Xavier University of Louisiana mourns the passing of Sister Dr. Mary Ann Stachow, S.B.S. (’67). Sister Stachow was the last faculty member from the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the religious order created by St. Katharine Drexel. With the sisters, St. Katharine Drexel established Xavier nearly 100 years ago as an institution that offered education and support to Black and indigenous peoples during a time when Jim Crow laws still ruled the South. Over her 42 years of service, and even sometime before her role as an assistant professor of theology at Xavier, Sister Stachow embodied the university’s mission to promote a more just and humane society through her deep dedication to service, mentorship, and care for the Earth.
“Scholar and teacher, Sister Mary Ann Stachow led study-abroad trips to Rome and Israel. We give thanks for her [many] years of faculty service at Xavier and her generosity of spirit and intellect. Please join me in prayer for the repose of her soul and the consolation of her family and of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament who shared Sr. Mary Ann with us.”— President Dr. Reynold Verret
For her decades of ministration, Sister Stachow received a Spirit of Xavier Award during the celebration of Xavier’s 2023 Homecoming. She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Xavier in 1967 and returned to her alma mater as a faculty member in 1981. However, before her time as a student and long before her time as a professor, she had an adventure at Xavier as the wake of Hurricane Betsy left the campus with damages.
“I was among a group of younger sisters who arrived in New Orleans two weeks before Hurricane Betsy,” Sister Stachow said in an interview with Xavier in 2023. “We didn’t worry because nobody seemed worried. And then the storm came that night. It was the night of the 8th, the beginning of the 9th of September 1965. When we woke up the following day, there were trees down on campus, roofs off some of the World War II temporary buildings, and the chapel in the middle of the administration building had been filled with several inches of water. So, we had to pin up our skirts and mop some water out of the chapel so the priest could say mass.”
With tenure as visitor, student and professor at Xavier spanning nearly six decades, Sister Stachow had a front seat as the university continued to grow and flourish, curating a powerful legacy as one of the nation’s top Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
“I got to be here as a student with some of the classic members of the lay faculty and the sister faculty, so I heard many stories about the university’s earlier days and everything,” she said. “That sort of makes me, at this point, having started as faculty 42 years ago, a living walking history book. I was here before [President Emeritus] Dr. [Norman C.] Francis took over, and I returned at a time when he was president.”
When Xavier was first established as a university in 1925, many faculty members were the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. They guided and protected the students who attended, affirming they deserved the best education possible, the same as any white student. Though Xavier remains the nation’s only historically Black and Catholic university, it has always been open to pupils of any race or creed.
As the years passed, more laypersons filled the faculty and administration. Although she noted a difference in the campus after many sisters were gone, Sister Stachow greatly respected everyone and their beliefs.
“When I was a student here, all the faculty, whether Catholic or not, would usually begin with a moment of prayer before each class. The enrollment was smaller, so there wasn’t as tight a schedule, and the sister presence was much stronger,” she said. “When the students looked around, they saw more visible sisters, but one of the aspects of being Catholic today in a much more [culturally integrated] world means respecting where the others are coming from.”
In her classes, Sister Stachow would introduce a text on Catholic social teaching values as a means of inclusivity for students of other religions and creeds.
“This handout goes through the human person’s dignity, rights and responsibilities, and the role of government options for the poor and vulnerable. We go over that, and I say, ‘So this came from a Catholic source, and Catholics have been encouraged to do these things, especially since the late 1800s, but if you look at ’em closely, you probably have heard your pastor or someone at the mosque preach on some of these same values.’ I try to show them the link between Catholicism and other religions, especially other Christian religions, in that sense of listening to the voice of the prophets who say to the rich, you are oppressing the poor, and God sees it, and the sense of the prophets who also spoke about social justice,” she said.
Sister Stachow was an avid recycler, active mentor, and thoughtful person overall. Current University Chaplain and Special Assistant to the President for Catholic Identity Father Victor Laroche adored her attention to supporting others and doing what was needed.
“Her care for the people, for the children and everybody, I mean, the students, everybody – it was not unusual on weekends or even sometimes on weekdays for Sister Mary Ann to give a ride to students if one needed to go to the store,” Father Laroche said. “If there was a need, she would really fill the void. And she was always discreet, so you would never know unless you saw her doing it. When I think about her, I think about the mission statement of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and the individual segment. There is a call to challenge the deeply rooted injustice in the world today. So, Sister Mary Ann, during her time at Xavier, not just when she was in the classroom or on campus, but her whole life, is a testament to the mission of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. She lived the mission.”
Sister Dr. Mary Ann Stachow’s funeral service will be held on Friday, March 1, at Our Lady of Calvary Church, 11024 Knights Road, Philadelphia, PA 19154. The viewing will be at 9 a.m., followed by mass at 10 a.m. She will be buried at the Motherhouse Cemetery, 1663 Bristol Pike, Bensalem, PA 19020. The service can viewed via live stream at https://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/98437.