Weekly Features

Holy Redeemer alumni reunite with beloved
former principal, Sister Elizabeth Cashman 
By Laura Wright, Catholic Standard

The following article is printed, with permission, from The Catholic Standard, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.  

S. Elizabeth Cashman (sitting) attended a reunion for students of Holy Redeemer School in Kensington, Md., in April.

Everyone should have had a Holy Redeemer grade school education, with a sister like Sister Elizabeth Cashman, said Colleen McCarty, a 1963 graduate of the Kensington school.

In grade school, Sister Cashman, a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati “was always a lady. She held herself with confidence, and she was merciful. She was strict, but not mean,” she said.

McCarty was among about 20 graduates who gathered at a reunion in April to see their favorite Sister and reminisce about their days at Holy Redeemer School.

Karen Sheehan Fischer, a student in the class of 1960 who organized the reunion, said the last time everyone saw Sister Elizabeth she was wearing a habit and she went by the name Sister John Christopher.

But in nearly every other regard, Sister Cashman has stayed the same, said McCarty.

“She looked elegant. She still holds herself with wonderful posture … and she has a lady-like demeanor,” she said.

Sister Cashman, who is now 83, was in her thirties when she was appointed both superior of her convent and principal of Holy Redeemer.

For Mary Power, another Holy Redeemer graduate, the reunion humanized Sister Cashman who she remembers being “beautiful and warm, yet businesslike,” she said in an e-mail.

“I was not aware of her sense of humor or the depth of care and understanding she had for all of us kids. I feel so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to know that part of her,” Power said.

McCarty said she was grateful for the opportunity to thank the woman who “words still echo in my mind all these years later.”

Sister Cashman “is a remarkable person who had a major influence on all of our lives …” she said.

McCarty said she remembers when Sister Cashman stopped her in the hall to ask, “Why such a long face?”

At the time, McCarty said she was faced with a moral dilemma, and Sister Cashman “took my face in her hand and said, ‘Dear, you know what to do.’”

McCarty said she still carries this lesson with her today.

“No one after her (Sister Cashman) left that impression on me,” she said.

Fischer said she has such “blissful memories,” of Sister Cashman and Holy Redeemer.

“The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati are just a wonderful example of what a Sister should be … (Sister Cashman) was a really good principal, and she was kind to everyone. We just loved her,” she said.

Fischer still remembers when she carried tuition to school in an envelope – it was only $10 a month, she said.

Now Fischer lives in North Potomac, but she still drives by Holy Redeemer when visiting her uncle. She said everyone was excited to see one another at the reunion.

“We grew up on the same streets, and we all walked to school … my brothers said they will never find a Catholic school like that,” she said.

Power said it was hard to imagine that so much time had passed because talking with her former classmates and friends felt so comfortable.

“I think we could have gone on for hours remembering all the good times,” she said.

 

 

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