The Saint

Story by Anastasia Benstead, Culture Editor

This Thursday, the Moose was home to the first installment of the HerStory speaker series. The Jane Hibbard Idema Women’s Studies Center proudly hosts one speaker a month to share her story. This week we were graced with the presence of Sister Megan McElroy, O.P from the Dominican Sisters of Marywood. 

Sr. Megan grew up in Royal Oak as the oldest of 5 children in her natural family, years later she happily welcomed 4 more step siblings into her family. Community was everything when she was young. She stated that they always had an open door policy and anyone who used the doorbell must have been a stranger. She discovered her calling to a religious life very early. Sr. Megan cited hearing her small mighty voice for the first time in the second grade, but she told no one. Again in the sixth grade she heard her calling again, but her response was the same. Upon turning 16, she received a job at her high school in the rectory. 

During her presentation Sr. Megan remembered not knowing where she wanted to go to school after graduation. It was not until after an unsuccessful college visit, that she discovered Aquinas by accident. She saw a poster calling students to spend a semester in Ireland and knew where she needed to be. She patiently waited until her senior year before being able to go abroad, but she eventually went on her first pilgrimage. That is how she views her travels, not as studying overseas, but as being close to and able to feel God. 

Graduating with a degree in philosophy and receiving a masters of divinity were easy next steps, but finding a job proved much more difficult for Sister Megan. She initially became a teacher at St. Mary’s in Royal Oak, and despite being praised for her excellent work, she never enjoyed teaching as a career. She moved around to a couple of churches, before finding a perfect fit. The head priest at a parish in Sterling Heights allowed her to preach every other week. She remembers how remarkable it was to be a female preaching and how impactful it was for the congregation to see her with such consistency. To this day, women are still not allowed to be preachers in the Catholic faith. With this 21st century wave Sr. Megan is more than hopeful for a progressive change. She feels strongly that preachers need to be more diverse in all ways, not just in gender, but in race, ethnicity, faith, and level of ordinance. 

Sr. Megan gave a fantastic chronicle of her life. All of the staff, students, and faculty would agree. Even President Córdoba was in attendance and found the presentation very inspiring. Please join the JHI Women’s Studies Center for this year’s student speaker, Grace Guroux, next month, October 5th from 12:15-1:15 in the Moose Cafe. 

Images courtesy of The Editor