Sister Kathleen Lindsay, OP

In 2015, SOAR! gave a $25,000 grant to the Dominican Sisters of Amityville for handrails and safety upgrades. 

The Dominican Sisters of Amityville congregation was founded in 1853 when the cloistered monastery in Regensburg, Germany received an invitation to send Sisters to the New World. Four were welcomed to Most Holy Trinity Parish in Brooklyn, New York. 

More than 160 years later, the Dominican Sisters of Amityville continue to be women of faith, inspired by the courage of our foundresses and reassured by the zeal of our present members. The congregation looks forward with trust in God’s continuing presence.

One such member is Sister Kathleen Lindsay. Here is her story.

Sister Kathleen Lindsay

I was born in Manhattan on November 28, 1918. Both parents were from Ireland; I had one brother who became a Capuchin priest. I attended St. John the Baptist Elementary School on West 30 Street in NYC and my high school years at Villa Maria, Water Mill, NY. Villa Maria was a school for young girls who were interested in entering the Dominican Sisters of Amityville.
I entered the Congregation right after high school and received the religious name Sister Mary Austin. My first teaching assignment was St. Ignatius School in Hicksville, NY. At that time most of my students’ parents were farmers. I learned many wonderful lessons from the children and their families — lessons that have stayed with me throughout my life. Dominican Commercial High School was my next mission. After that a new elementary school was opened in Riverhead, NY and I ministered there for a time and then I was assigned to St. Agnes High School in College Point, NY.

My Master’s degree in Library Science was my reason for additional assignments in both elementary and secondary schools. It also led me to Duchess County, NY where I was librarian in a state-run facility for special needs children and adults. After a short time there, the facility was restructured and the older students went home to their families and/or group homes and I was asked to teach the remaining children and adults the skills needed for daily living. This ministry, which lasted fourteen years, along with my residence with Blauvelt Dominicans, was such a rewarding one.

At the age of 74, I returned to minister in Congregational schools and again found myself teaching elementary school children. I retired at the age of 90 in our Motherhouse in Amityville, NY. My retirement years have been very enriching and have afforded me leisure time to pray more often and to participate and enjoy many of the spiritual and social activities available.

It is such a blessing to be a Dominican Sister for we all belong to the world-wide Order of Dominicans – Nuns, Sisters, Brothers, Priests and Associates. We are all one family and in 2016 we are celebrating our 800th anniversary. Imagine – 800 years of Dominican preaching! What a gift we have been given and with God’s help we will continue to serve God’s people for many years to come.