PALM BEACH GARDENS | Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez paid tribute to the dedicated service of six women celebrating anniversaries of 25, 60, 65 and 70 years in consecrated life during a Mass May 9 at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola. The jubilarians are:
25 YEARS
Poor Clare Sister Maria Linda M. Pamulo.
60 YEARS
• Claretian Missionary Sister Margarita Gomez, who was the only jubilarian in attendance.
• Carmelite Sister Alice Webster.
65 YEARS
• Sacred Heart of Mary Sister Angela Ospina.
• Mercy Sister Diane Russo.
70 YEARS
• Claretian Missionary Sister Teresa Tabraue.
At the start of the Saturday vigil liturgy, Bishop Rodríguez urged the faithful to pray for them, “and in particular, we rejoice with Sister Margarita on the 60th anniversary of her full life as a religious, and many of those 60 years spent in hard, effective work here in the Diocese of Palm Beach as a professor at St. Vincent Seminary and working as God’s witness in so many parishes and communities here.”
“Because of your wonderful witness as a religious sister, we also give thanks to the Lord and pray for your good health, and also pray that other young women could join religious life in the different communities present in our diocese to continue the ministry and the apostolate that you have inspired,” he said.
Concelebrants at the Mass included Bishop Emeritus Gerald M. Barbarito; Father Gavin Badway, cathedral rector; Father Michael Cairnes, parochial vicar; Carmelite Father Michael Driscoll; and Father Kevin McQuone of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary.
In his homily, Bishop Rodríguez spoke about the impact of women and men religious on the church.
“We praise the name of the Lord and we give thanks to the Lord for their lives and their dedication,” the bishop said. “And we also, in a special way, look at their lives with eyes of hope because every time, my dear sisters, my dear brothers, God blesses our families, or blesses our community, or our parishes, our diocese with a religious vocation, the future is there. It means that really in that community, in that family, in that parish, in that diocese, the work of the Lord, the work of evangelization, the presence of the church is producing good fruits.”
Following the Mass, the religious and clergy enjoyed a catered dinner in the cathedral hall. Each of the jubilarians was asked to submit a short reflection on their life and ministry. Their following responses were edited for brevity and clarity.
Sister Maria Linda M. Pamulo
Born in the Philippines, her father hoped she would become an engineer, but God had other plans. In 1983, at age 18, she joined the Daughters of Mary, Mother of the Church Institute, a religious congregation founded in the Diocese of Nueva Caceres, Philippines. During her 15 years there, she served in the parish office, diocesan chancery and in formation.
In 1998, after a period of discernment, she joined the Order of St. Clare, which led her to become a Poor Clare missionary in the United States. Sister Pamulo served with the Poor Clares in Nebraska from 2009-11 before returning to the Philippines. Her missionary journey continued in 2013, joining the Poor Clare community in Delray Beach. She said, “As a pilgrim, I continue to go where he leads, trusting that he will always hold my hand.”
Sister Margarita Gomez
Growing up in Madrid, Spain, she became a secretary after graduating from high school but felt God calling her to be a religious sister. At age 23, she joined the community of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters. After two years of novitiate, she took temporal vows in Barcelona in 1966. Earning a bachelor’s degree in theology, Sister Gomez began teaching at a high school, then a school of theology before being sent to Miami in 1976. In 1977, she started teaching at St. John Vianney College Seminary while holding a position in the Vocations Office.
In 1980, she became director of religious education at Notre Dame D’Haiti in Miami, and in 1986 began studies in Rome. After graduating with a licentiate in sacred Scripture, she served as a professor at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary from 1989 to 2019. She also served as spiritual director of the Cursillo de Cristiandad in Spanish for 15 years, and now coordinates the OCIA and OICA programs at St. Ann Church in West Palm Beach. Sister Gomez said, “I am very grateful to the Lord for his calling me to serve in his Church, to be enriched by so many people, opening my heart to many cultures, always widening my heart to love more and more.”
Sister Alice Webster
The middle child of seven in her family, she grew up in Revere, Massachusetts, north of Boston. After nursing school, graduating with a degree in health and human services, an older sister urged her to volunteer at a home for the aged in Boston run by the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. She entered the Carmelite order in 1966 and took final vows in 1975.
Sister Webster has been stationed at Carmelite homes in Kentucky, Illinois, Maryland, New York, South Boston and Ireland. She now works at the Lourdes Noreen McKeen Residence in West Palm Beach. “We labor to make each Carmelite home a genuine haven of love and Christian joy, serving each guest as if ministering to our Lord himself,” she said.
Sister Angela Ospina
She entered the Sacred Heart of Mary community in 1958, and ministered in the Diocese of Palm Beach since 1984. Sister Angela left the diocese at the beginning of April 2026. She presently lives with her community at Marymount Convent in Tarrytown, New York.
Sister Diane Russo
Entering the Sisters of Mercy in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1961, she completed degrees in education, special education and library and information studies. Sister Russo ministered as a teacher, principal and librarian. She also served as pastoral associate on Catholic scouting for the Diocese of Providence and is a longtime member on the Catholic Committee on Scouting.
Trusting that God continues to be her strength as she navigates many health issues, she relocated to the Diocese of Palm Beach in 2025. Health issues prevented her from being at the jubilarian celebration, but she promised to pray for all who are celebrating and for the good work of her new diocesan family.
Sister Teresa Tabraue
Born in Cuba and raised in the Canary Islands, the sixth of seven siblings, she later attended school in Miami. She entered the congregation of Claretian Missionary Sisters in 1955 and took final vows in 1961.
Sister Tabraue chose the Claretians because she wanted to be a missionary in Africa, but was sent instead to the United States to serve among migrant workers in the Mission of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Delray Beach. “As the first parish pastor told us when we met him, we became part of the migrant workers’ families, participating in their joys and in their sufferings and humiliations. This was a time full of joy despite the difficulties,” she said.
For more information about consecrated life in the Diocese of Palm Beach, visit https://palmbeachvocations.com or contact Sister Jadwiga Drapala at jdrapala@diocesepb.org or 561-775-9586.
