She was abused in Catholic school, then Sister Bernadette became a nun

Minnesota Now

Sister Mary Bernadette Newton joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1953. The order, founded in France around 1650, came to the U.S. in 1836.

The order spread to several communities in the U.S., and four sisters arrived in St. Paul in 1851. The nuns are called to social justice and, according to the Orders website, they serve as educators, nurses, administrators, artists, musicians and poets, cooks and gardeners, spiritual directors and social activists.

In our series Connect the Dots, we’re asking community elders to share their wisdom and lessons learned about what really matters in life. MPR’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell recently met with Sister Bernadette.