Religious sister who fostered children with special needs receives honor

Sister Michele Bisbey of the Marie de la Roche Province of the Sisters of Divine Providence in McCandless, Pennsylvania, was one of 10 women recognized as the newest Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania last month by Gov. Josh Shapiro and First Lady Lori Shapiro.

The Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania is an organization established in 1949 to recognize women for their distinguished service, professional achievements, and voluntary contributions to Pennsylvania and the nation.

Bisbey entered religious life in 1967 and in 1987 began teaching in higher education. In 1992 she became a professor of religious studies at La Roche University.

In the 1990s, she and another religious sister from her congregation — Sister Elana Almendarez — decided to start fostering children in response to a high need for foster parents. At the time, they had a large home that they lived in for over a decade on the campus of La Roche University and decided to use this space to care for one to three children at a time.

The sisters have fostered 28 children since 1992.

Over the years, the sisters fostered children with special needs and complex medical conditions. They are currently permanent legal custodians to a 20-year-old woman named Amanda who has spina bifida and other medical conditions. She has been with them since 2008.

“I receive this honor with deep gratitude, but I do so standing on the shoulders of generations of Sisters of Divine Providence and women religious who have quietly served others for centuries,” Bisbey said in a press release about her award given on Oct. 7.

She added: “Our charism calls us to trust in the Providence of God and to be participants in God’s abundance, not simply its beneficiaries. Everything I have been given through my sisters, my students, and the children who have come into my life has only multiplied in the sharing.”

During their time fostering children, the sisters have seen some of the children return to their biological parents, others were adopted, and others aged out of the system. However, many still keep in touch. According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, one young man who was raised by the sisters since he was a young child now works in Tennessee and keeps in touch with them on a daily basis.

In addition to her foster ministry, Bisbey speaks nationally and internationally about social justice and serving the underserved. She also helped her congregation build a new home for aging sisters; the Commons at Providence Heights is an 83-bed facility that provides care for aging sisters as well as members of the community.

Bisbey currently serves as provincial director of the Marie de la Roche Province of the Sisters of Divine Providence, providing spiritual and organizational leadership to the congregation, and as vice chair of the La Roche University Board of Trustees.