Sr Veronica Higgins, a special needs coordinator and member of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus, has died in Oklahoma after a single-vehicle crash on Jan. 2 near Okarche. She was 74 years old and is believed to have suffered a medical emergency prior to leaving the road and impacting a tree.
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City announced the news the same day, expressing shock at the sudden passing of the veteran Black Catholic religious sister.
“Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Veronica, the Carmelite Sisters of St. Therese, and all who grieve her passing,” he wrote on social media. “Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord.”
Born in 1951 in segregated Chattanooga, Tennessee, Higgins was adopted by Tolton and Alease Higgins and raised as a Protestant. She studied English at UT-Chattanooga, where she participated in the Civil Rights Movement. She was a convert to the Catholic faith, relocating to Oklahoma in the mid-1970s upon her decision to enter religious life.
Higgins reportedly chose the Carmelite Sisters in Oklahoma City because of their work with young people, as opposed to the contemplative life of the nuns in Tennessee.
She made her first vows in 1976 and later became the first fully professed Black member of her order. She studied for a master’s degree in special education at the University of Central Oklahoma, graduating in 1984. She earned a second master’s degree in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University in 1991.
She served for years in education, including for years as an administrator at the former Villa Teresa School in Oklahoma City, where she started out as a teacher in 1973. She was instrumental in the school’s revival after the turn of the millennium, before its closure in 2012.
Higgins continued to serve as a Catholic school teacher in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, before taking on work as a case manager at the Center of Family Love (CFL), a Catholic-founded nonprofit that serves neurodiverse individuals in Oklahoma. She had held that position since 2016.
“Many residents would wait by the window every morning before her arrival just to greet her and give her that first morning hug,” the organization said, noting that Higgins wove her musicianship and love for the arts into her work.
“She said that she loved completing her career at CFL because God had called to serve the orphans, the poor, and the needy.”
According to The Oklahoman, Higgins was also noted for outreach to immigrants, death row inmates, and the poor—a fact confirmed by content she shared on her social media accounts. Her final post, on Dec. 31, advocated for justice in a police brutality case in her home state.
Public officials in Oklahoma City, as well as at the statewide level, were among those offering condolences and honoring Higgins following her death.
“Her influence reached far beyond the classroom and the communities she served, shaping countless lives and inspiring all who knew her,” said State Senator Paul Rosino. “Oklahoma has lost a remarkable woman, and her absence will be deeply felt.”
“To know Sister Veronica Higgins was to have your faith in humanity constantly restored,” added Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt.
Higgins was predeceased by her mother, who joined her in the Catholic Church, and her father, who had been raised in the faith. She was due to celebrate 50 years of religious profession next year. Somewhat uncharacteristically, she celebrated her 40th anniversary in 2016.
Among various public remembrances, a memorial Mass was held for Higgins on Jan. 6 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Okarche, the city where she worked at CFL.
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City has announced a vigil service for Higgins at 6pm CT on Friday, Jan. 10, at Our Lady’s Cathedral, where Higgins was a parishioner and longtime member of the choir. A funeral Mass will take place on Saturday at 9am, also at the cathedral. A reception will follow in the Connor Center, along with a private burial service.
In lieu of flowers, the Carmelite Sisters ask that donations be made to the St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Endowment Fund. Checks can be made out to the Catholic Foundation of Oklahoma and mailed to Sr Barbara Joseph at the Saint Ann Retirement Center in Oklahoma City.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.