Sister Mary Angela Abood

Sister Mary Angela Abood entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in February 1951 and was received into the novitiate in August 1951.

Sister Mary Angela was in the first graduating class of St. John’s Grade School in Valdosta, Georgia (she and three boys). She came into the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet under the Georgia province.

Sister Mary Angela began teaching on the primary level in Georgia. She taught at St. Joseph Boys Home in Washington and then Sacred Heart Grade School in Milledgeville. From there, she went to Mount St. Joseph (the Provincial House) and St. Mary on the Hill Grade School in Augusta.

Sister Mary Angela also taught at St. Paul Grade School in Negaunee, Michigan, after which she returned to Valdosta, Georgia, to St. John the Evangelist Grade School. She was then sent to the Village of St. Joseph in Atlanta. She also taught with the Baden Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Paul’s there.

In Atlanta, Sister Mary Angela served as the small children’s cottage director at the Village of St. Joseph and opened St. Anthony Day Care Center. At the Village, she was director of dietary and maintenance. She concluded her active ministry serving as receptionist for the Atlanta Archdiocesan Education Office.

To maintain the best and current practices in her ministry, Sister Mary Angela attended workshops at Notre Dame in Indiana and St. Louis University in Missouri.

Sister Mary Angela retired in 1993 in Georgia. Since 2015, Sister Angela has resided at Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis, carrying out her ministry of prayer and presence.

Throughout her ministry, Sister Mary Angela made some interesting connections. In her years in the south, she knew writer Flannery O’Connor well and took the school children to visit Flannery’s famous peacocks. She also worked for Coretta King and, through her, met Rosa Parks. She also taught Martin Luther King’s two boys, MLK III and Dexter. She kept in close touch with Dexter until he passed away in 2024. She also taught Hank Aaron’s grandson.

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