Sister Rosario O'Connell

Houma has lost its most recognized, awarded, and ardent champion for children.   Sister Rosario O’Connell went home to the Father on January 26, 2016 leaving thousands of bereaved behind who loved her and admired her life’s work. She was 87.  "Sister Rosie” as she was affectionately known, was born Ita Frances O’Connell in Limerick, Ireland on March 12, 1929. She carried her tinkling Irish lilt with her always to the delight of all who knew her. She was a member of the Sisters of the Holy Spirit order of nuns and founder of Louis Infant Crisis Center, which began as an emergency children’s shelter in Houma in 1979 and which now operates several homes for abused and neglected children as well as other children in need.   She won many, many awards and accolades over the years ---- The Courier Most Useful Citizen Award, The Arthritis Foundation Humanitarian Aware, the Blue Cross Angel Award, and she was named a “Daily Point of Light” in 1999 by the Washington D.C.-based Points of Light Foundation. Although she demurred from the attention on the one hand, on the other hand she realized that it was a way to inspire others to help “her” children and so she would gracefully accept her awards.  She turned the praise to the community for their support which has indeed been generous to her program over the many years, particularly at Christmas.   Her work with abused and neglected children is legendary. She had a BA and Masters Degree in Social Work Education from Texas and was board certified with the National Board of Clinical Social Work in Washington, D.C. She started the program with $37 when there were no emergency shelter resources existing in Terrebonne Parish. The bank manager tried to talk her out of opening the account pointing out to her that after fees and charges she would only have $18 left which was hardly enough to run a program. She smiled sweetly and assured him “God will provide for our little ones.”   She saw an urgent need for a safe haven and infant care and never doubted that with faith she could make it happen  From there, and with the help of several local benefactors, she built the Louis Infant Crisis Center (now called The Louis Children’s Crisis Center) which operates three homes and can provide 20 beds for children ages 2 to 14. These homes take in children from shattered homes and according to her model, provide safety, nurturing, medical and psychological care, structure, support and life skills.  There are many, many children who have passed through Louis Infant Crisis Center arriving battered and broken in body and spirit who have left and become happy, adjusted and successful adults.   Sister would often visit children who had moved on to other parts of the State, and children now grown seek her out and stop by to thank her. She was unflinching when advocating for her children and her diminutive frame belied a powerful fierceness that could be unleashed in the most genteel way when an obstacle stood in her path. There are few people alive who could say no when she wanted something for a child, and if they did, she went right on around them and prayed for their enlightenment.  I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on my palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:16. These are the words Sister chose as the herald for her program.   And the emblem that adorns her correspondence and writings are of a child nestled serenely in a pair of cupped, celestial hands – hands that are now hers.   She was preceded in death by her parents John and Ellen Reidy O’Connell, and brothers James and William O’Connell. She is survived by her sister Mary Donovan and brothers Daniel O’Connell, Brother Paddy O’Connell CBS, and Sean O’Connell. Visitation will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, January 29, at St. Francis de Sales cathedral. A rosary will begin at 9:40 a.m., followed by a mass of Christian burial. Her final resting place will be at St. Francis de Sales cemetery No. 1.   In lieu of flowers, please remember the Sisters of the Holy Spirit in San Antonio, Texas, The Louis Children’s Crisis Center, and Bayou Area Children’s Foundation in your thoughts and works. Sister’s program will continue through the efforts of dedicated directors and staff as the need grows greater every day.