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Hello, I'm Sr. Marian Bohen. I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but grew up in Albany, New York, where I went to a non-denominational school, and there learned early in life to live as a Catholic in a diverse setting. Our teachers were very special and I think it was from my own learning experience that I saw my future as somehow bound up with education. I went to the College of New Rochelle, where I first encountered the Ursulines. I left college in the middle of my junior year to enter the novitiate and in July 2003 celebrated my golden jubilee of profession. I have been blessed with a life of varied experiences: 24 years in Indonesia, then on my return to New York, I was fortunate in finding educational work at Marist College, then at the Maryknoll School of Theology, where I began what became another eye-opening joy of my life - involvement in an educational program in Sing Sing prison, sponsored by New York Theological Seminary, a mainline Protestant Seminary in New York City.   When the four provinces of the United States were looking for volunteers for an inter-provincial community in the Chicago area, I put my name in the "pool", only to discover I was alone in the New York pool. It was not easy for any one of the four of us in this community to pick up roots, but we did it, and here we are!

What do you enjoy in your free time?
In my free time, now that I have some, I enjoy listening to music and walking - not both at the same time. I also enjoy sitting quietly, "doing nothing", an activity I learned from people in Indonesia.

A passion I have…
If I were to name a passion of my life it would be for peace in our world, harmony among those of all religions and social justice for every human being.

Is there a book or a movie that has had an impact on your life?
There are many books and films that have had an impact on my life, but two which come most readily to mind are "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" and Howard Zinn's "People's History of the United States."

What would people be most surprised to learn about you?
People would be most surprised about my age.

Who is the one person that you would most like to meet?
The next surprising "nobody" in a chance encounter, because throughout my life I have been bowled over by the wisdom and courage of so-called "nobodies" who have chanced into my life.

Forgiveness ( by: Leonard Peltier, United States Prisoner #89637-132)

Let us forgive the worst among us because the worst is in ourselves,

the worst lives in each of us, along with the best. Let us forgive the worst

in each of us and all of us so that the best in each of us an all of us may be free.

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