October 4, 1926 – May 8, 2022
Shortly after her graduation from College, she wrote to Mother Mary Francis, “For quite some time I have been interested in religious Communities engaged in missionary or social services work. Recently I spent a most delightful three hours with your Sisters at St. Joseph Orphanage in Bethany and learned from them first hand all about their life and work. The Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity seem to be exactly what I’ve been looking for, and, hence, this letter to you. I should be very happy if you would consider me among the candidates in the September Class.”
She entered the Missionary Servants on September 24, 1949 and made her First Profession on March 25, 1951 and her Perpetual Profession March 25, 1954. She was known as Sr. Mary Jacinta of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Mary Ann’s first ministry was in Pensacola, Florida Catholic Social Services, and then a brief mission in Philadelphia Catholic Social Services, in Social Work and Adoptions. In 1954 Mary Ann was missioned to New York Catholic Social Services. In 1956, she graduated with a Masters degree in Social Work from Fordham University. She was in ministry in New York for 20 years, in the Bronx and in Lower Manhattan. For many years, she worked in Rikers Island in the Women’s House of Detention. Because she was from an outside agency, she felt she had much more flexibility in working with the inmates. She could make family visits, go to court with them, and stay in touch when they left detention. She was instrumental in opening a small halfway house for women coming out of detention. She also proposed a Halfway house for woman suffering from addiction. She was very dedicated to her work among the incarcerated.
In 1974, Mary Ann was missioned to Los Angeles to be part of a shared ministry team with our sisters and ST priests and brothers. From there Mary Ann went to Lorain, Ohio, also in ministry with our ST priests and brothers. Mary Ann’s ministry there included food programs, lunch programs for the homeless and clothing closets. In 1979, Mary Ann went to the Diocese of Raleigh North Carolina, to Burgaw. She was there for seven years in Catholic Social Services. This was a very rural area. She served on several boards and committees and visited medium security prisons as a volunteer. In 1986, Mary Ann returned to Los Angeles, to Ascension Parish again with our ST priests and brothers. There she worked in parish ministry mostly with the Latino and African American communities, overseeing food programs, lunch programs for the homeless and clothing closets.
After 11 years at Ascension Parish, Mary Ann was missioned for a short time to St. Francis School in Lumberton, NM as a school Counselor. From there she went to Mobile, Alabama, Catholic Social Services where she was involved in the Refugee Resettlement Program and worked in the Thrift Shop, which helped fund the Resettlement Program. In 2006, Mary Ann responded to a new request for ministry in Portmore, Jamaica, in Pastoral Ministry with three other MSBT. In 2009, Mary Ann returned to Mobile, Alabama until we closed the Mission in August 2015. In September 2015, Mary Ann was missioned to the Ministry of Prayer at the Motherhouse, she took that ministry to heart, praying for our missions, and all the intentions we were asked to pray for. She was a constant presence in the Motherhouse Chapel. As she would say, “God lures me there.” On February 20, 2020, Mary Ann was missioned to Mother Boniface Missionary Cenacle at Wesley, where she continued her ministry of prayer.
In all of her ministry evaluations, she always expressed in some way her preferential option for the poor and marginalized. In her prison ministry or as she called it Corrections work, she would say, ‘This work gives us the opportunity to pursue our community goal of working for the abandoned and neglected and gives the opportunity to pioneer. The work is neglected because it is (or so often can be) discouraging. It requires dedicated people whose only interest is the person involved. My biggest goal is to give my girls the opportunity for a positive relationship, the chance to be loved for themselves and to return love, the chance to hope that life can be different.”
She was also a real advocate of peace and justice. She was a member of the MSBT Peace and Justice Committee. She sent articles to the community Newsletter raising awareness of justice issues. In 1985, when she was in North Carolina, she wrote to the Councilor for the Region, “I think we should tell you that Mary Matthew and I are withholding the federal tax from our telephone bill since 1983 to protest the arms race. I thought I should tell you about this act of civil disobedience. I’m involved in and may have a problem.” She had a real passion for those who were left out, marginalized, or on the fringes.
Mary Ann was prayerful. She was hospitable. We know how she loved animals. So many things about her touched those who came into her life in some way.
She was very close to her family and we were blessed to meet many of them who came to the Motherhouse to celebrate her 90th birthday and her 70th Jubilee in 2019 and more recently came to visit her at Wesley and stayed here at the Motherhouse.
What a beautiful example of a life of a Missionary Servant of the Most Blessed Trinity. Fr. Judge’s quote comes to mind about Sr. Mary Ann Lieber, ‘What more beautiful legacy can you leave than that of an example and life fragrant and rich in Cenacle traditions. This means that even after your death you will be continuing your apostleship through others whom your virtue has attracted to the service of God. Such will be my constant prayer for you; do you make it your constant effort.’