Theresa Linehan

Born in San Francisco, Sister Theresa Linehan, SNDdeN enjoyed the benefits of care and education both with the Holy Family Sisters at Holy Family Day Home and with the Sisters of Notre Dame at Notre Dame elementary, high school and at College of Notre (now Notre Dame de Namur University). Her call to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur was a circuitous one. 

Before entering in 1975, Sister Theresa was already a teacher. She taught preschool and kindergarten through her college years and even started a preschool program for the First Baptist Church of San Francisco. She was a Jesuit volunteer for two years on the Crow Reservation in St. Xavier, Montana. Much later, following the death of her mother in 1992, Sister Theresa discovered that she has Native American blood; she is now an enrolled member of her tribe, the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohicans in Wisconsin. 

Sister Theresa’s early years in ministry were spent in elementary education and administration, serving in schools in Northern California such as Mission Dolores (San Francisco), Sacred Heart (Salinas), St. Joseph (Alameda), Most Holy Trinity (San Jose) and Good Shepherd (Santa Cruz).   

Over time she identified a yearning to work more directly with the agricultural workers of the Pajaro and Watsonville areas. In 1994, Sister Theresa returned to school and became a registered nurse and nurse practitioner with a focus on public health diabetes nursing. She was employed as a diabetes nurse and educator in a medical office and ministered part time at Casa de la Cultura in Pajaro where she provided agricultural families with diabetes education and care.   

In 2009, after completing a five-year term in provincial leadership she enjoyed a sabbatical across the country at Springbank Retreat Center in South Carolina that focused on eco-spirituality, the arts and Native American spirituality. She appreciated this spiritual awakening which led her to join their board of directors in 2010 and the staff the following year. Having a place to touch and grow in her own awareness of her Native American roots was transformational. Sister Theresa’s ministry extended from administrative assistant to preparing and implementing programs to spiritual companioning and hospitality to all who came to Springbank. She used her gift of creating inspirational prayer services and programs that help shift the consciousness of many towards healing, wholeness and sacredness of Mother Earth and the ever-presence of our good God.   

Sister Theresa returned to California in August 2020 and continues to do some diabetes consultation and finances for Casa de la Cultura in Pajaro. She creates and prepares days of reflection/retreats focusing on different aspects of Native American spirituality, while serving on several committees for the U.S. East-West Province. 

Updated in 2025