Flossmoor village officials Monday honored Sister Norlee McDonnell, a key member of the community for more than 40 years.
with Sister Norlee McDonnell.
(Photo by Tom Houlihan/
HF Chronicle)
Village board members passed a resolution thanking McDonnell for her contributions to Flossmoor, and for her commitment and dedication to Infant Jesus of Prague Catholic Church. She is retiring from her duties at IJP.
Mayor Paul Braun read the resolution, which detailed many of McDonnell’s contributions to the parish and village.
More than 20 friends and supporters were on hand as Flossmoor paid tribute to McDonnell. She thanked members of the community for their help and said she would continue to live in the community.
McDonnell first came to IJP in 1971; she had previously served at St. Joseph Church in Homewood and several parishes in Michigan and Ohio. At IJP she initially taught second grade and Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) classes. She also served on many committees, the resolution states.
In 1973, she choreographed and starred in “Curtain Call” at the church, which became an important IJP fundraiser for the next 20 years.
McDonnell, along with the Rev. Richard Hills, IJP’s pastor, and Sister Cyrilla, started the church’s pastoral care program in 1975. With the assistance of 12 parishioners, she was instrumental in the growth of the program into a thriving ministry. The pastoral care program now includes the care of the sick, visiting the home-bound, assisting grieving families with funeral preparations as well as working with senior citizens in the parish.
Braun said McDonnell’s talents in the service of pastoral care have been recognized throughout the Chicago Archdiocese; she has organized and participated in pastoral ministry workshops, he said.
McDonnell was awarded the Women Together award in 1993 and the Thea Bowman Humanitarian Award. She was named Woman of the Year by the IJP Women’s Club in 2004. She has worked with seven pastors at IJP and celebrated her silver, golden and diamond jubilees at the parish.
McDonnell was born in 1935 and first entered the convent as a postulant in 1954. She took her final vows in 1960.