Sister Ubaldina

With Sister Ubaldina, my Kindergarten teacher

In 1998, I was able to re-unite with my Kindergarten teacher from 1956, Sister Ubaldina Portelli. She was still teaching Religious Education to the children at Birzebbugia and helping out at the parish office at that time. She must have been 42 years old when she was teaching us, as she died in 2008 aged 94. As a fairly young nun, she probably loved children tremendously and I remember her mingling with us children as if she was a mother watching over her children. I wrote a brief obituary when she died....”One curious anecdote I remember so well is the fact that she used to pull me out of the class and take me down to the Nuns’ refectory to eat with them during lunch break. In hindsight, I conclude that this was either because I was a troublemaker (which I don’t think I ever was,) or because she singled me out as a teacher’s pet. Or simply because the nuns wanted a young child to eat with them and enjoy the spontaneous remarks and antics young children say and do.” Today she would have been 99 years young.
Let us not forget our religious sisters and priests who dedicated their lives for the service of the church. Sister Ubaldina was one of hundreds of sisters who had a great impact on so many people, and therefore on the religious fabric of Maltese life. We don’t give them too much credit for helping build a solid foundation which have kept so many families and parishes united together. Rest in peace ‘Suor Baldina’, as we affectionately used to call her.