IHM: IHM Sisters Then and Now

About Us

IHM Sisters - Then and Now
November 2008

Sister Alice (Marie Kyran) Flanagan, IHM, joined the IHM community as a result of the sisters she had known during her school days at St. Martin in Detroit. She knew she wanted to be part of the congregation. After she received her bachelor's degree from Marygrove College, her first ministry was as a teacher.

"I had 57 students in my first class," Sister Alice recalls. "Some of them were full of the devil!"

Sister Alice spent 25 years teaching at St. Raymond, St. Charles, Holy Redeemer and Our Lady of Good Council in Detroit, St. Philip, Battle Creek, Mich.; St. Thomas, Ann Arbor, Mich.; St. Peter Claver, Mobile, Ala.; and Holy Ghost, Albuquerque, N.M.

Getting to know students and their families was one of the most rewarding aspects of Sister Alice's ministry, especially those families for whom she was a supportive presence.

"I remember one family in particular that was really struggling," Sister Alice says. "I would sometimes offer to take the children somewhere special as a treat. One of the children told me on one of our outings, 'I know why we call you sister.'

"I asked why, and the child said, 'Because you do things with us just like a big sister!' It was heartwarming."

From 1970 to 1980, Sister Alice's ministry was at the Motherhouse in Monroe, acting as a community driver and providing general service. From 1980 to 1988, she was back in the classroom at Our Lady of Good Counsel, followed by two years as the Motherhouse director of transportation.

She retired to the Motherhouse in 1990, but remained active until a series of health problems slowed her down in 2007.

Sister Alice maintains an active prayer ministry, saying the rosary daily for the children she's taught and the people she's met.

"My eyesight is failing," Sister Alice says, "so I'm not able to read much. My quest for God continues, though, through the most powerful prayer there is - the Mass. I'm grateful for the opportunity to attend daily."

Previously featured on "Then and Now "
October 2008 - Sister Geraldine (Rose Philip) Demech, IHM
September 2008 - Sister Rosemary (Leona) Createau, IHM
August 2008 - Sister Cecilia (Hermes) Campbell, IHM