UPDATED 12:16PM - PAWTUCKET — An elderly Holy Union sister was the victim of an assault and carjacking Tuesday night around 8 p.m. outside of the CVS pharmacy on Smithfield Avenue.
Holy Union Sister Rita Goulet, 72, a Pawtucket resident and a parishioner of St. Maria Goretti Church, sustained several bruises in the attack when she resisted the perpetrator’s attempts to steal her purse.
The attacker, described by witnesses in the police report of the incident as a lone, dark-skinned male in his mid-20s wearing a hat and sunglasses, eventually grabbed the purse and fled the scene eat on Weeden Street driving Sister Goulet’s 2001 Toyota Corolla. The diminutive religious sister was treated at a local hospital and released. The attacker remains at large.
Sister Goulet, is a former high school teacher. She ministers at St. Maria Goretti as a lector and eucharistic minister, attends daily Mass and volunteers in several parish programs.
“She’s quite shaken up,” said Holy Union Sister Mary Lou Simcoe, communications director for the religious order, who noted that another sister had come to stay with Sister Goulet while she recovers from the assault.
According to Father Robert Bailey, pastor of St. Maria Goretti Church, Sister Goulet is “okay,” but remains wary.
“She’s sore because she resisted,” he said. Father Bailey said the attack has forced Sister Goulet to pay closer attention to her surroundings.
“It does change you like any violent attack,” he added.
Father Bailey said his parishioners are very concerned about the attack, which occurred before dusk in the busy parking lot of the pharmacy. He added that the parishioners are praying for Sister Goulet’s recovery and for a resolution to the case, which is still under investigation.
“We’re just shocked that it could happen to someone at that age.” he continued. “It’s just a reality of life. You don’t know what motivates to go to such desperate means.”
