CEDAR FALLS - When Marilou Irons entered religious life in the 1960s, she knew she wanted to devote herself to God and her community.

The Waukon teen just wasn't sure how to achieve those goals.

"Then I joined the Presentation sisters in Dubuque, and that decision was made for me," said Irons, now 57. "The Presentation sisters are known as great educators."

Today Irons serves as principal of St. Patrick School in Cedar Falls. She's one of a dwindling number of nuns in the church, and one of only a few sisters left teaching in the country's Roman Catholic schools. Irons is the sole resident of St. Pat's convent, but says she feels her call to service is just as important as when she joined the faith.

"Numbers have shifted, but I think there's always going to be a need for people to be servants in the church," Irons said. "The work we do, it will never be outdated."

For the past 35 years Irons has worked as a teacher or administrator in Archdiocese of Dubuque schools. She is in her ninth year as principal at St. Pat's. On most days, she can be spotted popping into classrooms, supervising after-school activities or talking about her prayer life with students and staff.

"You see her at all the activities that the kids are involved in," said St. Pat's junior high teacher Sandi Maiers. "She gives a lot of herself to the parish and the school."

Irons said working in education has strengthened her commitment to God.

She is inspired by the K-8 school's innovative teachers, and said St. Pat's students serve as constant reminders of the importance of faith.

"They challenge me, because their love of the Lord is so pure and so innocent," she said. "That prevents me from becoming cynical. … I think the Lord wants me to pick up on their energy and keep looking for unjust systems."

In the 1950s more than 90 percent of Catholic school teachers in the U.S. were nuns. Today sisters account for a little more than 3 percent of staff in church schools, according to the National Catholic Educational Association.

Fewer women are choosing religious life as a vocation, explained Irons. Membership in religious orders across the church is declining, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a nonprofit organization that studies the Catholic Church. In 1965, 179,954 nuns lived in the U.S. Today that number is 66,608.

"We're finding that we are depending more and more on lay people to help us meet our mission," Irons said.

The nun is one of 140 members of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary based in Dubuque. Roughly 3,000 women around the world belong to the same order, which is devoted to caring for the poor and uneducated.

"Up until the 1980s, 95 percent of our sisters served that mission in the schools," said Sister Beth Kress, another Presentation nun. "But now about half of our members are involved in other social justice ministries."

Today Presentation members serve as lobbyists, peace activists and chaplains, she said. The order also now allows community members to take a more active role in order projects, such as staffing homeless shelters and literacy centers.

Still, nuns like Irons play an important role in Catholic education, said the Rev. James Secora, St. Patrick's parish pastor.

"She adds a lot to the school," he said. "The students see someone who has offered their life to service to the church."

Sisters built the country's Catholic academies during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. The schools helped new immigrant families find success in the U.S. without losing their ties to the Catholic church, Secora said.

"Sister Marilou is just continuing that tradition," he said. "She's a great ambassador for the school."

Contact Mary Stegmeir at (319) 291-1482 or mary.stegmeir@wfccouier.com.

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