Sister Nuncia St. Pierre, MM

SOAR! recently had an opportunity to talk with Sister Nuncia Rose St. Pierre, MM, a member of the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic in Ossining, New York. We share her story here. 

Born in New Orleans, Sister Nuncia first felt the call to religious life in second grade, when she heard a Maryknoll Sister speak about her mission in China.

“I was so distressed to hear about children who died because of poverty and untreated illnesses, and not only that, but they couldn’t go to heaven!” she said. “I resolved that my life would be to prevent such things from happening.”

Sister Nuncia entered the Maryknoll Sisters from St. Agnes Parish, Baton Rouge after graduation in 1946. She made her first vows in 1949, then went to Seattle, where she studied and received her bachelor’s in Nursing Education from Providence Hospital School Nursing of in 1953, one year after professing her final vows. 

In 1954, Sister Nuncia went to Tanzania, where she worked at a dispensary and did home visitation in the village of Nygeina, Musoma, until 1959. Next she served in Rosana, Tanzania, as a nurse in a local dispensary, as part of a prenatal and well-baby program, and taught religion in a local primary school, from 1959 to 1973. 

She said that her time in Tanzania was her favorite time in mission. “We Sisters were part of the community, the people were so responsive and the climate was good, too!” she said.

“A challenge for me was the lack of the local tribal language when I went home visiting,” Sister Nuncia added.  “I spoke Swahili, the national language, but many of the rural folk only spoke their local language.  The lack of being able to communicate was a challenge.”

She then returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center where she worked for a year as a nurse for Bethany House, the residence for aging Maryknoll Sisters in New York, and for the congregation’s infirmary.

In 1976, she returned to Tanzania where she again worked in a dispensary and for a maternal child health program, this time in Mwanapalala, until 1980. Then, from 1981 to 1985, she did parish work and was involved with Basic Christian Communities in Chanjale Parish, the Diocese of Same, where she also taught sewing. From 1986 to 1996, she worked at the Makoko Family Center near Musoma, where she served patients in its health clinic. 

Sister Nuncia returned to the United States in 1996, residing first at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, then at the Maryknoll Sister Convent in Monrovia, California, from 1997 until 2011. She has lived at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, New York since 2011. 

In 2023, the Sisters received a grant from SOAR! to replace the nurse call system in the assisted living and nursing facilities at the center. Now, the Sisters can maintain a sense of independence and security while receiving the care they need. 

“I know that when I need help it is not far or long to come because the call bell informs the nurses and aides and they come as soon as they can,” said Sister Nuncia. “I feel very secure with this by my chair and bed.  As a nurse myself, I am so grateful for this.”

When asked to share a word of wisdom, Sister Nuncia said: “‘Rejoice in the Lord.’  I know that the hand of Christ leads me and guides me always and that he holds me by his hand. “