From the Stuart archives: In honor of Black History Month, we celebrate the enduring impact of a beloved former faculty member and Sacred Heart trailblazer, Sister Marie Louise Jenkins, RSCJ. Sr. Jenkins became the first African American to enter the Society of the Sacred Heart, having pronounced her first vows in 1951 and made her final profession in Rome on July 30, 1956.
Affectionately known as “Sister Jenkins” or "Mamie", she was a cherished member of the Stuart faculty from 1982 to 1988, where she served as chairperson of the religion department, a fifth grade teacher, and a learning specialist, all while remaining an adored teacher of music and guitar. Beyond her years at Stuart, her remarkable journey included teaching tenures at the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Kenwood in Albany, Sacred Heart Greenwich, 91st Street in New York City, Villa Duchesne in St. Louis, the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, and Stone Ridge in Bethesda.
Sister Jenkins chose the Society of the Sacred Heart because she deeply valued the education of youth and found in the Society the community she knew best. Influenced by the examples of service and self-dedication set by her family and her teachers at Manhattanville, she remained committed to her calling even when religious orders required converts to the faith to wait two years before entering the novitiate. She used that interval to earn an M.A. in music education from Columbia University in
Beyond the classroom, Sister Jenkins was a dedicated advocate for justice and professional excellence. She served on several influential committees, including the National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice, the Bishop’s Commission on Human Rights in St. Louis, and the National Association of Music Therapists. Whether she was teaching in the East or the Midwest, Sister Jenkins’ philosophy remained constant: “When I teach my students to sing, they are enabled to join in the song of peace and justice and freedom throughout the world. May they always have a song in their hearts.” -Sister Marie Louise Jenkins, RSCJ