Ukrainian sisters were her heroes

So Sr. Esther gave her life to the Lord

- WCR photo by Ramon Gonzalez Sr. Esther Kurylo has served as a teacher, religious educator, missionary and pastoral care worker in three provinces as well as Britain and Ukraine.

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

As a young girl Esther Kurylo used to dream of becoming a member of the Ukrainian order Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate. The sisters would come to the countryside to teach catechism, culture and singing and Kurylo grew to admire them.

"They were my heroes and my role models," she recalls. "I really admired the sisters for their work and I saw that they were making this world a better place. So I too began to get interested and thinking, 'Maybe that's what I'll do when I grow up.'"

She joined the congregation in 1947 and told her boyfriend she had found a better man - the Lord. He told her to have her head checked. "I still haven't," she laughs.

Family, friends, colleagues and associates will mark Kurylo's 60th anniversary as a sister with a Divine Liturgy at St. Basil's Church Sept. 16 followed by a banquet at St. Basil's Cultural Centre. It's a celebration of Kurylo's six decades of dedicated service as a religious sister, teacher, religious educator, missionary and pastoral care worker.

"It's been a happy, life-giving journey," Kurylo said of her vocation. "I hope I have contributed to making the world a better place."

Keeps on going

At 78, Kurylo enjoys excellent health and won't even think of retirement. "We (sisters) don't retire, you know. We keep doing what we can."

And she does a lot. In addition to being the spiritual advisor of the Catholic Women's League at St. Basil's Parish, Kurylo is spiritual leader of the Sodality girls, director of the lay associates of her congregation and a member of the ecumenical commission for the Edmonton Eparchy. She also leaves time to visit the sick and the elderly.

Born the oldest of six children at Waskateneau, Kurylo began her schooling at Northern Moose School, a country school north of Waskateneau. When her parents Eva and Harry moved to the farming community at Delph, Kurylo attended Sheptytsky School, northeast of Lamont.

Doing so much good

She met the Sisters Servants as a child and enjoyed being around them. "I wanted to be like those sisters who were doing so much good."

Kurylo completed her high school at Sacred Heart Academy in Yorkton, Sask., a boarding school run by the Sisters Servants. "There I got even closer to the sisters because they were teaching us not only high school but also how to be good Christian women."

Kurylo joined the congregation immediately following high school graduation. She made her first vows in 1950 and then continued with normal school training in Saskatoon, where she received her teaching certificate. Kurylo later enrolled in correspondence and attended summer courses at the University of Alberta, where she obtained her bachelor of education degree in 1970.

Most of her 26 teaching years were spent in Yorkton, Regina, Kitchener, Ont., Prince Albert and Vegreville. In Yorkton she was the religious consultant for the separate school system. Kurylo loved teaching so much she often spent her summer holidays teaching catechism at parishes and camps.

In the 1970s when scores of religious were abandoning religious life, Kurylo considered leaving too. She stayed after a 30-day retreat where she realized her call to religious life was truly a call from God. She also found affirmation and strength in the charismatic movement.

Lay catechists

In the early 1980s, Bishop Jerome Chimy of New Westminster, B.C., commissioned Kurylo to do work in religious education in his eparchy and appointed her director of religious education.

In this capacity she set up a religious education centre and trained lay catechists. She later moved to Edmonton and set up the religious education centre and trained lay catechists in the Edmonton Eparchy.

In 1992 Kurylo fulfilled her dream to do missionary work overseas when she spent a summer in England and three months in Ukraine teaching adults and young people.

Next to her love of teaching is her love for pastoral care.

"Sister (Esther) takes time to visit people who are sick and lonely in hospitals, nursing homes and their own personal homes," said her sister-in-law Pat Kurylo in a write up she prepared for the 60th anniversary. "She is always most welcomed with her bubbly personality, kind heart, big hugs and thoughtful prayers."

Sister Valerie Krochenski of Mundare described Kurylo as a dedicated and caring teacher, catechist and leader.

"As a teacher she was always excellent, treating her students with patience and love," she recalled. "She is definitely a people person; she has many friends because she is an optimistic person."

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