Sr. Mary Aquinas did not necessarily fit the stereotype of a nun in the first half of the 20th century. Aside from prayer, Sr. Aquinas was accomplished in many other fields, including aeronautics, electronics, physics and education. She earned her pilot’s license in 1942 and in 1957 was honoured by the U.S. Air Force for contributions to national security and world peace. That same year she became the first nun to fly a jet plane. She bore no resemblance to the Sally Field character in the 1960s TV sitcom The Flying Nun, but she was no less famous in her own fields of endeavour. Sr. Aquinas shared her passions across the continent, including a stop in Montreal in October of 1958, dutifully reported by The Register. Sr. Aquinas died at age 91 on Oct. 20, 1985.