On Sunday, January 24, alumnae across six decades; Religious of the Sacred Heart; current and former trustees, faculty and staff, and parents gathered in the Chapel of Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart for a Memorial Mass for Sister Catherine Baxter. Sister Baxter, who died on Christmas Day 2009, was Headmistress at Newton Country Day from 1964-1969 and again from 1978-1989.

In her welcome, Headmistress Sister Rogers read a note from Carol Gallagher ’69 who illustrated how instrumental Sister Baxter was in her life as a student and later as a co-worker. “She taught me about life personally, spiritually, and professionally,” wrote Carol.

“We gather to celebrate Kay’s life and recall her as an extraordinary homilist, a quintessential educator, and a Religious of the Sacred Heart,” said Sister Rogers. “She was crystal clear about what she wanted for the girls who came to Newton Country Day School. So many of us loved Kay Baxter, a holy woman.”

The liturgy was concelebrated by Very Reverend Kevin O’Leary, VF, a former faculty member at Newton Country Day, and Reverend William G. Williams. Readers, Gift Bearers, and Eucharistic Ministers included Ellen Harrington ’77; Sister Mary-Louise Wolfington; Mary-Anne Benedict P’89,’92, ’95; Mary Mutrie MacBey ’61, P’92; Tracey Toto Brienza ’87, P’08; History Department Chair Patience Berkman; Assistant Head of Upper School Nicole Noel; Head of the Upper School Kathleen Scully Hodges P’95; Head of the Middle School Peter Badini P’08; and Chair of the Religion Department Maryanne Shemo Mignone.

Father Williams met Sister Baxter in 1969 when she taught CCD in Roxbury where he was a deacon. His homily elaborated on the volatile era that held the Church and the country in turmoil and “in the middle was Kay Baxter, a quiet, thoughtful leader,” he said. “Kay’s greatest concern was to develop women of faith. At a time when leadership was needed, she challenged us to work for balance and openness and she guided us in a new grace experience.” He said the readings from Nehemiah, I Corinthians, and St. Luke painted a collage of Kay Baxter. “The Word is proclaimed with great solemnity, hope, joy, mercy, and faithfulness. Today we thank God for the gift of Kay. It was an honor to share in her life.”

Associate Head of the Upper School John Reine, faculty member for 29 years, gave the eulogy.

“Kay enjoyed historical perspective, so let’s remember that the Rome where Kay and her Probation Class gathered was the Rome where the Catholic bishops of the world were gathered for the Second Vatican Council. The Council would usher in a renewal of the understanding and celebration of Eucharist about which St. Thomas Aquinas had written his Latin hymn Adoro Te Devote. The same Council would lead to a transformation of the religious life within which Kay and her Probation Class were pledging themselves. Kay might well have pondered these lines at different times and in different ways through her life.

See, Lord, at Thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.

“These two lines served as the identifying motto for Kay – and perhaps a clue to a life.”

He also reflected on a characteristic gesture of Sister Baxter, “She put her right hand over her chest when she talked,” he stated. “What was Kay saying about her Rhode Island heart when she placed her hand over it? When she stood at this lectern and put her hand over her heart, was she recalling, ‘Yes, here lies low a heart lost in wonder?’ Was she symbolically safe-guarding the secret of how God entered it? Amid the daily challenges and opportunities, the achievements and transitions of her life, was this Kay’s way of admitting the mystery that heart may sometimes have been for her?

“Let me start my answer by saying: there is no better place to offer a reflection on the life of Kay Baxter than this lectern,” said Mr. Reine. He went on to say that Kay seemed to conclude each homily in the Chapel or at a retreat with gratitude for what her life had given her “to do and understand and say.

“Some people deserve to have someone ask about their heart. They deserve to have the importance of what took place in it acknowledged. They certainly deserve to have safeguarded the secret of how God entered it. They deserve, as well, to have people know that, yes, here lay low a heart lost in wonder.”

As part of the Blue Room reception that followed, the first lay Board Chair at Newton Country Day, Jonathan Noonan, offered his reminiscences on Sister Baxter. Mr. Noonan, who enjoyed a privilege of meeting with Sister Baxter weekly, said it was “instant chemistry. She was quiet and shy and an extraordinary leader. How much the world changed and the Church in the world changed from the time Kay entered the order. The Religious of the Sacred Heart recognized early that changes were important and that they needed to be in the forefront. To that end they created a lay Board of Trustees to work in collaboration with Kay. She wanted Newton Country Day to grow with the times. The rest is history. She passed on this institution and look at the results. It is a world class institution and it is Newton Country Day – School of the Sacred Heart.

“While she was Headmistress,” concluded Mr. Noonan, “Kay planted many trees and shrubs. Catherine Baxter, RSCJ – may your garden continue to bear fruit.”

See, Lord, at Thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.

Click here to view a slideshow of Baxter Memorial Mass.