Sr Greta Jupiter, SSF, who passed on August 28th, will be laid to rest Wednesday morning, September 15th, at 10am CT in her native New Orleans.
The funeral, delayed by Hurricane Ida, will take place at the motherhouse of her order, the Sisters of the Holy Family—the historic congregation of Black sisters founded by Venerable Henriette DeLille in 1837.
It is the latest instance of loss this summer in the historic community, as Jupiter’s fellow sister Clare of Assisi Pierre, SSF preceded her in death by just a few weeks, succumbing to illness on August 11th.
Born in the 1940s, Jupiter had been a member of the order since 1968, having entered formation after her graduation from St Mary’s Academy, the sisters’ 154-year-old high school in New Orleans.
Jupiter celebrated 53 years in the order last month, having professed first vows on August 15th, 1968, according to her obituary in the Times-Picayune.
His tenure within the order included studies at Xavier University of Louisiana and the University of New Orleans, and an extensive career in education during the years following.
She taught at two of her alma maters, St Mary’s and XULA, and also at the historic Holy Rosary Institute in Lafayette, Louisiana and at Regina Caeli High School in Los Angeles—both of which were run by the sisters before closing in the 1990s.
Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Jupiter helped found the MAX School, consisting of the three Black Catholic high schools in New Orleans: St Mary’s, St Augustine (run by the Josephites), and the former Xavier Prep (run by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament).
She served in a number of capacities in relief efforts following the storm, and shortly afterward became second in command of her congregation. She was then elected superior in 2014.
In more recent years, she was active in the canonization cause for Mother Henriette, who was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. Jupiter traveled to Rome in 2012 with a number of Holy Family Sisters to meet with a Vatican official to discuss these efforts.
In late 2019, she co-hosted the sisters’ annual Heavenly Host of Stars gala benefiting their multitudinous operations, including Lafon Nursing Facility, the oldest Catholic nursing home in the country—and one of the oldest of any kind in the states.
Jupiter’s homegoing tomorrow will begin with visitation at 8am, and a wake for 9:15. Burial will follow the funeral, and will take place at historic St Louis Cemetery #2.
The Mass will be livestreamed on YouTube, and a Zoom link can be found here.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger, a seminarian with the Josephites, and a ThM student with the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA).
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