Sister Ebo was introduced to the Catholic faith at nine years old. Her childhood friend, Bish (nicknamed Bishop for the beads he wore around his neck that he called a rosary), convinced her to enter St. Mary’s Church. Even though she was raised Baptist, she felt drawn to the Blessed Sacrament. After an extended stay in St. Joseph Hospital in Bloomington, she was intrigued by the kindness and spirituality of the lay workers. She asked to receive religious instruction from a visiting priest while later hospitalized at Fairview Sanatorium in Normal, IL, for

tuberculosis. She was baptized Catholic on December 19, 1942.

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After being the first Black graduate of Holy Trinity Catholic High School, she became one of the first three Black women to enter the Sisters of Mary religious order in 1946. She received the name Sister Antona and professed her final vows on February 11, 1954. In 1987, the Sisters of St. Mary merged with the Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville, MO, and became the Franciscan Sisters of Mary.

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As a religious sister, she received further education, earning a bachelor’s degree in medical records and a master’s in hospital executive development from St. Louis University. Sister Antona later earned a master’s degree in theology of healthcare and became a certified chaplain through the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.

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Despite facing multiple rejections to Catholic nursing school because of her race, she was accepted into the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, where she was the first Black student of their nursing program. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, she worked in medical records at St. Mary’s Infirmary and became the director in 1962.

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In March 1965, Sister Ebo watched the despairing footage of “Bloody Sunday,” where state and local police officials attacked hundreds of civil rights activists during an attempted march from Selma to Montgomery, AL. When her superior asked her if she wanted to join an interfaith group

 

of 54 priests, nuns, rabbis and lay people going to Selma for the second march, she agreed to attend. Sister Ebo found herself in front of the march because of her dark skin and religious habit. She told the reporters, “I am here because I am a Negro, a nun, a Catholic and because I want to bear witness.” These words sparked the beginning of her career as a civil rights activist. Two years later, Sister Ebo became the first Black woman religious to run a hospital in the United States, which was St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo, WI.

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Four months after the assassination of Dr. King in 1968, more than 150 Black sisters from nearly 80 different national and international congregations gathered for the first National Black Sisters Conference (NBSC) in Pittsburg, PA. Sister Ebo attended the first meeting, making her a founding member of the organization. She was a member of the first executive board and served as president of NBSC from 1980-1982. In 1989, our organization honored her with the Harriet Tubman Award for her service and leadership and being a “Moses to her people.”

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In the 1980s, she earned a master’s degree from the Aquinas Center of Theology, then spent six years working as a chaplain at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Sister Ebo later moved back to St. Louis where she served as councilor of her community. In 1999, she was chosen alongside civil rights activist Rosa Parks to receive the Eucharist from Pope John Paul II during his visit to St. Louis. She would go on to receive numerous awards and recognition for her social justice work.

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Sister Ebo died November 11, 2017, at the Sarah Community in Bridgeton, MO. She was 93 years old. She leaves us a legacy of unwavering faith and Black pride that reflects the mission and vision of the National Black Sisters Conference.