LI VING WITNE SS
WAYNE COUNTY JAIL IS THE ‘RIGHT PLACE’ FOR SISTER PEGGY DEVANEY 8
A R C HDIOCE SE OF DET ROI T
THERE WAS ONLY A BRIEF PAUSE BEFORE A THEN 30-SOMETHING YOUNG SISTER THOUGHT, “OH, I THINK I’M IN THE RIGHT PLACE.” THESE AREN’T THE TYPICAL WARM AND WELCOMING WORDS YOU’D EXPECT TO HEAR WHEN SOMEONE’S REALIZED THEIR VOCATIONAL CALLING, BUT YOU COULD SAY SISTER PEGGY DEVANEY, IHM IS ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL. Born in 1941 to Irish immigrants, Sister Peggy grew up on the west side of Detroit in a community of immigrant families where she says she became aware of the idea that, “There is something outside of where you are” at a young age. She attended St. Francis De Sales School from first to 12th grade and it was there where her love for the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was first planted. The sisters’ order was adjacent to the school, and it was in Sister Peggy’s classrooms where the sisters taught. When asked about her call to religious life, Sister Peggy puts it simply, “It’s seeking God.” She continues, “When we talk about a call to religious life that really is in your heart and in your soul, that’s not something you put in.” Her discernment took her to a number of orders, but she couldn’t deny the connection she had with the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a connection that had been fostered for 12 years during her schooling. Ultimately joining the community in her late teenage years, Sister Peggy began her life of ministry and taught at Epiphany Grade School in Detroit and St. Michael’s in Flint.
