On Saturday, May 16, Sister Linda Valasik, a golden jubilarian, gathered with Sisters of the Humility of Mary of Villa Maria, Pa., associates, family and friends, for a liturgy of thanksgiving with other honored sisters celebrating their jubilees of religious profession. The liturgy was celebrated in Magnificat Chapel at Villa Maria Community Center. A reception followed.

Sister Linda is the coordinator of the religion division of the Center for Learning, a values-based educational publisher owned and operated by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. The main office is at Villa Maria.

From 1972 to 1977, Sister Linda was a pastoral associate at Corpus Christi Parish in Stone Mountain. Several years before, the Sisters of the Humility of Mary were invited by Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan to serve in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Sister Linda and Sister Damian Schirmer arrived in Stone Mountain to assist Father Joseph Beltran with pastoral work and the newly established School of Religion in the one-year-old parish. The sisters began adult theology and catechetical methods classes to prepare parishioners to serve as catechists for the rapidly growing parish family. Within five years over 1,000 students were enrolled. Through the efforts of many parishioners the church was built and a vibrant community evolved.

In 1977 Sister Linda moved to St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Smyrna where she continued the pastoral and educational work begun previously by the Humility of Mary Sisters and Father Richard Morrow, the first pastor.

In 1980 Sister Linda was called to assist in the development of a faith formation program for a parish on the outskirts of the Pittsburgh Diocese whose school had merged with that of a neighboring parish.

Sister Linda has also served as a teacher and pastoral minister in several parishes in the Dioceses of Cleveland and Youngtown, Ohio. She served on the membership and affiliation team for the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. She was an instructor in adult basic education and English as a Second Language programs for the Kent City Schools and the Streetsboro School District, both in Ohio.

The daughter of the late Stephen and Catherine Valasik, Sister Linda earned her bachelor’s of science in education from St. John College, Cleveland, her master’s in religious education from Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Mich., and her master’s in ministry from Seattle University in Washington state. She entered her religious community in Parma, Ohio.