Sr. Marylou Rajdl
Congratulations to CAVA member Sister MaryLou Rajdl, M.M. who is celebrating her 60th Jubilee this year! When Sister MaryLou arrived at Maryknoll, NY in 1957, she looked up at the Sisters’ Center for the first time and thought, “Coming from a farming community in Minnesota, this building sure would hold a lot of hay!”
Assigned to Hong Kong in 1963 she pursued Cantonese language study. Later she worked as outpatient department supervisor at Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital in a small clinic. Patients and staff noticed her kindness and patience in this extremely hectic, crowded and busy place. In Lantau Island, Sister Mary Lou extended the hospital’s Community Nursing and also had a Prayer Presence ministry. Returning to Kowloon, she gave activity-oriented programs in Creation Spirituality including retreats in Vietnamese camps, spirituality days for Catholic and ecumenical groups and clown ministry sessions. She developed leadership in the group in a creative way. She asked them to name the theme they wished for the retreat which gave insights into their needs. She changed students’ ideas of what a retreat could be.
In 1978 Sister Mary Lou was assigned to the Eastern U.S. Region and worked in Chinatown, Chicago primarily as medical/social work interpreter, taking many Chinese to clinics and hospitals. She also served as a school nutritionist at St. Therese and was its community representative. After finishing her Master’s degree in Spirituality, she returned to Hong Kong. After a number of additional years of mission work in Hong Kong, she returned to Chicago where Sister Mary Lou continues to do pastoral ministry with the Chinese and Burmese groups. She currently serves as a Spiritual Director and vocation minister in the Midwest area.
Through her 60 years in mission, Sister Mary Lou has endeared herself regaling everyone with her great sense of humor as a story teller, nurse, hospital administrator, language interpreter, spiritual and retreat director. One of Sister MaryLou’s favorite quotes is Meister Eckhart’s, “Every spiritual journey is a process and every process is a spiritual journey”.
