About 30 years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Sister Thea Bowman, the first African-American woman to enter the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse, Wis. A granddaughter of slaves, she became the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in theology from Boston College.
She was gorgeous, brilliant and immensely talented. I knew when I met her that I would never forget this incredible woman.
I agree with veteran journalist Mike Wallace, who spoke with Sister Thea for a “60 Minutes” profile in 1987, writing afterward: “I don’t remember when I’ve been more moved, more enchanted by a person” than by Sister Thea Bowman.
Now, Sister Thea’s life story is told in an authorized biography written by Sister Charlene Smith, her special friend and member of her religious order. Co-authored with John Feister, “Thea’s Song: The Life of Thea Bowman” (Orbis Books) is the amazing story of how Sister Thea converted to Catholicism at age 9 and was determined at age 15 to join the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.
Sister Thea, who was the only daughter of a physician and teacher, became a teacher herself, then a singer and lecturer who believed so strongly in the good news of Jesus Christ.
Sister Celestine Cepress, another friend and member of her religious order, referred to Sister Thea as a “shooting star.” That would be my memory, too.
My encounter with Sister Thea happened when we both were presenters at a huge program about the journey of faith that was sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. This was to be a gathering for growing awareness of what it means to have — and share — faith.
Arrangements were made for both of us to stay at the same hotel. We had breakfast together and then walked to the auditorium and spoke of our lives. At the time I was 10 years older than she and a single mother of seven. Sister Thea was then the consultant for intercultural awareness for the Diocese of Jackson, Miss.
Sister Thea brought reality and song to the program that day. She was blessed with one of the most beautiful operatic voices I had ever heard. She could have had an amazing secular career, but she chose to be a living rainbow in God’s family.
I was deeply saddened when I heard that she was dying of cancer. Amazingly, she worked at giving talks and interviews until the cancer overtook her. She said constantly, “Let me live until I die,” and she never wavered.
God took her home 20 years ago on March 30, 1990.
I have read much of Sister Thea’s writings, and I was especially moved by what she dictated three weeks before she died:
“Unless we personally and immediately are touched by suffering, it is easy to read Scripture and to walk away without contacting the redemptive suffering that makes us holy. …
“Let us resolve to make this week holy by sharing holy peace and joy with the needy, the alienated, the lonely, the sick and afflicted, the untouchable. …
“During this Holy Week when Jesus gave his life for love, let us truly love one another.”
That truly expresses who Sister Thea was — and is — a lover of all of God’s people.
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