Sr. Mary Augustine Nemer, who passed into eternity in the early hours of June 16, was an unforgettable Pauline missionary. In her great heart she carried the people of the African continent, where she spent so many years of her Pauline life, as well as the the people of the United States.
Sr. Augustine was born in Youngstown, Ohio, on April 2, 1939. She belonged to a very close-knit family of Lebanese origin, from whom she continued to receive much love and support until her very last day. At the age of sixteen, on September 1, 1955, she entered the congregation in Derby, New York and was soon sent to Boston for her formation.
Upon completing her novitiate year on June 30, 1958, she made her first profession. As a young professed sister, she was providentially called to work in the printing department, where she acquired considerable expertise in operating the presses. After making her perpetual vows in 1963, she carried out the itinerant apostolate in various communities: San Antonio, Oakland, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Honolulu (including the islands of Samoa and Fiji), and Philadelphia.
In 1984, while she was in San Antonio to give catechetical seminars and assist in the book center, she received the most welcome surprise of being chosen by Sr. Paula Cordero as a missionary to Africa. On March 18, 1984, she wrote to the Superior General, Sr. Maria Cevolani: “Something wonderful has happened… They asked me if I wanted to go to Nairobi to help operate the printing presses. I immediately said yes… it is the answer to my prayers. I prayed so much for this, but I didn’t feel I could ask to go, so I placed myself in God’s hands… I love my Pauline vocation; I love the apostolate in all its aspects—technical work, the book center, outreach—and I would like to share in the mission with the other sisters…”.
With great joy in her heart, Sr. M. Augustine left for Nairobi, Kenya, in 1985 to train young African women in the use of printing presses and to foster the growth of Paulines Publications Africa. She then was assigned to Kampala, Uganda, to assist in the book center and with vocational ministry. In 1990, she returned to Nairobi to take on the technical apostolate. In 2003, she was appointed superior of the Kampala community, and at the end of her three-year term, she returned to Nairobi to join the editorial department, where she made a tireless contribution to the publication of the African Bible.
Her excellent command of English enabled her to carry out the meticulous work of copyediting and proofreading, while brightening the various departments with her kindness and ever-present smile. At the same time, she handled the complex paperwork at the immigration offices for the visas of sisters serving from other countries, as well as teaching English, the Constitutions and catechetics. Her commitment to formation and her infectious love helped prepare generations of young women for religious life and the Pauline mission. The African sisters remember Sr. M. Augustine as a wonderful sister. Her stories, wisdom, and loving presence made their novitiate years both joyful and meaningful, while encouraging them to persevere in the Pauline vocation.
During her final years in Africa, Sr. M. Augustine began to walk with difficulty, using a walker for support, yet she was always faithfully present at community activities. Despite her fragile health, she made no special demands and was a true model for the younger sisters. Her ever-cheerful face radiated the presence of the Lord who filled her life.
Sr. M. Augustine loved the Pauline vocation deeply and recalled, with emotion, the many times she had met Maestra Thecla in the United States. She liked to recall that the Founder Blessed James Alberione and Mother Thecla Merlo, during their visit to her hometown, had the opportunity to visit her parents’ dry-cleaning shop, and how her father managed to convince the Founder to have his very wrinkled suit professionally pressed.
She had hoped to die in her beloved Africa, but as her respiratory and cardiac difficulties increased, she did not want her condition to create undue concern for the sisters. For this reason, Sr. M. Augustine returned to Boston in 2019 and joined the Queen of Apostles community together with other senior or infirm sisters.
Yet she never stopped thinking about and working for Africa. Thanks to the generosity of friends and benefactors, she regularly sent Mass stipends and supplied priests and seminarians with books, holy cards, rosaries, and other resources, transforming her bedroom into an improvised missionary storeroom from which packages of books were regularly prepared for shipment.
About ten days ago, Sr. M. Augustine was admitted to the hospital due to worsening respiratory problems. When the doctors explained to her that her condition was quite serious and that her time on earth was coming to an end, she expressed a strong desire to return to the community to be cared for by her sisters and the nursing staff. She returned home on the evening of June 15, and a few hours later, the Father of Life called her to the Life that has no end.
Sr. Mary Augustine was a radiant witness to Christ’s love. She lived and celebrated her vocation. To know Sr. Mary Augustine was to be wrapped in a warmth that felt entirely personal. She possessed a heart big enough to love all, without condition or reservation.