A story of adoption

Richley blessed by faith and family

By Sharmane Adams  |  The Catholic Compass  |  September/October 2022

Stories of adoption reflect empathy, compassion, sacrifice and love. Each story is inspiring and unique in its own way. Mary Rosella, “Rosie,” had no recollection of her biological mother when she was a child because Rosie was placed for adoption through Catholic Charities in Pensacola the day she was born.

When Rosemary, Rosie’s biological mother, discov-
ered she was pregnant at 
age 35, she was working at Sacred Heart Hospital. The Daughters of Charity, who ran the hospital, found out Rosemary was a mother of a five-year-old boy, pregnant and unwed, so they took her under their wing. “From what I understand, the sisters planted the adoption seed in her head,” Rosie said. 

When Rosie was born in 1956, she was placed in an orphanage for six weeks before Robert and Eleanor Hill took her into their home as a foster child. The nuns in the orphanage named the baby Marita. 

Eleanor, who worked as head nurse in the newborn intensive care unit at Sacred Heart Hospital, fell in love with the child. She prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary that if they were blessed to adopt the baby, she would name her Mary Rosella.

Eleanor’s prayers were soon answered. She and Robert welcomed Rosie into their family as their second adopted child. Jack, Rosie’s older brother, was adopted when he was two.
“God had his hand in all of it. My adoptive mother had lost four babies from miscarriages. She loved children. If my mom had been able to carry the babies to term, I probably wouldn’t have been part of their family. I look back now and see God and the Blessed Mother orchestrated all of it. I’m so thankful,” Rosie said.

Growing up in a devout Catholic family, Rosie could never imagine living in a more loving home. She attended Little Flower Catholic School and Pensacola Catholic High School, where she recalls life-long friendships were first made.

Rosie identified with her birth mother the day she had her daughter. “When I was giving birth to Heidi, I remember thinking, ‘Oh, that poor girl went through this, and she didn’t get to go home with her baby.’ At that point, I thought Rosemary was a teenager when she had me.  I never dreamed she was 35,” Rosie said.

In 1978, Rosie contacted Adoptees’ Liberty Movement Association to inquire about her birth parents. But she didn’t continue when she heard the registry fee was $50. “It wasn’t the fact that it was a lot of money; I just decided I wasn’t that curious,” Rosie explained.
While living in Indiana, 35 years later, she received a card in the mail. It read, “Can you please call me? It’s a matter that concerns both of us.” Rosie knew immediately that the letter was concerning her birth parents. 

“When I placed the call, I was scared and apprehensive but also excited. The handwriting was so wiggly that I thought it might be my grandmother. She said, “Do you know who I am,” the voice on the phone asked. “I’m not sure.” Rosie replied. “Are you my grandmother?” 
To her surprise, the caller said she was Rosie’s birth mother. During the conversation, Rosie was told she had a half brother named Patrick.

The two met a year later.

I wanted her to know I had a wonderful childhood with amazing parents and I had a good life. I told her that I had the most fabulous foundation from my adoptive parents,” Rosie said. 

A few years later, Rosie learned Rosemary had passed away.

When Rosie’s adoptive mother, Eleanor, died in 2005, Robert, who was retired from civil service, decided to move from Pensacola to Indiana to be closer to Rosie. In 2008, they moved back to Pensacola. Rosie was approached by a friend who asked her to serve on the Catholic Charities Advisory Board. She said yes. 

“I thought it was a great opportunity to get back into the community, she said. Rosie added that her father saw the irony that she was volunteering for an organization that had been so pivotal at the beginning of her life. She served on the board for five years and continued to volunteer at various fundraisers within the organization. 

After Rosie’s dad passed away in 2017, Matt Knee, executive director of Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida, contacted Rosie about a project. At first, she thought it was a volunteer project. To her surprise, he was talking about a job.

“I was 60 years old and had been out of the workforce for 14 years. I’d also been a caregiver to my dad for that long. I thought, ‘Who is going to hire me?’” Rosie laughed.

As an administrative assistant, Rosie wears many hats as her job has evolved through the years. She likes to be “all things to all people.” Rosie credits her parents for teaching her hon-or and respect. Her mom taught her at an early age to be kind to everyone. “She said, ‘You nev-er know who’s an angel,’” Rosie said. “When my mom would leave for work, she prayed, ‘May I see the face of Christ in every patient.’ I say the same prayer in my job.”

That upbringing is evident to Matt. Her nickname at Catholic Charities is “director of first impressions.”

“She greets every person who comes to Catholic Charities in their time of need with the highest level of compassion and care; sometimes, that is all a person needs,” Matt said. “Rosie lives up to her name.”

Rosie says that one of her highlights is working in Catholic Charities Adoption Services.
“I remember the first time I was involved with birth mothers; I got really emotional,” she said. “And then the first time I got to see an adoptive family; I wasn’t as emotional as I was happy. But seeing the adoption process full circle is like looking in a window.”

Rosie looks back with gratitude not only at her adoptive mother but her birth mother as well. After all, she notes, Rosemary’s sacrifice in giving her up allowed her to join a loving Catholic family.

 “I was placed with amazing parents who were vetted and provided by Catholic Charities. It was divine intervention. I was supposed to be with my parents. I wouldn’t be where I am today if all those things hadn’t occurred.”