Sister Roberta Desjardins SUSC

Sister Roberta Desjardins (Sr. Paul Anna) SUSC died June 20 at Mary Immaculate Residence, Lawrence at the age of ninety-five. Born in Lawrence MA on October 31, 1930, she was the daughter of the late Sylvio and Anna (Turcotte) Desjardins. In addition to her Holy Union Sisters, she is survived by her nephew Paul, his son Jonathan of Lyon, France and Thomas and his wife Brenda of Reno, Nevada. She was predeceased by her brother Sylvio.

Sister Roberta was a graduate of Sacred Heart High School, Lawrence. She entered the Holy Union Sisters on January 21, 1951, and pronounced her final vows on July 27, 1959. She studied education and art at the Sacred Heart Teacher Training School in Groton MA and earned a B. S. Ed from Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Sister Roberta taught briefly in Holy Union Schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island before being missioned to Cameroon in 1957. She was there only a few years before she was named leader of the Cameroon Vice-Province. In 1971 she was elected to the General Council of the Holy Union Sisters in Rome. When she completed her term, she returned to Cameroon, where she ministered among the Baka people in the tropical rain forest of southeastern Cameroon in Moloundou. In 1984 Sister Roberta returned to Rome for a year's sabbatical. There, she worked with the Jesuit Refugee Services at the Centro Astalli, serving the large number of Ethiopian refugees who were fleeing a repressive government. At the end of the year, she returned to Moloundou. In 1995 she was again chosen to lead the Cameroon Region. In 2000 she left Cameroon to serve as the administrator of the Holy Union Generalate Community in Rome.

Sister Roberta's gift with languages enabled her to relate easily to people in her varied ministries. Her language skills made her a valued translator at many international meetings of the Holy Union Sisters.

In 2010, Sister Roberta returned to the United States. For several years she was the coordinator of the retired Holy Union Sisters at Mary Immaculate Residence. She also volunteered on several Holy Union Committees and her ease with technology enabled her to continue her translation work virtually.

In 2025 she celebrated her seventy-fifth Jubilee. At the time of her death, Sister Roberta was the oldest Holy Union Sister in the United States.

Sister Roberta's Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Tuesday, June 30th at St. Mark's Church, 105 Stanley Street, Attleboro Falls at 11:30 a.m. It will be preceded by the wake at 10 a.m. and Prayer Service at 11:00. Burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery will follow. For service livestream, please see https://transfigurationparishna.org/ and 'Worship With Us' at the time of service. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of McGaffigan Family Funeral Home, Pepperell MA.

Donations in Sister Roberta's memory may be made to the Mission Advancement Office of the Holy Union Sisters, 205 Bedford Street, Fall River MA 02720