Sister M. Edwina Finnegan, OP

Sister M. Edwina Finnegan has touched many lives throughout her 75 years of religious life. Her desire to help students learn was the catalyst for her teaching career. 

Born and baptizedin Dwight, Ill., she grew up in Odell and considers St. Paul Parish there her home parish.  

She always knew she would enter the convent after high school but chose to work for one year after high school. “That would allow me—the youngest of six children—to ‘sow my wild oats.’” which to her meant taking a vacation to visit her older sisters who were living and working in Maryland. 

Sister M. Edwina’s first assignments were teaching at St. Joseph in Bradley, Sacred Heart School at Granite City, St. Rose School at Jacksonville and St. Thomas in Philo. 

In Springfield she taught students at St. Frances Cabrini, Little Flower, and Christ the King School. She also taught at St. Mary’s, East Moline, St. Thomas in Crystal Lake and Our Lady Queen Peace, Bethalto. 

Her passion for assisting students who struggle to learn led to her role as a tutor at Holy Angels School, Aurora. At Holy Cross School, Mendota, she pioneered a reading program. 

Sister M. Edwina is one of two sisters who have the distinction of celebrating their 75th anniversary of profession during the 150th anniversary year of the congregation. She lives at Sacred Heart Convent in Springfield, where she is a minister of prayer and enjoys following the Chicago Cubs. 

She credits The Dominican Sisters who taught her in Odell for providing a perfect example of living religious life. “A lot of us learned, from the example set for us, that religious life is rich with adventure and relationship,” she said. In retirement she has reveled in quilting and sewing, and these days spends lots of time in prayer. 

The youngest of six children, all of whom have died, Sister M. Edwina has 23 living nieces and nephews, some of whom will join her for a celebration at Sacred Heart Convent in June.