Remembering Sister Elizabeth Hebert
Sister Elizebeth Hebert passed into eternal life on August 28, 2026
Sister Elizabeth Hebert was born to David and Mary Eileen Hebert on January 12, 1953, in Abbeville, Louisiana. The family attended St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville. Elizabeth attended St. Francis de Sales School in Houma for grades 1 to 4 where she received First Communion. Then she attended Immaculate Heart of Mary School in New Orleans for grades 5-8 where she was confirmed. She attributes her love for the Eucharist to her early years of education in Catholic School. At Immaculate Heart of Mary School, she became acquainted with the Sisters of Christian Charity and decided to attend Maria Immaculata High School at the SCC Motherhouse in Wilmette, Illinois. She attended for one year, but when it closed she finished her high school years at St. Scholastica Academy in Covington, Louisiana, graduating in 1971.
All through the years of change, she felt the flame of a vocation to religious life still burning. She wrote in her autobiography. "Despite misgivings, I decided to attend Mallinckrodt College in Wilmette, Illinois to explore further if I did have a call to religious life. A growing conviction of being called, of being chosen by God, prompted me to enter the novitiate of the Sisters of Christian Charity in 1973."
In 1975, in her second year of novitiate, Elizabeth experienced another life changing call to be a part of founding the new Congregation, the Sisters of the Living Word. She believed that her ministry in education, expressed the community's charism to be a living word of God that frees the oppressed and brings new life.
During her life, Elizabeth believed that Jesus the Living Word guided her life. At the time of her final Vows (1981) she wrote, "I believe He is always present, planning for a future full of hope (Jeremiah 29). I celebrate with my life the call to be His own, to live through love in Him." (Ephesians 1)
Elizabeth served God all her life as an educator in the following places:
Le Mars, Iowa
St. Anthony School in Gretna, Louisiana
Our Lady of Perpetual Help (as principal) in Belle Chasse, Louisiana
St. Margaret Mary School in Slidell, Louisiana
St. Edward the Confessor School in Metairie, Louisiana.
At St. Edward the Confessor, Sister Elizabeth continued a rich legacy of service begun by two other Sisters of the Living Word, Sister Mary de Lourdes Charbonnet and Sister Julia Stump. With Sister Elizabeth’s passing, more than sixty years of the congregation’s ministry at the parish comes to a close—a legacy of faith, learning, and loving service that will endure in countless lives.
She ends her autobiography with these profound words that sum up the life of Sr. Elizabeth Hebert... "I want to speak His word by my life so all may be one in His Kingdom." (John 17).
The Sisters of the Living Word, the Hebert family, and her St. Edward the Confessor Parish and School family appreciate your love, support and prayers for our Sister Elizabeth.