Inaugural 'Run for the Nuns' planned for Carmelite Monastery

Intermountain Catholic

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HOLLADAY — Sister Mary Joseph Whipperman was the public face of the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Monastery, known by Catholics and non-Catholics alike as a driving force behind the annual Carmelite Fair. She also served as the extern sister for the monastery for 46 years.

As a tribute to her, a 5K run/walk will be held prior to the fair’s opening this year.

"When she passed, I think immediately a lot of people started to think about how we could create some kind of an ongoing or annual way to remember her," said Helen Langan, the race director, who was a friend of Sr. Mary Joseph and the person who suggested the run as a memorial.

The last conversation Langan had with Sr. Mary Joseph was about health. The nun, who had been a nurse before taking vows, had suffered from adult-onset diabetes, and she urged Langan to take care of herself. "We had never talked about that sort of thing before," Langan said. "It was like this weird wake-up call for me."

When the nun died about three weeks later, Langan wanted to create a memorial event that would generate revenue for the Carmelites, bring more people to the fair and also raise awareness about diabetes. A 5K run, she decided, was a good way to do all of that.

"Mary Joseph deserves to be commemorated by something like this for the spunk and the fire she brought to her own mission, which was to be the buffer between the outside life and the life of the prayer and silence within the cloister," said Dr. Corethia Qualls, a theology teacher at Judge Memorial Catholic High School who also is a secular Carmelite. "Run for the nuns – that in fact is what she did as the extern [sister.] She did all the outside errands. She drove them to their appointments. She was doing run for the nuns for years."

Qualls is one of about 25 secular Carmelites in the Salt Lake area; there is another group in the Ogden area. The nearby monastery is a great benefit for them for meetings, she said, but it also benefits the greater community. "Having the Carmelite nuns resident in Holladay is like having an anchor in a very fluid world," she said. "It is a real anchor in the spiritual world. There are many people in the Salt Lake area who can recount to you stories of miracles wrought by the prayers of those nuns. They form an island of stability in a world that is very much in flux and for that we need them and we treasure them."

Toward this end, proceeds from the 5K will be donated to the Carmelites, Langan said, and the event welcomes people of all fitness levels.

The Run for the Nuns start will be 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 19 at Cottonwood Elementary, 5205 S. Holladay Blvd, and end at the monastery, 5714 S. Holladay Blvd., where the Carmelite Fair opens at 11 a.m. The $25 entry fee will include $5 in scrip that can be used for food, drink or activities at the fair. To register, visit www.active.com/running/holladay-ut/run-for-the-nuns-2010, call 801-675-8593, or email runforthenuns@gmail.com.