Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston with Sr John Paul Chao on her 50th jubilee, Aug 7th 2021.
This year marks the 175th anniversary of the long voyage of Marie Francoise Perroton from Lyons, France to the islands of Futuna and Wallis in the South Pacific. Marie Francoise “launched the movement” of women from Europe, the Americas, and other continents and islands, who over the decades became Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary and set out to bring the “Good News” to people near and far.
Sister Mary John Paul Chao was born in China during the Second World War. She and her family moved to Taiwan when Mao-Tse Tung came to power. After high school she came to the USA and attended university in Washington DC. It was there that she became a Catholic and a few years later entered the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary.
Over the years she has served as a Marist Missionary Sister in many places, including Fiji, and Papua New Guinea. She attained her PhD in Anthropology and served for a time as Director of the Melanesian Institute in PNG. But her mission - wherever she was - was never only “academic”. In so many places, she sought out the poorest people and found a way to help them. Here in Boston, she served for many years as a volunteer at the Haley House for the Homeless.
In recent years, Sister “JP” has been missioned in northern California, and has dedicated herself to working against human trafficking, along with other religious Sisters of different congregations. She has spoken in parishes where people were shocked to learn that so much human trafficking was going on in their areas. She also visits places - hotels, bars, massage parlors - where the managers and staff are not used to seeing a diminutive nun in a blue veil who tells them how to recognize human trafficking and what to do about it.
Many people, near and far, were happy to join in the celebration of Sr JP’s 50th jubilee (it was actually postponed a year because of the Covid-19.) With the wonder of modern technology many Sisters, family and friends who were not able to be there, were able to join in the celebration online.