Norma Jean Jacobs was born on February 26, 1936, in Freeport, Illinois. She was the daughter of Ruth (Lahre) and Robert Jacobs. Although she had no siblings, she did claim as her distant relative Mother Alfred Moes, foundress of the Joliet Franciscans. Perhaps it was that genetic connection that gave her a feisty personality, an attraction to owning a dog and a talent for leadership in a variety of groups and causes.
Norma Jean left Freeport to join the Joliet Franciscans in 1954 after graduating from St. Joseph Elementary School and Aquin High School. She received the name Sister Brigid Marie. Rather than returning to her baptismal name after the Second Vatican Council, as many sisters did, she just dropped “Marie.” Sister Brigid received a BA with a major in sociology from the College of St. Francis in Joliet as well as an MA in theology.
For 20 years Brigid was an elementary school teacher (grades 2-8) and a director of religious education. Her ministry took her to various cities in Illinois and Ohio. During all of her years as a Joliet Franciscan, she enjoyed the companionship of her classmates and other community members. Having been an only child, she seemed to relish her connections to community in many forms. Close friends talk about the trips they took together, the meals they shared, the shopping (during which she was very frugal) and the games they sometimes played. A very special tradition with two friends grew out of a trip they once took to Massachusetts to deliver a treasured item from Illinois to another sister living temporarily in the East. The trip just happened to occur on a Halloween week-end, so this trio purposely planned Halloween trips every year for many years after that.
Read More About Sister Brigid’s Life
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