April 22, 2022
Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart
Founder and Mother Servant, Daughters of Mary of Nazareth
DOCTOR OF DIVINITY
Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart is the founder and mother servant of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth, a Roman Catholic religious order in the Archdiocese of Boston. She was entrusted with the mission of founding the community in 2011 by Cardinal Séan Patrick O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap.
Born in Kirkuk, Iraq, into the Assyrian Church of the East, Mother Olga Yaqob lived through four wars in the Middle East. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Erbil in 1990, then taught Aramaic and worked in young adult faith formation. In 1993, as a young lay woman, she started a movement called Love Your Neighbor, through which young Christians and Muslims served the poor in war-torn areas. In 1995, she established the Order of Marth Maryam Sisters—Missionaries of the Virgin Mary, the first order of religious sisters in the Assyrian Church in 700 years. She served as a superior of the community until coming to the United States in 2001.
After receiving a master’s degree in philosophy and theology from Babylon College, affiliated with the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, in 2000, Mother Olga came to Boston to pursue a master’s degree in pastoral ministry at Boston College. While there, she became involved in campus ministry at Boston University, eventually becoming university chaplain for BU’s Roman Catholic community. She was received into the Roman Catholic Church on Sept. 8, 2005. Cardinal O’Malley received her perpetual vows three months later.
In 2009, Cardinal O’Malley blessed her new apostolate, Nazareth House, a house of discernment for young women, on the BU campus. She also served as director of parish outreach for the Archdiocese of Boston Pastoral Center from 2011-2012.
Mother Olga has received numerous awards and honors, including Religious Sister of the Year from the Boston Catholic Women’s Conference and the Saint Paul the Apostle Award from the Office of the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults of the Archdiocese of Boston. She received an honorary Scarlet Key Award from BU in 2011. In 2015, Cardinal O’Malley presented her with the Cheverus Award at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. In 2018, she received the Assyrian American National Federation Humanitarian Award and the Saint Edmund’s Medal of Honor. She also was honored with the Bowie Kuhn Special Award for Evangelization at the Legatus 2012 Annual Summit.
