On July 3, Consolata Sister Adelangela Paita went home to the Lord. Many in the diocese will remember her perpetual smile and limitless energy as she served the Diocese of Birmingham from 1992 to 2014. During her many years in the diocese, she ministered to those in need at the Birmingham and Eutaw Catholic Centers of Concern, but she also championed Native Americans within the diocese.

Sister Adel, as she was lovingly referred to by those who knew her, was born in 1937 in the small town of Calice al Cornoviglio, Italy. During her teen years, she “was convinced” that she could make “one” person happy as a wife. As she prayed to find that person, she met a group of Consolata Sisters. Reflecting on that meeting, Sister Adel once wrote, “These women without forming a family of their own made so many people happy in life, much more than the one I thought [I could] ‘make happy’ with the outpouring of my love, as a wife and mother.” After prayer, she realized she was free to choose her path, but she also was able to discern that she would have neither “peace nor joy” in her heart until she “chose Him.” “The Lord,” she said, “would be the One Whom I would love and make happy. I was seventeen.”

For two years she kept her decision a secret because she knew she needed the time to gain the strength to “say good-bye” to those she loved. In 1964, Sister Adel took her final vows as a Consolata Missionary Sister and traveled to Kenya. After eight years, she returned to her native Italy to serve her order until she accepted her assignment to travel to the United States and serve the Diocese of Birmingham. 

In the early days of her service within the diocese, she sought ways to live out the missionary charism of her order. During the Lenten season of 1992, she attended a weekend of reflection, dubbed a mission forum, with the Benedictine Sisters of Cullman at Sacred Heart Monastery. The forum highlighted three groups which experienced suffering: Native Americans, African Americans, and Latinos. Sister Adel felt drawn to the Native American group.

After attending the 1993 Tekakwitha Conference in Seattle, Washington, Sister returned home with an inclination to identify Native People “hiding in Alabama.” Her efforts were encouraged by Father Paul Lenz, then director of the National Mission Office, and Birmingham’s newly installed shepherd, Bishop David E. Foley.  

Embracing the same goals as the Tekakwitha National Conference, Sister Adel organized a group to reinforce Catholic identity, affirm pride in cultures and spiritual traditions, and nurture the relationship between Indigenous People and the Catholic Church. The group would go on to be recognized as the 91st Kateri Circle.

A highlight in Sister Adel’s ministry to Native Americans came when a statue of St. Kateri Tekakwitha was installed and dedicated on the grounds of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Adamsville. 

Sister Adel was transferred to Arizona in 2014 to serve along the Gila River, a Pima Indian Reservation. In 2019, she went to live at the Consolata Motherhouse in Turin, Italy, where she lived until her passing. Her Mass of Christian burial took place July 7.