Maryknoll Sisters

Sister Leona Michiels, MM, an educator in Hawaii for more than 20 years, died January 17, 2015, at Maryknoll Sisters Home Care IV, Maryknoll, NY.  She was 97 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 76 years.

Sister Leona was born on November 8, 1917, to Leo P. and Leona M. Syoen Michiels in Chicago, IL. She was the oldest of ten children born to the couple. A 1935 graduate of Immaculata High School, Chicago, she entered Maryknoll at their Motherhouse in Maryknoll, NY, from St. Ignatius Parish, Chicago, on December 7, 1938, following three years of study at Mundelein College, Chicago.

She made her First Profession of Vows on June 30, 1941, at the Motherhouse, having retained her baptismal name at reception, and her Final Profession of Vows in Hawaii on June 30, 1944.  After her First Profession, she completed her studies at Manhattanville College, New York, NY, receiving a B.A. in biology in 1942.  She later secured an M.S. in education from Temple University in 1965.

Sister Leona was assigned to Hawaii in 1943, at a time when Maryknoll Sisters were operating 10 Catholic schools in the diocese, which encompasses what is now the entire state. She taught junior and senior high school science at St. Anthony School, Wailuku, Maui, from 1943-1959, then was transferred to Maryknoll School, Honolulu, where she taught physics, algebra and geometry for one year. She then spent one year teaching science at St. Ann’s School, Kaneohe, Oahu, in 1960.

Following completion of her master’s degree at Temple University in 1965, Sister Leona went to Helen Herlihy Hall in Mexico for language study, quickly becoming proficient in Spanish. She then taught science at Colegio Monte Maria in Guatemala until 1971.

Sister Leona then returned to Hawaii, where she again taught at St. Ann’s School in Kaneohe until 1973, when she returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center. There she served as infirmary driver until 1976, when she moved to the congregation’s residence in Monrovia, CA, to serve as a driver there.

In 1981, Sister Leona again returned to the Center, where she set up the congregation’s Stamp Department until 2010.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Leona on Wednesday, January 21, 2015, at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY.  The Liturgy of Christian Burial will take place on Thursday, January 22, 2015, at 11 a.m. in the same location. Interment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery at the Center.

Sister M. Christine LaTulippe, MM, a medical missioner in the Philippines for 20 years, died January 21, 2015, at Maryknoll Sisters Home Care IV, Maryknoll, NY.  She was 84 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 55 years.

Sister Christine was born on May 10, 1930, to Lewis B.  and Sadie LaRochelle LaTulippe in Colchester, VT. She was one of 13 children born to the couple.

A 1948 graduate of Salem Central High School, Salem, NY, she became a registered nurse following completion of her studies at Mercy Hospital, Springfield, MA, in 1952. She then worked at Albany Hospital, Albany, NY, from 1952-1957 and the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, from 1957 until her decision to enter Maryknoll Sisters in 1959.

Sister Christine entered Maryknoll on September 2, 1959 from Holy Cross Parish, Salem, NY, and made her First Profession of Vows on June 24, 1962, at the congregation’s novitiate in Topsfield, MA and her Final Vows on June 24, 1969 in the Philippines.

Following completion of an associates degree at Maryknoll Teachers College, Maryknoll, NY, in 1963, she applied her nursing skills at Bethany House, the Maryknoll Sisters residence for elderly and infirm Sisters in Ossining, NY, from 1963-1964.  She then attended Salve Regina College, Newport, RI, where she completed her B.S. in nursing in 1965.

Sister Christine was then sent to the Philippines, where she would spend a total of 20 years in ministry.  She first worked as a nurse in St. Joseph’s Hospital for sugar cane workers in Manapla, Negros Occidental, from 1965-1968. After a brief period at Maryknoll College, Manila, Sister Christine was sent to Malabon, where she served for two years, working at Philippine General Hospital, helping to set up a new parish center, St. James, and running an adult education clinic.

In 1970, she returned to the United States, where she provided nursing service in the Maryknoll Sisters infirmary, Maryknoll, NY, from 1970-1972.  While there, she felt a growing desire to be involved in pastoral ministry, which led her to earning a pastoral associate certificate from Catholic Chaplains Association, Washington, DC, in 1973. She then worked in pastoral care at St. John’s Hospital, Springfield, IL, from 1974-1975, and at ABBA  Community, Albany, NY, doing youth retreats for its House of Prayer in 1975.

At the end of 1975, Sister Christine returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY, where she served as a nurse to residents there until 1979.

Sensing a renewed call to the Philippines, she engaged in language study and a “reinsertion program” offered by the Manila and Infanta Prelature in the Philippines from 1979-1980.  She then worked at a refugee center in Bataan, where she prepared Vietnamese refugees for immigration to the United States by acquainting them with U.S. culture, from 1981-1982. She then worked with Urban Missionaries Exposure in Manila in 1983, and in promotion for the Church Peoples Rights Team, also in Manila in 1984.

In 1985, Sister Christine returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center where she worked in the pharmacy until 1987, when she returned to the Philippines, serving in various capacities until 1988.  She then returned, once again, to the Center, where she worked in reception from 1988-1990, in promotion for the Development Department from 1992-1993, and in various support services from 1994-2008.  She also was a hospice worker at Phelps Memorial Hospital, Sleepy Hollow, NY, as well as a pastoral volunteer at Westchester County Medical Center, Valhalla, NY, from 2000 to 2004.

She is survived by her brother, George LaTulippe of Plattsburgh, NY; two sisters, Mrs. Mary Logan of Stamford, CT, and Mrs. Nancy Lemery of Micro, NC, and other relatives.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Christine on Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY.  The Liturgy of Christian Burial will take place on Friday, January 30, 2015, at 11 a.m. in the same location. Interment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery at the Center.

Maryknoll, NY – Sister Miriam Xavier Mug, MM, a missioner, teacher and school administrator in Hong Kong, died March 31, 2015, at Maryknoll Home Care III, Maryknoll Sisters Center. She was 101 years old, was the eldest member of her congregation, and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 71 years

Born on September 22, 1913 in Lafayette, IN, to George F. and Grace Wheeler Mug, Sister Miriam was raised in St. Louis, MO, along with her three siblings, where the family attended St. Rose of Lima Parish. A graduate of Visitation Academy and St. Louis University, both in St. Louis, she entered Maryknoll Sisters in 1943, making her first vows at the congregation’s motherhouse in Ossining, NY, on March 7, 1946, and final vows in Hong Kong on March 7, 1949. She held a BA in education from St. Louis University, from which she graduated in 1936, and spent most of her missionary life as a teacher and school administrator in Hong Kong.

Sister Miriam’s first assignment was to Maryknoll Convent School, Kowloontong, China, where she taught high school math, history and religion from 1946-54. She then served as principal of Maryknoll School, Hong Kong, from 1954-57, returning to teach in Kowloontong, from 1958-61.  She was then named principal of the primary division of the school, a position she held until 1967, when she returned to Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY, to work in promotion for two years.

In 1969, she returned to Kowloontong, where she taught high school English and biblical knowledge, until 1979.  She also served in the congregation’s regional administration from 1977-82, and its finance officer and regional bookkeeper from 1978-87.  She also worked in Hong Kong as a trustee for the Maryknoll Medical and Welfare Association from 1988-2000,  in communication and secretarial services for the China Region from 1988-1998 and a volunteer at the Holy Spirit Study Centre in Hong Kong doing clerical work from 1993-2000.

Retiring in 2000, Sister Miriam lived at the Maryknoll Sisters Retirement Home in Monrovia, CA, until 2004, when she returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center where she was part of the Eden Community.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Miriam on Monday, April 6, 2015, at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY.  A Liturgy of Christian Burial will take place on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at 11 a.m. in the same location. Interment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery at the Center.

Maryknoll, NY —  Sister Gemma Marie Berger, MM,  one-time regional spiritual director of the Worldwide Fatima Apostolate, Guadelupe, CA, died on April 12, 2015, at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. She was 89 years old.

Born on April 25, 1925 in Gardenville, NY, to Edward J. and Rose L. Karg Berger, Sister Gemma Marie was baptized Geraldine Margaret Berger and attended Fourteen Holy Helpers Parish, Gardenville, along with her parents and siblings, Edward, Eugene, Richard and Rosemary. A 1943 graduate of Mount Mercy Academy, Buffalo, NY, she also attended St. Nicholas High School, Buffalo, from 1939-1941.

Upon learning that she desired to become a missionary, Sister Gemma Marie’s pastor recommended Maryknoll, which she entered on September 6, 1944. She made her first vows on March 7, 1947 at the motherhouse and her final vows on March 7, 1950, in Mountain View, CA.  A 1958 graduate of Maryknoll Teachers College, Maryknoll, NY, with a bachelor’s degree in education, Sister Gemma Marie spent much of her missionary life as an elementary school teacher in Chinatown, Chicago, IL and San Juan Capistrano, CA.

Following work in the seminary kitchens at the Venard in Scranton, PA, and Maryknoll, NY, from 1947-1949, Sister Gemma Marie was sent to San Juan Capistrano, CA, where she taught CCD to migrant workers until 1950. Following a brief period in Mountain View, CA, where she made her final vows, Sister Gemma Marie returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY, where she worked in the Promotion Department from 1952-1958.

Sister Gemma Marie then taught third grade at St. Therese’s School in Chicago’s Chinatown from 1958-1969, and fourth grade from 1958-1959.  She was then sent to Guadelupe, CA, where she taught CCD to elementary school children at the Guadelupe mission from 1971 until the mission closed in 1977.  During this time, she also supervised lay teachers, engaged in assorted parish activities, organized the church choir, and served as regional spiritual director of the Worldwide Fatima Apostolate.  In 1977, she retired, living at the Maryknoll Sisters Residence in Monrovia, CA, where she engaged in a variety of volunteer works until 2009 when she returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in New York.

Sister Gemma Marie is survived by her brother Richard E. Berger of Columbus, OH, and her sister, Rosemary Berger, of Orchard Park, NY, as well as an aunt, Sister M. Eugene Karg, SSJ, of Clarence, NY, and other relatives.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Gemma Marie on Tuesday, April 14, 2015, at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY.  The Liturgy of Christian Burial will take place on April 15, 2015, at 11 a.m. in the same location. Interment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery at the Center.