Golden Jubilee
A Celebration of the Lives and Works of Three Sisters

On May 29, 21001, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Holy Trinity Chapel of the Sisters of St. Basil the Great to honor Sisters Dorothy Ann Busowski, Sister Mary Cecilia Jurasinski, and Sister Rita Stremba, marked their 50th anniversary. The Divine Liturgy was concelebrated by Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka, Msgr. Peter Waslo, Revernd John Ciurpita, Edward Higgins and George Worshak, followed by a Jubilee dinner, which was attended by the Sisters in the Fox Chase community, by members of the clergy, and by friends and family members of the honorees. During the dinner, the special qualities and contributions of each of the three Sisters were remembered and shared by Provincial Superior Sister Laura Palka.

Sister Mary Cecilia, the daughter of Stanley and Cecilia Jurasinski, was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, where she began her spiritual journey as a parishioner of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. She entered the Order of St. Basil the Great on September 4, 1960 and has served the community of Sisters at Fox Chase Manor as Assistant Provincial (1975-1980) and as Provincial Councilor (1975-1983, 1990-95 and 2000-2004). As an avid and active member of community Sister has been a delegate to Provincial Chapters in Fox Chase and General Chapters in Rome.

Before entering religious life, Sister Mary Cecilia taught at Reading Public School, the first step in a lifelong commitment to education. She earned an Associate degree from Manor College, a BA in Education from Immaculata College, and an MA in History from Villanova University, degrees that enabled and enriched her work as instructor of history at Manor and as Dean of Students. Since 1985, she has served as President of Manor College. Under her administration, ambitious plans and programs created by previous presidents have evolved. Today, the college has a diverse student body that includes international students, course offerings have grown to accommodate technological innovations, and degree programs have expanded to accommodate the needs of a changing economy.

Sister Rita, the daughter of John and Mary Stremba, was also born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and was a parishioner of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. She entered the Order of St. Basil the Great on September 4, 1960. Before entering Religious life, Sister Rita taught at Thomas Ford Elementary School in Reading, PA. Sister has been active in the community and has served in various capacities. She was a member on the Communication Commission of the Enlarged Sisters Council; represented her community in ECCD; served on the Revitalization Committee, Formation Team, Provincial Chapter Committee, Liturgical Committee and presently on the Centennial Committee. She is assistant cantor in her community and is Director of the Associate Program of the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. Sister is a member of the Board of Trustees at Manor College.

Committed to secular and religious education, Sister Rita graduated from Manor College, received a BA in Education from Immaculata College, an MA in Theology from Villanova University, and an MA in Religious Studies from LaSalle University. Since 1963, she has served as an instructor at St. Basil Academy where she taught English and Religion, moderated the school newspaper, served as Activities Director and moderated the Student Council. She holds the position of Department Head of Religious Studies. Under Sister Rita’s direction, a Campus Ministry program was inaugurated at the Academy in 1985.

Sister Dorothy Ann, the daughter of Anthony and Mary Busowski, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was a parishioner of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church. She entered the Order of St. Basil on November 14, 1960. Sister Dorothy Ann earned a BA in Education with a minor in American History from Villanova University, an MA in History and Political Science from Villanova University, and recently an MA in Holistic Spirituality from Chestnut Hill College.

Sister Dorothy Ann’s service to the community has been wide and varied and included ministry at St. Basil Home in Philadelphia and in Watervliet, New York where she taught in elementary school. Returning to Fox Chase Sister taught history and business classes at St. Basil Academy before serving as the Academy’s principal from 1975-1985. While principal several physical and academic improvements took place.

Sister has been an active participant in community matters serving as Project Manager for the renovation or the Motherhouse, chair of several committees for the Province and General Chapters, inter-province collaboration with the Uniontown Province as Planning Consultant, and as Vice Provincial (1985-1990), as Provincial (1995-2005). While provincial sister oversaw the construction of the Holy Trinity Chapel and Basilian Spirituality Center. Currently, Sr. Dorothy Ann is working as Development Office Administrator, Director of the Basilian Legacy Institute, and coordinator of Trafficking of Women issues for the community and serves on Manor’s Board of Trustees.

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