Fr. Maloney, who retired two years ago, from 2010, but had actually been a friend of his for 45 years. The two had a great working relationship, making the merger between the three churches a smooth transaction.
“Fr. Maloney had nurtured this parish,” Sr. Mary Ann said. “He had the parish council and the parish financial council and he nurtured them in their role in leadership in the church.”
Prior to Fr. Maloney retiring, Bishop Joseph Bambara of the Diocese of Scranton released a pastoral video on the second Sunday of Easter, speaking on the shortage of priests and what parishes had to do to maintain parishes and parish communities.
“This parish council and financial council (at Our Lady of the Eucharist) wrote to the bishop, stating that our parish pastor was going to retire and we think we could be a model (parish) and the rest is history,” Sr. Mary Ann said. The bishop agreed appointing Sr. Mary Ann as the Parish Life Coordinator, a role she held for more than two years.
As the Parish Life Coordinator, Sr. Mary Ann is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the parish.
“I am very, very grateful to the people of this parish,” she said. “They really have taken up the mantle of leadership and the challenge of their baptismal call.”
Fr. Jeffrey Walsh, the Vicar for Priests with the Diocese of Scranton, is Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish’s Sacramental Minister and Fr. John Polednak serves as Priest Moderator. Although Fr. Maloney is retired, he serves as Pastor Emeritus.
The future
Looking over her 50 years, Sr. Mary Ann never thought she would see churches close, churches merge or nuns dress in civilian clothing. She always believed her career would consist of teaching. For Sr. Mary Ann, it always came down to the Eucharist.
“The most important thing is the Eucharistic table and, as long as we are able celebrate the Eucharist no matter what building we celebrate it in, then we are going to be nourished for whatever the journey is ahead of us,” said Sr. Mary Ann. “It’s food for the journey.”
“I think that’s were we come together at the table,” she continued. “Whether we’re young, whether we’re old, whether we’re rich, whether we’re poor, we’re all the same. We are the people of God.”
Sr. Mary Ann is in her second year as Parish Life Coordinator with four more years left of the appointment. “My appointment from Bishop Bambera was for six years with the possibility of an additional six years renewal,” she said. “Will I still be here then? Well, that’s the call of God.”
