Rest in peace, dear Sister Maria Electa, SCC!

Photo borrowed from the website of St. Francis Cathedral, Metuchen, NJ

Jesus has taken His beloved Spouse home to himself following a valiant and noble cross (cancer) which our Sister Maria Electa carried with selflessness and in surrender. Rest in peace, our Sister, and know that we miss your physical presence among us but trust that your spirit will not leave us.

From The Home News Tribune:

Sister Maria Electa Schulz, vice principal of St. Francis Cathedral School in Metuchen, died Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at St. Francis of Assisi Convent in Metuchen. She was 71. She was born Judith G. Schulz on March 29, 1936, in Lackawanna, Pa.

Sister Maria Electa entered the Sisters of Christian Charity on June 20, 1952 in Mendham, N.J. Sister received her Holy Habit on Aug. 21, 1954, in the presence of the Very Rev. Monsignor Andrew Stefan. She took her first holy vows on Aug. 21, 1956, in the presence of the Most Rev. Bishop James A. McNulty, and her final vows on Aug. 20, 1962, in the presence of the Very Rev. Msgr. Joseph Gallo.

From 1956 until 1959, Sister taught first grade at St. Joseph's School in Jim Thorpe, Pa.; from 1959 until 1962, she taught second grade at Holy Family School in Florham Park; from 1962 until 1964, she taught fourth grade at St. Nicholas School in Jersey City; From 1964 until 1969 she taught first and third grades at All Souls School in Sanford, Fla.; from 1972 until 1974, she taught seventh grade at St. Margaret Mary School in Winter Park, Fla.; from 1974 until 1976, she taught eighth grade at St. Mary's School in Hackettstown. In 1976, she was named superior and principal at St. Mary's School in Hackettstown, where she stayed until 1982. From 1982 until 1987, Sister served as principal at St. Michael's in Netcong; from 1987 until 1994, she was principal of St. Jude School in Mountain Top, Pa.; From 1994 until 2000 she was Superior and principal of St. Joseph's School in Jim Thorpe, Pa.; from 2000 until 2002, she was principal of Holy Family School in Florham Park. Sister had been vice principal of St. Francis Cathedral School since 2002.

Sister will be greatly missed by the faculty, parents and especially the children of St. Francis Cathedral School. Surviving are two nephews, Lawrence P. Schulz of Maysville, Ky., and Jerome P. Lawrence of Drums, Pa., and a great-niece, Michelle Schmude and her family of Mountain Top, Pa.

Visitation [was] held on Sunday, June 24, from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. only at St. Francis Cathedral, Elm Avenue and Main Street, Metuchen. A prayer service will follow at 7 p.m. at St. Francis Cathedral. Visitation will also be held on Monday, June 25, from 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. in the Chapel at Mallinckrodt Convent, 350 Bernardsville Road West, Mendham, followed by an 11 a.m. funeral liturgy in the chapel at Mallinckrodt Convent, Mendham. Interment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery in Mendham. Arrangements are by Costello-Runyon Funeral Home, Metuchen. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Sisters of Christian Charity Retirement Fund, 350 Bernardsville Road West, Mendham, NJ 07945 and/or St. Francis Cathedral School Endowment Fund, 528 Main St., Metuchen, NJ 08840.

As the obituary tells, Sister Maria Electa spent her life in the delivery of Catholic education, but her dedication was not solely to the administrative details of education but most importantly to the whole development of young people. She loved her ministry each and every place she was assigned and found particular peace and joy in what became her last ministry among the people of St. Francis Cathedral Parish and School in Metuchen, NJ.