HERO: SISTER LUCY DRAGONETTE, CSJ

Father Robert Bonnell and Sister Lucy Dragonette, C.S.J., two of my friends who were outstanding educators, were buried on Wednesday, March 11. Their funerals were at different times of the day so Anita and I attended both rituals.

Bob Bonnell and I were classmates at Saint Mary Seminary and were ordained on April 2, 1949. His status as HERO will be conferred two weeks from now, closer to the April 2nd date of his ordination.

Sister Lucy Dragonette, C.S.J. is the HERO for this week’s edition of the Files. Let me tell you how I got to know her in 1954.

Sister Lucy Dragonette, C.S.J.

A few days after Christmas 1953, a registered letter from Archbishop Hoban informed me that I was being transferred from assistant pastor at Saint Mary Church in Elyria to assistant pastor at Saint Thomas Aquinas in Cleveland. I was devastated because I really liked the parish, the people, the pastor Monsignor William Newton, two other curates with whom I lived, John Neary and Rudy Praznik, the school kids and the sisters who taught them.

With heavy heart I packed my bags, said my goodbyes to the pastor and the housekeepers and drove to Saint Thomas Aquinas parish at the corner of Ansel Road and East 90th. I did not need directions to find it because right across the street was Saint Mary Seminary where I lived for six years before ordination. We irreverently called the Seminary “The Zoo” because we spent most of our days “locked” inside it. On Thursday afternoons we took “bird walks” in Rockefeller Park near the seminary.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, however, was not a zoo. I could wander the streets and meet the wonderful people of the parish. Especially young people.

Next to the large beautiful church was the school. All the teachers were high quality professionals, especially Sister Lucy Dragonette. That school and Saint Colman school were closely linked with Saint John College of Cleveland. Education majors learned theory at the College and then put it into practice in the laboratory schools of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Colman. Master teachers staffed both laboratory schools.

I won’t attempt to name all the outstanding teachers at Saint Thomas Aquinas lest I overlook some of them; I will only mention Sister Lucy Dragonette who was the principal. She supervised the school’s master teachers charged with directing St. John College students who were pursuing their bachelor degrees.

When the Second Vatican Council began in the late 1960s, the community of the Sisters of Saint Joseph promoted Sisters Eileen Duffy, Mary Gallagher, and Lucy Dragonette to their Leadership Team with Sister Bridget Griffin, the president of the congregation. What an outstanding foursome of religious educators and compassionate leaders.

Father Bob Begin, pastor of St. Colman and presider at the funeral Mass, told us how Sister Lucy in her mid-60s, after serving on the leadership team, started a pre-school at St. Colman’s. Then in 1994, when the pastor of Saint Colman was transferred to another parish, the people asked Bishop Pilla to assign 80-year-old Sister Lucy and Sister Carol English as Co-Administrators of the parish. Much to everyone’s surprise he did. Pilla was at her burial Mass the evening of March 11th and said that appointment was the best one he ever made. Pilla’s remark brought long and sustained applause from the 400 or 500 people who came to that funeral Mass.

I mentioned earlier that I would not list all the master teachers from Saint John College, but I will mention one student who graduated from the college and did her student teaching at Saint Thomas Aquinas where Sister Lucy Dragonette had a great influence on her life.

Her name is Sister Judith Cauley and she is now associate superintendent of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago. When she heard that Sister Lucy had died, she went out to Midway airport in Chicago and bought a round-trip ticket.

Here is the message she e-mailed to Anita and me the day after the funeral:

Yes, it was great to be together last night, a real gathering of friends. Lucy was the best of the best! I think you have a story for your Files--the local heroine who gave the Church a human and caring face.

Every night she would call parishioners who might be lonely or have special needs. To Lucy, no one was a stranger. Everyone was welcome as a friend without exception. Imagine, taking on the role of parish administrator at age 80! She had a golden heart and joyfully laid down her life for her friends. It was great to see how spontaneously the crowd affirmed Bishop Pilla when he said that she was his best appointment.

I felt so honored to be her pall bearer, knowing how she has carried so many of us along with great love during her 75 years as a Sister of St. Joseph. She had an unconditional love for our community. You probably noticed how many people were wearing badges with her picture and the words, "I love Lucy." Many tears could be seen when we sang, “Always remember me as loving you.” Lucy left us a legacy of love. What better!”

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