Lynn native celebrates 50 years as nun

LYNN – Lynn native Donna Curtin?s brother bet her a dollar that she wouldn?t last three months as a nun.But 50 years later, Curtin finally got the dollar back.Curtin, now Sister Donna Curtin, just celebrated her golden jubilee, 50th anniversary, at Angelica?s in Middleton.?It feels wonderful. There were many people who thought I would never make it. This is for the naysayers,” Curtin joked.The Lynn English graduate knew she wanted to go be a nun since she was 15 years old.?It seemed like the right thing to do,” Curtin said. “I just thought if it?s not for me, I?ll come back home.”Curtin never did come back home.She entered the novitiate – the training she made her formal vows – in Framingham in 1961, graduated from Regis College in 1966 and was missioned to teach first grade at St. James Church in Medford.She spent many years teaching first grade in various schools, including her home parish St. Pius, and eventually earned her master?s in education from Salem State College.?I?ve definitely been happy,” Curtin said reflecting on her 50 years. “It has been fruitful, rewarding and peaceful.”It wasn?t always an easy road for Curtin.Five years after she became a nun, Curtin?s father fell ill and died.She considered going home.?That was the hardest thing I had gone through,” Curtin said. “I almost left. I wasn?t sleeping at all. Things were tough back home. I was one foot in and one foot out the door.”But Curtin eventually decided to stay.?I knew it was the right thing to do. I knew if I left, I might never come back,” she said. “After I made the decision, I fell asleep for the first time in weeks.”Curtin?s mother had a difficult time accepting her only daughter?s choice. Her mother never fully came around to accepting Curtin?s lifestyle.?When she was dying, she was in a coma and I just wanted her to wake up and say it was OK,” she said. “She never did.”However, she has always been sympathetic to her mother?s feelings. “I understand where she was coming from,” she said.Curtin?s choice is not for everyone. She entered religious life with 70 girls in 1961. Only five of those women recently celebrated their golden jubilee. Out of the 70, seven of the women died and the others decided to do something else.?If it?s not for you, then you will leave,” Curtin said.Teaching has always been one of Curtin?s passions and she got to follow that passion being a nun.?I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I love teaching,” Curtin said. “I?ve touched the lives of a lot of children and that is amazing.”In fact, a few of her previous students from her first class showed up to the celebration at Angelica?s.Curtin says you don?t see many women becoming a nun these days.?It could be because of the materialistic world we live in. I never really thought why. It is a hard question to answer. I don?t know why,” she said. However, this does not worry Curtin.?God is running the world, not us,” she said. “It will all work out.”She currently lives at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brighton.She lives in a one-bedroom apartment with a television and the Internet. “Technology has changed so much. I am still trying to learn how to use the clicker,” she joked.Curtin says that life is very calm at the Motherhouse.?It?s an easy life. There isn?t a lot of stress,” she said. “You are a part of the community, so you are taken care of.”Sara Brown can be reached at [email protected].