“Love Is Creative Unto Infinity”

C r e a t i v e U n t o I n f i n i t y
I n t h e F o o t s t e p s o f S i s t e r J a c q u e l i n e K i l a r
Stephanie Martinez, Tyler
Williams, Maria Meli, and Sara
Hammett went as pilgrims,
not as tourists, with Sister Ellen
Marie to St. Joseph Provincial House
to answer one question: who was
Sister Jacqueline Kilar. Upon setting
out, they had only a small bit of
information. Sister Jacqueline was
a Daughter of Charity who taught
French at both Elizabeth Seton High
School and Immaculate Conception
Academy, and was revered enough
for at least one of her students
to create a Foreign Language
Scholarship in her honor. The four
Seton students, who were recipients
of the scholarship, wanted to know
more: who was the Sister who
had suddenly blessed them, their
education and their families.
Stopping off at her graveside, the
girls noticed nothing very different
from the many other sisters who were
buried alongside of Sister Jacqueline.
They were indeed descendants of
their foundress, Elizabeth Seton,
and like her, called to a life of service
for others. Yet pausing to pray at
her tombstone was indeed a pivotal
point of this pilgrimage. In the still
silence of a very warm day, there was
a sense of sacredness and perhaps
even suffering.
The students continued their search
among the living as they visited
several sisters and asked, “What
do you remember about Sister
Jacqueline?” Slowly the pieces fit
together like a puzzle. As a teacher,
she was devoted to her students.
She was strict, but sensitive to them
as individuals. All of her students
knew of her devotion to The Little
Prince, reflecting both her childlike
humor and her profound spiritual
insight. She spent many individual
hours with each student conducting
oral drills so that they could master
the most difficult aspect of learning
a language: speaking fluently. She
also wanted to know each student
personally. Like the author of The
Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-
Exupéry, she believed that “It is the
time you have spent with your rose
that makes your rose so important.”
Sister Jacqueline was able to master
the French language to such an
extent that she became a renowned
translator for her community: giving
her sisters the gift of their founders’
writings translated from French to
English. When cancer struck her at
a young age, she was a fighter. One
sister remembered her praying in the
chapel even when she was so very
sick. Another sister remembered
her trying to beat the cancer with
special diets and her very positive
attitude. Finally, shortly before she
died, she asked to speak with each
sister with whom she lived. What
personal messages she gave each one
were theirs alone, but the girls could
be sure that it was a call to holiness
as a way to happiness.
As the girls continued their
pilgrimage, visiting the Basilica and
shrines of Elizabeth Seton, it was
easy to imagine Elizabeth Seton
giving that same message to her
sisters at her bedside when she lay
ill. It was important for the students
to sense the similarity between
Sister Jacqueline and St. Elizabeth
Ann Seton as their scholarship
depends on their ability not only
to demonstrate academic strength
in language and linguistics, but
to participate in extracurricular
activities that reflect positively on
the life and work of Elizabeth Seton.
Their pilgrimage ended with prayer
not only for the anonymous donor
who has given this scholarship
for one year, but also for Sister
Jacqueline’s sister, Joanne Watts,
who has added to this scholarship
with her personal gift.
Other donors and former students
of Sister Jacqueline who may want
to give to this new scholarship
fund are invited to contact
Sister Ellen Marie Hagar
at ehagar@setonhs.org or
301-864-4532 ex. 7108.
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