By Stephanie Almozara,

Stephanie Almozara is Upper School Theology Department Chair and Director of Campus Ministry at Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, in Summit, NJ.

Before joining the Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child community last year, I worked at a Sacred Heart school. I was intrigued by the biography of Sacred Heart foundress Madeleine Sophie Barat — Sophie grew up amid the chaos of the staunchly anti-Catholic French Revolution — and charism — and she prioritized the love of God during a time when Jansenism (a focus on one’s sinfulness) was rampant. How did a woman find the strength and courage to start a religious order to educate girls during a time when both girls’ education and religious orders were counter-cultural? So, when I was researching Holy Child Founder Cornelia Connelly’s life and charism, I was pleased to realize that we shared this appreciation for the Society of the Sacred Heart.

The Sacred Heart connection made me want to learn more about Cornelia. Who was this woman who got married, had children, lived with the Sacred Heart religious, only then to start her own religious order? And why did the Holy Child speak to her such that she would center her spirituality around Him? I needed to learn more about Cornelia to understand the community to which I now belonged, but I wanted to learn about Cornelia to understand how a woman, whose life began as so many other women’s lives did and do, could ultimately change the Church and the lives of so many of Her members.

Over the course of my first year at Oak Knoll, I tried to learn as much as I could about Cornelia. I read a biography about Cornelia, which introduced me to Cornelia’s pain and struggles, and her resilience and determination. As a young mother, I empathized greatly with her devotion to her children, and I wondered how she managed the sorrow she must have felt after her children were taken from her. As a Catholic, I was in awe of how her faith led her to stand firm amid so many struggles with her family and with the Church.

I watched a documentary film about her, which introduced me to the Holy Child educational philosophy. As an educator, I admired Cornelia’s focus on the uniqueness of each child and her desire to educate the whole child. What moved me the most, though, was learning about Cornelia’s spirituality, which is the foundation of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus and of the Holy Child Network of Schools, including Oak Knoll. Cornelia’s spirituality centered on the Incarnation of God as a vulnerable child because God so loved Creation. As a mother, a Catholic, and an educator, I felt — and continue to feel — a deep connection with Cornelia’s vision of a loving God who cares for and is present in all, especially the vulnerable and forgotten. As I watch my son grow each day, I am reminded constantly of the sacredness of life. Each time I return to God after straying away from God, I am reminded of God’s gift of love, a love I do not deserve. And each time I enter the classroom, no matter how busy I am with administrative responsibilities and no matter how tired I am from caring for an infant, I remind myself of God’s presence in my students and my call to guide them to realize this about themselves and each other. In short, I share Cornelia’s spirituality, even though I only recently came to learn of it.

In the course of my life as an educator, I was sad to leave a community defined by Madeleine Sophie’s determination and spirit; however, I feel blessed to have joined the Holy Child community, which has as its foundress a woman who overcame so many personal and ecclesiastical struggles in order to create a society that has as its charism the desire to share God’s love for each person with girls, no matter their age or circumstance, and I look forward to learning more about Cornelia’s life, her spirituality, and the Holy Child educational philosophy as I continue to develop my role as a Holy Child educator and grow my relationship with God and strive to include God’s presence in all those whom I meet.