Published by the J&J Content Lab
Susie Shaddy’s life has been one marked by a series of callings: to honor her Catholic faith, help patients as an operating room nurse and Johnson & Johnson employee, and sing for Pope Francis during his first visit to United States.
That last goal seemed the hardest to fulfill. That is, until Susie read in June that Pope Francis would be visiting Philadelphia this month.
“This week is my anniversary, so I said to my husband: You know what? It would be fun if we got in the choir for the Pope as something to do for our anniversary. Some couples play tennis, some play golf. We sing.”
After a rigorous tryout process that rivaled a reality show audition, Susie, her husband and two other church members got the news that they ‘d been selected to be part of a 250-person choir that will perform for Pope Francis this Sunday with the Philadelphia orchestra at the Ben Franklin Parkway.
When not making command performances like these, Shaddy and her husband John are active parishioners at Saint Gregory the Great in Hamilton, NJ, where Susie is a cantor and John is the director of the church choir.
She’s also proud to honor another calling during the week: Service to others. Susie, who worked in nursing for twenty years, joined J&J 14 years ago. Today, she works as a global labeling product leader in Global Regulatory Affairs at Janssen Research & Development, LLC, part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.
“I always knew I’d join J&J at some point. It’s a great, ethical company, and I’ve been a Credo champion for my group in Global Regulatory Affairs,” she says, referring to the Johnson & Johnson Credo values, which guide the company.
As for her singing career, the choir has been practicing all summer, and Susie leaves for Philadelphia on Thursday to practice again.
“As a human being, I’m so excited to be in the presence of the Pope,” she says. “He’s uplifting people, no matter their faith, all over the world.”