On July 1, 1943, Rita – the third of five children – was born to the late Oliver, Jr. and Cleo Dais Washington. She was an extraordinary person from her birth to the moment of her birth to eternal life. Born in Mobile, into a loving and faith-filled family, Rita and her siblings Reginald, Vivian, Oliver III, and Feron learned many lessons from their parents and extended family. The importance of faith, hard work, education, and love of family and community were some of the hallmarks of the Dais-Washington family. Thus, it was no surprise that, near the end of her teenage years, Rita, inspired by her family and the witness of the Dominican sisters who taught her, expressed a desire to enter religious life. In 1961, Rita entered the novitiate of the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore, Maryland. The Oblate Sisters of Providence were the first religious order of women founded by and for Catholic women of African descent. Rita was given the religious name of Sister Adrian – a name years later she remarked she was never fond of. Upon reassuming her baptismal name, Sister Rita ministered in Oblate schools in several places in the country for 13 years. Led by the Holy Spirit and having come to know the Sisters for Christian Community and their spirituality and charism, Sister Rita joined them and professed vows in 1974 at the Sisters’ Assembly in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
As an Oblate Sister of Providence and as a Sister for Christian Community, Sister Rita absolutely adored teaching. She once remarked in an interview for a SFCC publication, “I’ve always loved teaching and whatever ministry I’ve been involved in included an element of teaching.” Sister left the classroom because of health issues. In 1984, she accepted the call to become the director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministry for the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama. She served in that capacity for eight years. She was utterly devoted to advancing the Church in the African American community, and graciously and effectively worked with the clergy and laity in implementing programs and opportunities to build up the bonds of faith and collaboration within the Black Catholic community and with the broader Church.
In 1992, Sister Rita accepted the call to become pastoral associate at Resurrection Catholic Church in Montgomery. During the next twenty-six years, Sister served in a variety of capacities. In addition to pastoral associate, she became an interim principal at Resurrection Catholic School, director of liturgy, a choir member, director of religious education, chaplain at Resurrection Catholic Missions’ skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, and director of the RCIA program. Sister had the unique ability to connect with the elderly and with children and young adults. Images of her in costume, appropriate to whatever the theme was for that year’s Vacation Bible School, dancing and marching the children into the auditorium will be treasured for decades to come.
Sister Rita experienced some level of health challenges most of her life and ministry, but with the grace of God she never let those challenges limit her work or her dreams. She once said of those challenges, “Having respiratory problems all of my life helped me with my relationship with God; to put my trust totally in Him and to appreciate how many times He has lifted me up!”
Sister loved the Lord, she loved God’s people, and she loved her family. She was never bereft of offering wise counsel and sage advice and occasionally a directive or two to those she loved. She mentored and supported many parishioners – as well as many younger religious women and clerics – and was active in the National Black Sisters Conference and the Joint Conference of Black Clerics and Religious women for nearly 50 years. She delighted in her studies at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University, and in the relationships forged there with luminaries like the late Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA, and the late Father Bede Abrams, OFMConv., among others.
Perhaps the only title of address and role which she relished more and which fit her more than “Sister” was the title “Aunt Rita”. She dearly loved her siblings and their spouses, but it would be no exaggeration to say she loved them even more for gifting her with her nieces and nephews and their children. She simply adored them.
Fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church, surrounded by loving siblings, nieces, nephews and parishioners, Sister Rita accepted the Lord’s call to come back to Him on August 13, 2018. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers, Reginald and Oliver, III. Her legacy of loving and generous service will be treasured by her sister, Vivian (John) Bacot, her brother, Feron Washington, her sister-in-law, Marie Washington; her sisters-in-heart, Addie Washington and Mary Beth Washington, her nieces, Rita Bacot Scott, Masonya Washington, Kala (Darryl) McCollum, Marissa (Marlon) Moore, Marya Washington, Vivian Alicia (Henry) Lyles and nephews: Reginald Washington, Jr., Brian Bacot, Kenneth Bacot, and John Bacot, Jr., Oliver IV ( Leah) Washington and Feron Washington, Jr., several grandnieces and grandnephews, a cadre of cousins, Sister Patsy Guyton, SFCC and the Sisters for Christian Community, her godson and colleague, W. Clifford Petty, Father Manuel Williams, C.R., and her entire Resurrection Catholic Missions’ family.
In lieu of flowers, Sr. Rita requested donations be made to Resurrection Catholic Missions of the South, Inc. To make a donation in her memory via mail, you may send your donation to the following address:
Resurrection Catholic Missions of the South, Inc.
2815 Forbes Drive
Montgomery, AL 36110
Donations may also be made in person at Resurrection Catholic Missions of the South, Inc. or by clicking here.