Deborah Hughes SSJ

Name: S. Deborah Hughes, SSJ

Hometown: Philadelphia , PA

Entrance Date: September 12, 1963

First Profession:  August 15,  1966

Final Profession: August 8, 1971

Present Ministry: Director of Formational Ministries

and Superintendent of Schools

What kind of ministries have you done over the course of your Religious life?     

All of my years in ministry as an SSJ have been focused in education.  I spent 21 years as a teacher in Philadelphia and the Diocese of Camden, 10 years in Internal Service for the Congregation as a Coordinator of Ministry for Elementary Education and these past 16 years in diocesan ministry as an Associate Superintendent (1), Superintendent of Schools (15) in Mississippi.

The Diocese of Jackson (comparable in size to the state of Maine) has been designated as a US “Mission Diocese” because of its poverty and also because it is only 2.3% Catholic.  Working to continue and “grow” a Catholic School system over 160 years old with these geographical and demographic realities has been both a challenge and a gift. Catholic schools here in Mississippi are a major tool of evangelization for the Catholic Church since 50% of our teachers and 50% of our students are of other faith traditions.

In 2003, I was asked to oversee the work of the nine offices (including Catholic Schools) that make up the Department of Formational Ministries for the Diocese.  As Department director, my venue of ministries has been greatly expanded to include the efforts of the Church with baptized Catholics “from the cradle to the grave”.

I have been greatly enriched and blessed beyond measure by the wonderful individuals whom I have encountered during my 47 years of ministry.  These people have helped me to recognize the many faces of Jesus in our broken world!

What do you enjoy most about being a Sister of Saint Joseph?

I love the challenge of seeing how many times and ways our charism of unity and reconciliation can affect and heal the myriad situations that I have met and been submerged in during my years in ministry.   Having opportunities to make unity and reconciliation “come alive” has been both a privilege and a learning experience.  Also, in my service as a Sister of Saint Joseph over these years, the People of God have taught me much about my God   –  about faith and hope   –  and about Gospel living.  I am truly grateful for all of these experiences.

Name a time when you truly knew that you made a difference in someone’s life.

After Hurricane Katrina, the schools in our Diocese were “home” to over 700 students from New Orleans and the Gulf coast of Mississippi.  I was in a position to make a decision about how this large number of additional students would be served.  A decision to deliver the gift of a Catholic education tuition-free and the stability that getting back to a school routine would bring to families seemed to be the right thing to do. Somehow I knew that the money would come for the extra books, supplies, lunches, etc. we would need and it did! Because of the generosity of people from all over the country, as well as, from individual SSJs in ministry, we were somehow able to meet the needs of our “guests” for over three years while evacuee families attempted to re-establish their lives.  Principals and I continue to hear from families whose lives were touched by our hospitality. I know we “made a difference” in the lives of our “guests” for however long they remained with us in Mississippi.  I feel blessed to have had some part in facilitating this.