Jo-Ann Iannotti: Dominican Sister of Hope, Poet, and Photographer by Jane M. Bailey

This article originally appeared in the July 13, 2025, edition of the website Litchfied.bz. We are grateful to the author and editor for permission to reprint it here—Ed.

I rang the doorbell of Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center not knowing what to expect. I only knew I was to meet Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP (Dominican Order of Preachers), author of the recently published book, I Know Myself as Thief. The door opened with a friendly welcome, and I was led to a woman whose smile lit the hallway. “You must be Jane!”

“And you must be Sister Jo-Ann!” I responded.

Even before we got to our meeting room, I felt her spirited energy. There was a twinkle in her eyes and a smile in her voice.     

Sister Jo-Ann walked me into a softly furnished, quiet room where a sense of peace resided. It was a perfect place to be. One of Sister Jo-Ann’s many maxims is, “Learn to ‘be’ where you are!”

As she presented me with her beautiful book of poems and photographs, I Know Myself as Thief, out fell a lovely photo-bookmark. The picture looks out from a wooden archway to a second arch and onward to a bench with a view of the Hudson River. These thresholds invite the viewer to new places and spaces. This is exactly what the poems and pictures are in her book, thresholds for the reader to pass into new places. They are imbued with the spirit that Sister Jo-Ann nurtures as she “listens from a place of silence.”

Sister Jo-Ann’s voice matched the depth of her words as she read a few of her poems and shared the companion photographs.

“I had never written a poem about one of my photos, nor taken a photo because of a poem I had written. My friend and fellow poet Sandy Lee Carlson told me to think of simple connections as I continued to put the book together.” When Sister Jo-Ann found one of her photos of an empty lifeguard stand on a deserted beach, her intuition matched it to her unfinished poem about her mother’s death. That photo now guards the poem as the finishing touch to My Annual Olympiad (Getting past my mother’s anniversary).

Sister Jo-Ann’s multi-talents were shaped over a lifetime of saying “Yes!” to opportunities and listening for the spirit in silent spaces. Inspiration and imagination charged her life.

Jo-Ann Iannotti was born just before midnight on VE-Day in Paterson, New Jersey, with rejoicing sounds of celebration of the end of World War II floating into her mother’s hospital room. It was a propitious sign for this new baby.

Whether it was her Aunt Rose hanging Iannotti’s early artwork in her dining room, or the writing and artistic encouragement given by the Dominican sisters who taught in the parish school she attended, the stage was set for Iannotti’s creative work ahead.

The 1960s was a decade of possibilities—John F. Kennedy, a young Roman Catholic, was the new United States president; the modernization of the Catholic Church was in process; and a human walking on the moon became a reality. Iannotti came of age watching the impossible become possible.  

This was the decade she devoured the Sunday New York Times which her father bought for her so that she could read the Book Review section, digesting great writing as well as imitating sketches of Lord and Taylor fashion ads.

It was also the decade when she wrote her first poem, “Just a Moment of Silence.” After high school she entered the Dominican Sisters in Newburgh, New York. Seven years later she professed final vows as a member of that community.

Her vocation was firmly planted in fulfilling the work of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans): To contemplate and give to others the fruits of one’s contemplation.

In the silence of contemplation, Sister Jo-Ann’s intuition flourished. She followed both the mission of her order and the spirit of her heart. These kept her moving through thresholds of opportunity.

“Even though I initially didn’t want to be a teacher, being assigned to teach first and second graders taught me how to teach.”

“I began to love teaching when I began to teach what I loved,” she said. “That is when I began to teach religion to middle school and high school students.”

Her subsequent move to Connecticut provided more ways to expand her talents. She became Associate Director of Vocations for the Hartford Archdiocese and directed religious education at the Church of Saint Ann in Avon where “I spent eight of the happiest years of my life.” She loved working with the adult grade level supervisors overseeing the 800-student religious education program.

She expressed happiness about each of her callings. “I’ve been spoiled in being able to do what I love!” said Sister Jo-Ann.

Sister Jo-Ann worked as a script writer for Hartford’s Archdiocese Office of Radio and Television and at the Catholic Transcript where she was a reporter and photographer. Her creative talents were tapped in different ways.

To find contemplation time, Sister Jo-Ann managed to fit in nine months mucking horse stalls on a farm.

“Who would have thought I’d have one of my deepest conversations about Thomas Merton’s writings with a young farm hand as we sat on the floor of a horse stall.”

Hearing her tell this story, I suspect the farm worker remembers that conversation as much as Sister Jo-Ann does. She has a way of mentoring as she builds community wherever she is. She can “be” with others as she roots herself to where she is. I call it “contemplation inclusiveness.”

While she worked at the Catholic Transcript her intuition was calling her to retreat work. “We are here for a reason. It’s important to listen as new calls arise in our prayer.”

In 1992 she was hired by Litchfield, Connecticut’s Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center to be their program developer, and later, the Art and Spirituality Coordinator. She and then Director of Wisdom House, Sister Rosemarie Greco, DW (Daughters of Wisdom) worked closely building a home where seekers of wisdom from all traditions are welcome, and the arts and spirituality abide.

This was the same year graphic designer Alan Colavechio proposed to Wisdom House a program based on Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. That popular program brought together a group of artists who formed a special bond and sparked Sister Jo-Ann’s idea to start an art gallery at Wisdom House.

The gallery was named for the co-founder of the Daughters of Wisdom, Blessed Marie Louise Trichet. Artwork of that first group of adults graced the opening exhibit and forged a spiritual path to higher creativity for all who would follow.

As Sister Jo-Ann notes, “When you are surrounded by good art, you are surrounded by good spirit.” And so it was, and is, at Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center. Sister Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP, along with Sister Rosemarie Greco, DW, filled the house with good art and good programs.

Sister Jo-Ann used her artistic talent to create program collages which line the Wisdom House hallways. I was lucky to see them during a post-conversation house tour. Sister Jo-Ann’s photos and memorabilia provide an historical timeline of programming that shows the scope of speakers and seekers.

Together, Sister Rosemarie and Sister Jo-Ann coordinated the commissioned work of artist Hugh O’Donnell, who designed, painted and used laminated glass technology to create nine modern windows for the Wisdom House Chapel. Named “In Sophia’s Garden,” the window series was a beautiful stop on our tour. The windows integrate the spirit of nature outside on the property and the human spirit in each of us.

Sister Jo-Ann saved a surprise for last—the Live Portraits Exhibit created by photo-videographer Ruedi Hoffman for the 70th anniversary of the Daughters of Wisdom coming to Litchfield. Large photos of Daughters of Wisdom, including Dominican Sister Jo-Ann, morph into videos that speak of the history of Wisdom House and the wisdom spirituality of the community. Sister Jo-Ann happily turned on her special iPad app and literally brought the exhibit to life.  

Yet, what seems most important to Sister Jo-Ann is the universal contemplative spirituality that fills Wisdom House halls. “We have been graced by the seekers of all traditions who have passed through Wisdom House.”

Sister Jo-Ann retired from Wisdom House in 2019 but continues her work of contemplation and action.

Whether it is doing ecumenical supply preaching, creating nature sculptures, or giving author talks and poetry readings, Sister Jo-Ann lives a life of joy and love. Her poems and pictures stand at the intersection of art and spirituality. Sister Jo-Ann willingly shares this sacred space in her book, I Know Myself as Thief.

I walked away from my visit with Sister Jo-Ann Iannotti carrying her lessons in my heart and her peace-filled book in my hand. Lucky me! ♦

Jane M. Bailey writes from Litchfield, Connecticut, about matters of the heart and people who make a difference. To see more of her writing, go to JaneMBailey.com. Readers can learn more about Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP, and purchase her recently published book, I Know Myself as Thief, at www.twoarts.org.

Images: Photo of Sr. Jo-Ann Iannotti by Rosemarie Greco, DW / “Photo-bookmark of thresholds” by Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP