Borough wide
Shining diamond
Hats off to Sister Helen Graham, who will celebrate her 60th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister later this year. The borough daughter served for nearly 50 years in the Philippines, using her knowledge of scripture to shape the leaders of tomorrow at formation institutes, universities, and seminaries in the Philippines, as well as around the world.
Following her formation as a Maryknoll sister, Sister Helen served as secretary for the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers from 1959 to 1963, and enrolled in Mary Rogers College in Maryknoll, N.Y., where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education in 1967. Four years later she earned her master’s degree in theology from Loyola School of Theology at Ateneo de Manila University. In 1983 she graduated from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, C.A., with an advanced master’s degree in sacred theology, and in 1995 she completed her doctorate in biblical theology at the Loyola School of Theology.
Sister Helen co-founded Task Force Detainees, a mission partner of the Association of Major Superiors of the Philippines, when the nation was ruled by martial law, from 1972 to 1986. She visited political detainees, helped their families, and recorded accounts of torture and disappearances.
Sister Helen continues to teach sacred scriptures in the Philippines, at the Institute for Formation and Religious Studies, the Loyola School of Theology, and the Maryhill School of Theology.
Standing O wishes Sister Helen warm congratulations, and many more years of teaching and service.