Gerrie Naughton

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Sister
Gerrie Naughton
RSM
Sr. Naughton (left) singing at a protest in McAllen, Texas, January 2007.
Personal
Born(1942-04-26)April 26, 1942
Roscommon, Ireland
DiedOctober 29, 2009(2009-10-29) (aged 67)
McAllen, Texas, United States
ReligionRoman Catholic

Catherine "Gerrie" Naughton (1942–2009) was a Roman Catholic nun of the Sisters of Mercy (RSM). In 1987 she founded ARISE Adelante to serve those living in the unincorporated colonias (low-income, informal communities sometimes called slums) of the Rio Grande Valley.[1] Members of ARISE receive assistance for a period of time but then must volunteer back to the community in a distributive leadership model.[2][3] Naughton's motto was "ARISE does not do for the people what the people can do for themselves."[4]

Early life and education[edit]

She was born in 1942 in County Roscommon, Ireland.[5] Her parents were Mary Fallon Naughton and Patrick Naughton.[6] She decided to immigrate to the United States when a priest from visited her high school to talk about the need for missionaries in Mississippi.[7] She came to the United States at age 17 in 1959, giving her address as the Convent of Mercy in St. Louis, Missouri.[8] She earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics.

Work as a teacher in Louisiana and Mississippi[edit]

Between 1960 and 1978 she taught high school sciene and math in Louisiana and Mississippi.[7] From 1978 to 1983 she worked in Meridian, Mississippi as Director of Religious Education at Saint Patrick's Catholic Church, but left to seek more direct outreach. She moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi in August 1983 to work at Sacred Heart Catholic Church as a pastoral assistant for Monsignor John Scanlon, making 20 home visits a week to work her way through a roster of 800 families, thus receiving important preparation for her future career-defining work in Texas.[9] She was known for casual dress, an informal style, and a keen interest in meeting people in their homes and learning about their needs.[7] She was also a competitive runner, participating in the Crescent City Classic in New Orleans, and the Coca-Cola Classic in Hattiesburg, both in 1984, finishing second in the latter.[10] She was the Red Carpet Run female master's champion in 1984.[11]

Texas and ARISE[edit]

In the 1980s the Sisters of Mercy asked their communities to prepare for Hispanic ministries, so she studied Spanish at the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio for a year.[12] In 1987 she moved to the Rio Grande Valley, where sisters from her congregation had served for over a century.[12] She chose Las Milpas, a rural area of about 12,000 people in the town of Pharr, Texas. Its name means "the cornfields" in Spanish.[12] She and Ramona Casas met regularly at Casas's home for prayer, and formed a group.[13] Casas, today a senior leader at ARISE, described Naughton's distinctive style of going door to door on her bicycle in the colonias as she had back in Mississippi, this time on a bicycle.[14] Casas told The Monitor, "The first time I met her, I remember thinking, `What is this nun doing on a bicycle?' It was the first time I had ever seen a nun not wearing a habit. After that, I thought all nuns in the United States wore shorts and used bicycles."

After four years of offering English classes to over 450 people seeking amnesty under the Regan Administration's Immigration and Reform Act, in 1991 Naughton, Casas, and their team sought funding from city commissioners for a center, which they granted by giving her a five-year lease for inexpensive property owned by the city.[15] Gradually more money came in from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Scanlon Foundation, and other sources, and the program began receiving VISTA volunteers.[12] Executive Director Lourdes Flores immigrated from Mexico at age 12, and was hired at ARISE out of high school, initially teaching English to women in the colonias.[16]

Honors[edit]

Naughton was emphatic that the women of ARISE deserved recognition, and that they should be credited directly rather than giving sole credit to her or to the major organizations that supported them.[17][18] However, she did receive recognition, and the executive director says that Naughton was the founder. In 1995 at the age of 53 Naughton won the Regina Cunningham Award from Mercy Action, Inc., the highest honor of the Sisters of Mercy.[12][19] In 2015 a secular group, the Building Community Workshop of Dallas, added her to its roster of trading cards honoring heroes of the Rio Grande Valley.[20][21] ARISE gives the Gerrie Naughton Award annually in her honor.[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Thomas, Ursula (2022). Cases on Servant Leadership and Equity. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global. pp. 245–46. ISBN 978-1-6684-5814-3.
  2. ^ Thomas, Ursula (April 24, 2020). Cases on Strategic Partnerships for Resilient Communities and Schools. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-7998-3287-4.
  3. ^ Joiner, Kristen. "The Modern Marriage Between Tech Philanthropy and Nonprofits: "It's Complicated"". Stanford Social Innovation Review. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  4. ^ Stehn, Alexander V. (2019). "Barbaric, Unseen, and Unknown Orders: Innovative Research on Street and Farmers' Markets". The Pluralist. 14 (1): 52. doi:10.5406/pluralist.14.1.0047. ISSN 1930-7365 – via JSTOR.
  5. ^ Ireland, Civil Registration Births Index, 1864-1958, FHL Film Number 101235, "Catherine Naughton. Mother Fallon."
  6. ^ "SISTER NAUGHTON Obituary (2009) - Legacy Remembers". Legacy.com. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c McMurtry, Linda (April 29, 1984). "Pastoral assistant sees job as an outreach". Hattiesburg American. p. 89.
  8. ^ New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1967 for Catherine Naughton, A3998, September 5, 1959.
  9. ^ McMurtrey, Linda (April 29, 1984). "Priesthood joyful and humbling". The Hattiesburg American. p. 85.
  10. ^ "Despite weather, Gilbert captures Coke Classic win". The Hattiesburg American. April 8, 1984. p. 31.
  11. ^ Williamson, Frank (September 24, 1985). "Vicksburg-Warren County Runners Fill Governor's Cup". The Vicksburg Post (Mississippi). p. 15.
  12. ^ a b c d e King, Barbara (August 20, 1995). "Sisters of Mercy Commended for Community Service Program". The Monitor (McAllen, Texas). p. 13.
  13. ^ Geraghty, Emily (June 23, 2020). "On the Border, a Group of Women Are Building Community on Their Own Terms". Glamour – via Glamour.com.
  14. ^ Joiner, Kristen (May 18, 1997). "Sister Gerrie reaches out to people in Las Milpas". The Monitor. p. 46.
  15. ^ Longoria, Celia (January 10, 1991). "Project Arise help is sought". The Monitor (McAllen, Texas). p. 9.
  16. ^ Mosqueda, Priscila (February 28, 2013). "Tyrant's Foe: Lourdes Flores Helps Colonia Residents Help Themselves". The Texas Observer. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  17. ^ Naughton, Gerrie (March 19, 2000). "ARISE complains about article (letter to the editor)". The Monitor. p. 40.
  18. ^ Hammerstrom, Cari (December 5, 2005). "Badlands: Revolt Against Lawlessness Gaining Ground in the Colonias". The Monitor. pp. A1.
  19. ^ King, Barbara (November 5, 1995). "Project Arise founder accepts award". The Monitor. p. 13.
  20. ^ Ybarra, Rose (April 14, 2015). "Priest, sisters among community heroes honored". The Valley Catholic. p. 14.
  21. ^ "Mercy Founder of ARISE Honoured by Local Community". Mercy International Association. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  22. ^ Mejia, Imelda (March 9, 2017). "Las Milpas woman receives award from community-based organization". KVEO-TV. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
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