Sister Jean Morningstar
During her college years, Sister Jean enrolled in an art class taught by Sister Maria Luisa Wolfskill (Sr. Mary Luke). With her teacher’s encouragement to develop her talent and to major in art, Sister Jean became an art teacher herself, and in turn became an advocate for her own high school art students. She gave them lifelong skills to share their creativity and appreciation for art. One of the students who took her class in stained glass at St. Monica High School in California is now a professional artist who produces stained glass windows for churches and other structures. Many of her students stay in touch with Sister Jean, expressing gratitude for the way she showed belief in them and helped them develop their own talents and confidence.
After teaching art for 32 years, Sister Jean expanded her ministry of education by founding Holy Names Graphics in 1984. It continues to provide resources, including clip art, for schools, parishes, retreat centers, hospitals and religious orders nationally and internationally. Sister Jean also shares her abilities with those who lack financial resources for graphic design services.
Sister Jean continues to develop new skills in graphic design, using multiple computer programs as she creates new images. She never knows what the day will bring in terms of requests for her artwork.
When asked what gives her life in her current ministry, she says, “Listening to and understanding the idea that an individual wants to express and creating a design that conveys that message.”
Mother Marie Rose by Jean Morningstar, SNJM