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Sister Thea credited for watching over school

March 1, 2001

Dear Sister Helen,

Last year I met Sr. Fran Marie Sulzer of your order. Sister was here in our diocese for a conference. Because our school is Sr. Thea Bowman Academy, she and I had a lot to talk about. She told me several wonderful stories about Thea.

We are the second Catholic elementary school in the country to be named for Sr. Thea. The school is located in the heart of a city which has severe economic problems. We are the most ethnically diverse school in the diocese of Beaumont. The student body, as well as the faculty and staff, is comprised of African-American, Anglo, Vietnamese, Hispanic and mixed race population. This school ministers to the children and their families in a way that no other Catholic school in the Diocese of Beaumont does. We have never turned down any Catholic family because of their inability to pay full tuition. The school depends on fund raisers and/or on donations to balance the budget.

I tell you all this because I want to share with you and your community the graces which Sr. Thea has obtained for us. Last year about this time, we were in a terrible financial crunch. We had been praying to Sr. Thea for help and on that particular morning as I was driving to school, I got really ‘put out’ with her and told her that if she wanted to see the school continue, we needed some money. I never open the mail . . . usually our secretary does, but on that particular morning she was very busy, so when the mail came, I opened it. There was a letter from the Catholic Negro American Mission Board (I thought they wanted a donation!). When I opened it, there was a check for $10,000. Immediately, I knew that Sr. Thea had heard our prayers and was interceding for us.

This school year has been particularly stressful for us and again we were at our wits’ end. Our major fund raiser of the year did not bring in any where near what we needed to pay our bills. Again, we turned to Sr. Thea. Today, I received a call that Msgr. Lentz of the Catholic Negro American Mission Board (who, by the way, knew Thea Bowman) had sent us $15,000. This money was unsolicited by us, but I know in my heart that it was solicited by Sr. Thea. The money was the exact amount, no more-no less, than we actually needed.

Thank you for nurturing Sr. Thea and helping in her formation. We truly love her and we think she is a saint. We also know without a doubt that she is taking care of this school . . . the children, the staff, the parents.

Sincerely,

Patricia Gougenheim
Principal, Sr. Thea Bowman Academy

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