Marian Alumnae Carry Forth Servite Legacy in Catholic Schools

The Servants of Mary came from England to serve the burgeoning immigrant population in the United States. In Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, they founded convents, all-girls academies and parish schools. In 1918, the Servite Sisters arrived in Omaha to establish a school in the newly formed Holy Name Parish.

Throughout their history, the Servants of Mary have served as educators. They were among the religious women who founded and staffed the largest private school system in the United States. In Omaha alone, the Servites staffed the parish schools at Holy Name (1918), Holy Ghost (1922), St. Rose (1943), St. Benedict (1946), Christ the King (1954), St. Pius X (1955) and St. James (1965).

In 1955, they fulfilled a dream of opening a school dedicated to young women when they opened Marian High School on the grounds of their motherhouse. The sisters not only founded the school, but filled most administrative and teaching positions as well. 

Outside of Omaha, the sisters were commissioned to serve in schools in Detroit, Denver, St. Louis, Massena, New York, and Sioux City, Iowa. Approximately 260 Servites served in 145 schools in the United States.

Although the number of teaching sisters, among all orders, has drastically declined, a new generation has emerged. Many Marian alumnae have been called to teach, and for those in Catholic schools, the Servants of Mary's legacy continues to touch hearts and minds. The women that the Servites inspired are now carrying forward the Servite values modeled at Marian.

 When Sr. Mary Gehringer, OSM ’66, Assistant U.S./Jamaica Community Prioress, was a student at Marian, the majority of the faculty were nuns. The sisters were role models to both the students and faculty. Marian’s founders inspired the core values of compassion, spirituality, service, community, empowerment and Marian identity.  

Recalling her years at Marian, Sr. Mary was strengthened by the women who taught her and their mission. “You enjoyed them, you feared a couple of them. But there was that aura of respect, and in turn, we were respected. And that's what I wanted to do when I was a teacher,” said Sr. Mary. 

She taught in Detroit in the 1970s and eventually rose in the ranks to become the superintendent of the Archdiocese of Detroit, where she trained many teachers. She returned to Omaha in 2010 to serve in community leadership. 

“One of the things of which I'm very proud is that I was part of the brainstorming group that began the curricular part of the history of the Servants of Mary at Marian. That's an extremely important part, because you can't live it entirely if you don't know some of the facts. We lived off of the sisters' legacy by who they were, but it would've been so much expanded had we known more about them,” said Sr. Mary. 

Julie Troia Perrault ‘89 is the principal at St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic School. She attended St. Joan of Arc and Christ the King before entering Marian. She taught middle school English for 22 years in Omaha Catholic schools. After completing the Educational Leadership Program at Creighton University, she became assistant principal at St. Columbkille, and the following year landed the principal position at St. Stephen’s. She just completed 30 years in Catholic education.

Julie has fond memories of the sisters who were part of the school community when she was a Marian student. “I remember their presence, and I remember the kindness and their personalities. They were holy, holy women, but also, they were fun. They were feisty, they were personable, they took an interest in who you were and what you were going through….,” said Julie.

Julie has been through a lot herself. When she lost her husband while her two sons were still young, she faced a decision: Should she move on to better support her family or remain in the Catholic schools she loved?

"Catholic schools provided the Christ-like love that my family needed. At that point, I realized that my faith had grown, and I need to "let go, let God," said Perrault.

The sense of compassion and community is what Julie wants to ensure for her students and staff.  “ I instinctually knew how to do it, how to organize my time, how to make the best lessons, and how to see each child as an individual, because that's how we were seen at Marian. Building that culture of community and relationship…it all goes back to that,” said Perrault.

Jennifer Feregrino Christen ‘96 is marking her 24th year at Marian where she spent nine years as an English teacher and speech coach before advancing to assistant principal and director of student services. Having been educated by the Servites and then working with them, Jen holds many memories of the sisters.

“As a student, I loved having the sisters present, especially Sr. Rosaria in the library and Sr. Linda in campus ministry…Now, working alongside the sisters has been the most impactful, as our relationships have strengthened. Whether it was Sr. Suzanne who ministered to us by giving hand massages, or working with Sr. Jackie on junior retreat, or Sr. Margaret in her paraprofessional role, I have seen and felt their compassionate presence in all of their ministries,” said Christen. 

The Servants of Mary now serve as ministers, mentors and prayer warriors and the commitment to their spirit and values has expanded. At the start of every school year at a designated all-school Mass, the Servants of Mary bless and commission the faculty to continue their mission of educating young women.  

“It's important to continue teaching the history of the Servants of Mary to our students and new faculty. We are intentionally focused on the core values at Marian, particularly our Marian identity, and we incorporate and teach these across our activities and curriculum,” said Christen. 

Kateri Determan ‘16 joined the faculty at Mary Our Queen this fall, returning to her grade school to teach music. She earned her master’s degree through Creighton University’s Magis program and has been teaching in Catholic schools for five years. 

“It's a pretty unique experience to teach in a Catholic school, but I really like it. I start every class with a prayer. It's this cute little music prayer…I learned it at Marian,” said Determan.

When Kateri was a Marian student, the sisters were no longer teaching in the classroom. However, they were present in other ways that were influential. “Hearts of Marian and baking club, when we would go over and hang out with the sisters… I loved that. And Sr. Zita would come and pray a decade of the rosary with us after school. All of that…set me up pretty well to continue my faith journey and deepen my faith in college,“ recalled Determan.

Kateri is quick to credit her Marian teachers with the foundation of her teaching philosophy. “I had so many fantastic teachers along the way, and many of them changed my life extraordinarily positively and guided me through some tough times and transitions. I hoped that I could do that for my own students at some point,” she said.

The legacy is not lost, only changed. The Servants of Mary will always be alive at Marian -  embedded in the core values and passed down to the faculty and students. The Marian alumnae who take up the calling to teach also continue to carry those values in their classrooms. 

“The older we get, we see our ministry isn't diminishing, it's just changing as it has over the years. And our sisters who are at Immanuel now are just amazed that the mission of the Servants of Mary is still there to be the compassionate presence, to be the teachers, but it's changed… That doesn't mean it has stopped here, because we will never forget Marian High School - it's our only sponsored school…We're going to continue the legacy. We have strong people in administration, faculty and staff, and the girls themselves,” said Sr. Mary.