Detailing Sr. Rosalie Locati’s resume would take a few pages. Her 21 years in mission as director and as Sister resource with Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center must be mentioned. It is necessary to touch upon her elementary school teaching and vocation work. And it would be important to list her memberships on the University of Providence’s Board of Regents and other Providence boards.
But ask her about her favorite ministry and, with unbridled enthusiasm, she points to the life-long relationships she developed working in Campus ministry at the St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center at Washington State University (WSU).
“During college, many students form the foundation of their spiritual life and often develop a life-long commitment to service, justice and compassion,” said Sr. Rosalie. “I am blessed to still be a part of that formative time for so many of them and to see how they have extended their faith into their work and families.”
And they also changed her life.
“As the young adults pose questions about their faith, they may bring up questions that I might not have asked before. It causes your own faith to deepen.”
After being part of the Baptisms, First Communions and Confirmations for many of her former students’ families, she is occasionally help with marriage preparation for some of their young adult children.
Today, she continues her mission work for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center part-time. She mostly works with caregivers sending them personal notes, providing mini-retreats, prayer reflections and other guidance and prayers resources.
Sr. Rosalie finds her greatest blessing as a Sister of Providence has been the ongoing, close relationships she has made over the years, starting with her religious community.
“It’s has been such a joy to be with so many Sisters of Providence, staying close to them and praying with them. I have been a part of my local community for over 20 years now,” she says. “But also working with Sisters from other provinces – on meetings like the General Chapters – I have developed close friendships that have lasted many years.”
She counts her Italian family, which stays close, as one of her many blessings. She can remember early in her life asking God to help her be a good Sister of Providence, never even considering whether she should enter religious life or not. And she also cherishes the relationships she has developed with many lay people from her parish and in her various ministries throughout the years. She has been part of a prayer group with eight women for 19 years now.
For all this, Sr. Rosalie expresses a profound sense of gratitude.