Sister Mary Bartholomew Kitko
1916-2008

Sister Bartholomew had a favorite prayer that she prayed daily. It listed good times and not-so-good times in her life when she would repeat, “Jesus, I love You.” This beautiful little prayer reveals much about her.

Cleveland, Ohio, was Helen Elizabeth Kitko’s birthplace. Born on July 12, 1916, she was the first child of Anna (Fertal) and John Kitko. Elizabeth, three years younger, and Bartholomew, eleven years younger, followed her into the family. In her autobiography Sister Bartholomew said, “At the age of three I was jealous of my sister and wanted to sleep with my mother, but the baby was next to her and I was put in my own room.”

John Kitko was from Modera, Pennsylvania, and Anna Fertal had come to America from Czechoslovakia. They met in Cleveland. Anna Fertal was working in the laundry at St. Vincent Hospital, and John Kitko was a factory worker. A year after their meeting, they married and settled in Cleveland.

Helen attended four different grade schools: St. Martin for a year, St. Ladislaus for two years, Lafayette Public School for a year, and finished her elementary education at Nativity. After a trip to Adrian to witness a reception ceremony, she decided to enter the Congregation. On October 4, 1930, she was accepted into the postulate at the age of fourteen, received the habit and her religious name on April 7, 1931, and professed her first vows on August 2, 1932. During her postulate, novitiate, and for a summer after profession she attended St. Joseph Academy, and she received her high school diploma in June 1933.

All of Sister Bartholomew’s assignments were in the Midwest. Within a short time after profession she was on her way to St. Joseph in Wyandotte, Michigan, where she taught middle grade students. After a year she was transferred to St. Joseph in Marblehead, Ohio, for one year, then spent two years at St. Laurence in Chicago with third graders.

In 1936 she began her ministry on the primary level, again at St. Joseph in Marblehead, where she remained for five years. For the next three years, she was in Chicago, this time at St. Kevin, where she spent three years with first graders. Brought back to Cleveland, she taught second grade at St. John School for a year, then was sent to Detroit to teach for two years at St. Theresa School.

In her summer studies at Siena Heights College (now University) in Adrian, she majored in Latin and minored in history and English. In 1947 the College conferred a bachelor’s degree upon her. That same year she was assigned for the second time to St. Joseph in Wyandotte where she spent twelve years. She wrote, “During this time I taught the children of some of my former students.”

The next fourteen years continued her ministry in Michigan. At St. John the Baptist in Ypsilanti she taught first grade, but also taught Latin in the high school for two periods while someone else covered her primary class. In 1963 she was assigned as principal and superior at St. James in Mason. Her successful administrative term ended in 1970 when the school closed. After a year at St. Paul in Owosso, she moved to St. Michael in Grand Ledge for two years.

In 1973 she was assigned as coordinator at St. Joseph Penafort Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Two years later she served as a driver at St. Procopius Penafort Center in Cleveland for a year.

She joined Sister Jeanette Cerny in 1976 at St. Andrews Tower, also in Cleveland, and began eighteen years as a consultant to the aged. She wrote:

I ministered there by visiting the residents and organizing social activities. The people called us nuns their angels. . . . I did much listening. In addition, I was secretary for the Parish Council, the spiritual director for the Ladies’ Guild, commentator at liturgy, initiator of the daily Rosary in church, and Eucharistic minister. I also helped with bazaars, rummage sales, and dinners. . . . Many came back to the Church with my help.

An article on St. Andrews Tower in the Catholic Universe Bulletin of September 19, 1980, published by the Cleveland Diocese, included pictures of the two sisters assisting the pastor at Mass and in blessing one of the apartments.

In 1992, an article in the Catholic Times, a publication of the Lansing Diocese, featured a picture of Sister Bartholomew at the fiftieth jubilee celebration of St. James in Mason, Michigan. She was “an honored guest.” Warmly welcomed by the parishioners, she congratulated them on how well they had taken care of their parish.

She retired in 1994 at the age of seventy-eight. Bishop Anthony Pilla wrote to her, and said in part:

I’ve heard there’s a cloud hanging over St. Andrew Parish and St. Andrews Tower these days, and the reason is their “sunshine” has gone—YOU!

I want you to know that I, too, am most grateful for all you did for the people of our diocese while you were with us. May God bless you always and give you many more years to spread your “sunshine.”

Upon her return to the Motherhouse in Adrian, Sister Bartholomew volunteered her services to St. Joseph Academy, and served as a Eucharistic minister in the Maria chapel. She lived in the Motherhouse at first, then moved to Regina Residence, then to Roncalli while Regina was being renovated, then back to the renovated Dominican Life Center/Regina. In 2003 it was necessary for her to move into the Maria Building, where she remained until her death the day after Christmas, December 26, 2008.

A wake-remembrance service was held for Sister Bartholomew in St. Catherine Chapel on December 29. Sister Joan Sustersic, Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, opened the service and greeted those who had assembled to bid farewell to Sister Bartholomew: her sister-in-law Marie Kitko, her nieces Tammy Kitko and children and Mary Ellen Chudyk, her nephew Steve Kitko, his wife Kathy, and his son, and Sister’s  many Dominican friends. Sister Joan summarized Sister Bartholomew’s life and ministry, and spoke of her last days.

Sister Bartholomew wanted to be #1 in the community. This would have made her the oldest in religion. . . . She made it to #7.

Several weeks ago, the nurse recognized a change which could take Sister at any time. She suggested that her chaplain call the family. . . . During the week before Christmas, her condition changed. She couldn’t eat, her breathing was labored, and she slept a lot. Her sister-in-law Marie came with Bart to visit Sister. She wasn’t conscious but she knew they were there. . . . As with most things, she was in no hurry to go home, but she passed away peacefully at the age of ninety-two and in the seventy-seventh year of her religious profession.

Sister Catherine Podvin spoke for the Shalom Mission Group, which disbanded some time ago.

The members of the group really enjoyed Sister Bartholomew’s innocent wit. Many times she had something to say that was worth listening to and that really delighted us. She also took care of the money for the mission fund that we collected at each meeting. . . .

She was an active member of our group. She never missed a meeting that I know of, and always wanted to take her turn in providing the treats and preparing the prayer. She soon lost interest in volunteering to be secretary, however. She tried doing that . . . but she couldn’t write fast enough to keep up with what was happening. . . . She always had a positive attitude and made helpful contributions. She was a treasured member of our group, not only treasured but well loved.

Sister Mary Beaubien also spoke.

I knew her when we were both in the Cleveland Mission Group. We met in various places, and she’d go with me in my car and tell me many stories about her experiences.

She was a superb teacher and had large classes. She taught mostly on the primary level, and she was a gentle disciplinarian. She had some African violets on the windowsill, and if any child acted up a bit she would say, “I’m going to talk to the African violets!” Then the child would behave so that she wouldn’t have to talk to the African violets. She talked a lot about her family, and was so proud of them. She was always cheerful and a good companion.

Judy Froehlich, one of the drivers in the Transportation Department, remembered:

For about ten years I drove Sister Bartholomew to Garrettsville, Ohio, to visit her family. She told me many stories during that drive. She remembered everything, the sisters she lived with and where, the dates, and even down to the days she took doorbell.

One of the stories she told me was about a little boy in one of her classes who seemed to know everything. Finally she said to him, “If you know everything, say the alphabet backwards.” He did it, and she was shocked because she couldn’t do it. So she went home, practiced a lot, and learned to do it.

Her mother made fried cabbage, and Sister loved it. She gave me the recipe, and it was three pages long. I made the cabbage, but I didn’t follow all the steps in those three pages. I took some of it to her, she took a bite, looked at me, and said reproachfully, “You didn’t follow all the steps!” She knew what it should taste like.

Sister Rosemary Abramovich shared memories.

She had some African violets in her room, and I asked her if I could take a picture of them. She said, “Of course. Aren’t they beautiful?” I agreed that they were beautiful. I took the picture, and then she started to laugh. She said, “They’re fakes!”

It was difficult for her to move to Maria. But when she was on the first floor of Maria, she said that she didn’t want to move upstairs. Then she started to fall. When I went to her room one time, we visited and then she said, “I think it’s time to move upstairs.” She made her own decision, and she made the move with grace.

Sister Rosemary reminded the assembly of the place where Sister Bartholomew, in her wheelchair, sat in the chapel. She would doze, and bend over sideways. Fearing that she would actually fall, the staff put a chair in the balcony for her. It was made in such a way that it kept her sitting up straight.

Mary Ellen Chudyk spoke for the family. She thanked the sisters for the care they gave her aunt, and for the hospitality extended to the family.

We had limited visits with her when she used to come home. It was a special event when she came to visit. It started out with hugs and kisses, and then questions about how we were behaving and how we were doing in school. She remembered all our birthdays, holidays, and especially Christmas. There were always carefully chosen gifts for each of us.

When she was a Eucharistic minister, special permission was obtained to have her nephew’s baptism service at home in 1980. She was a Eucharistic minister at that big event. Her habit must have been made of flammable material, because the candles behind her caught her veil on fire. But she kept passing out communion, while people were swatting out the fire. Her favorite expression was, “Oh, my glory! Can you believe it?”

The funeral liturgy for Sister Bartholomew was celebrated on December 30. Father Jonathan Zingales, pastor of Annunciation in Akron, Ohio, presided at the Mass, and Sister Mary Pat Dewey was the homilist. Sister Mary Pat spoke of the readings chosen by Sister Bartholomew as “her final Dominican preaching.”

I think that basically she is telling us to be people of faith and of hope . . . to put our cares aside and rest always in the Lord. . . . Many of us know that she did, indeed, rest totally in the Lord. We fondly remember her sitting in the front row in the chapel and napping during Mass and at prayer. She never felt guilty about this but joked about it. She would say, “I need to be on time for my morning nap,” when talking about Mass.

Sister Bartholomew knew well that there is an appointed time for everything. She heard God’s call when she was just a child. She knew when it was time to change from ministry with the little ones to ministry with the seniors. . . . She knew when it was time to move to Adrian, and then she knew when it was time to move from the Regina Building to the Maria Building.

Sister Bartholomew’s prayer ended with the petition, “When You call me for judgment, be merciful, Lord, because You know how many times I have said, ‘Jesus, I love You.’” May she rest with Him in peace.