Maryknoll Sisters

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Constance Marie Pospisil, M.M. died on May 20^th, 2020 while on mission in the village of Lemoa, El Quiché Province, Guatemala. She was 84 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 62 years.

Constance was born in New York City, New York on July 2^nd, 1935 to Constance M. Pospisil and Anton J. Pospisil.  She is survived by her sister, Adelaide, two nieces and a nephew. In 1953, she graduated from Cathedral High School in New York City. Following graduation, she attended St. Vincent’s School of Nursing in New York City, receiving her R.N Certificate in 1956.

On September 2^nd, 1957 Constance entered the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Maryknoll, NY (from St. Thomas Apostle Parish in Rockville Centre, NY). She made her first Profession of Vows at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY on June 24^th, 1960 and her Final Vows on June 24^th, 1966 in Chile, South America.

Sister Constance first served at the Maryknoll Sisters Nursing Home after making her First Profession of Vows. In 1961, she was assigned to Pucon, Chile to do catechetical work and serve as a nurse in the local clinic. In 1962, she relocated to the pueblo of Galvarino, where she again did clinic and catechetical work until 1969.

Sister Constance then returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY to work in the Development Department; doing promotion and mission education work until 1971.

In 1972, she returned to Chile to work in Chillán as a clinic nurse at the Good Sheperd Home for Girls, teach First Aid and help with the formation of rural health workers. In 1973, Sister Constance transferred to Santiago, Chile where she served as a Public Health Nurse in the National Health Service and started the first pre-school lunch program in “población La Bandera”.

From 1975-1977, she had returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY to continue her education at Pace University, Westchester County, NY, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and became a Certified Somatic Psychotherapist.

Following graduation, Sister Constance returned to “población La Bandera” located on the outskirts of Santiago, where she did psychiatric public nursing and worked with Basic Christian Communities from 1977-1982. She then returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY to do Congregational Service in the Development and Computer Services Departments. From 1985-1988, she served as a Center Council Board member.

In 1990, she volunteered for the Maryknoll Sisters new mission project in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There, she worked in health services among women’s groups until 1992. From 1993-2003, she relocated to Joao Pessoa, Brazil where she helped found a holistic health care center for women.

In 2004, Sister Constance then joined the Maryknoll Sisters Contemplative Community (The Maryknoll Sisters Contemplative Community was established in 1932 in order to support the work of the order’s missions through prayer, contemplation, retreats, study, counseling, and participation in the liturgy) and was assigned to the small mountain village of Lemoa, El Quiche, Guatemala. She dedicated the remainder of her life to prayer, adoration, and solitude. However, she remained active in her mission work to help care for the local people in need in many ways until the time of her sudden death.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on the morning of May 21st, 2020 at the Sisters Chapel in Lemoa de Santa Cruz, El Quiche, Guatemala; she was buried that afternoon in the Lemoa Cemetery.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Patricia Marie Hafey, M.M. died on May 6^th, 2020 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Maryknoll, NY. She was 90 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 68 years.

Patricia was born in Long Beach, New York on July 11^th, 1929 to Mary (Gavin) Hafey and Francis Hafey. Her family later moved to Springfield, Massachusetts where she was raised. She had four brothers: Brian, Robert, Richard and William and two sisters: Virginia and Catherine. Her brothers, Richard and William have predeceased her.

From 1944-1945, Patricia attended Cathedral High School in Springfield, MA and then transferred to Sacred Heart High School also located in Springfield, MA; graduating in 1947. Following high school graduation, she enrolled in the College of St. Elizabeth in Convent, New Jersey, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics in 1951.

She then entered the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY on September 6^th, 1951 (from Holy Name Parish in Springfield, MA.) At her Reception into the Congregation she was given the religious name, Sister Marie Assunta and returned to her baptismal name after Vatican Council II. She made her First Profession of Vows at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY on March 7^th, 1954 and her Final Vows on the same date in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1960.

In 1954, Sister Patricia received her first mission assignment to teach at St. Anthony’s School in the Bronx, NY; after a few months she was transferred to Transfiguration School in Chinatown, New York City.

In 1955, she was assigned to Hawaii where she spent the next eight years teaching. First, she taught English and American Government at Maryknoll High School in the Punahou district of Honolulu and then homemaking at St. Anthony Girls School on the island of Maui in Wailuku.

Sister Patricia then responded to a need to teach in Tanzania, East Africa in 1963. There, she taught at Rosary Secondary School in Mwanza and setup a Home Economics Department until 1971. She then relocated to Musoma Language School, Tanzania in 1972 to study Swahili. From 1973 – 1977, she took a break from teaching and served as Coordinator for a Pastoral team in the Village of Ntodeye in the Ngara Diocese.

Sister Patricia returned to the U.S. in 1977 to do Congregational Service at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She volunteered her time in the Development and Promotion Departments until 1981. She then returned to Tanzania once again, teaching religious education in parish schools in the town of Tarime. During this time, she also served as Coordinator for a Pastoral Team in the Diocese of Musoma until 1984.

In May of 1984, Sister Patricia suffered serious injuries in a road accident and returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY for rehabilitation. She remained there volunteering in the Data Processing Office until 1987. She then spent the next year working with the Africa Faith and Justice Network in Washington, D.C.

From 1989 – 1997, Sister Patricia worked in the Congregation’s IT Department and in the Social Services Office in the Maryknoll Sisters Nursing Home. She then relocated to the Maryknoll Sisters residence in Monrovia, CA to retire, but remained an active volunteer. She spent her time tutoring English and writing letters to prisoners.

In 2012, Sister Patricia returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY to fully retire.

Funeral Services: She will be buried at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, funeral services will be scheduled for a date in the future when group gatherings are deemed safe. Sister Patricia’s family and our community remember her soul in prayer during this difficult time.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Bernadette Cordis Duggan, M.M. died on May 6th, 2020 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 82 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 61 years. Bernadette was born in Boston, MA on September 30th, 1937 to Elizabeth (King) Duggan and Peter Duggan, she was baptized as Barbara. She is survived by her sister, Mary (Duggan) Roy and brother-in-law, P. Norman Roy, her brother Paul Ryan and her sister-in-law, Lorraine, five nieces, one nephew and 13 great grand nieces and nephews.

From 1951-1955, Barbara attended Cheverus High School in Malden, MA.  Following graduation, she enrolled in Catherine Labouré School of Nursing in Dorchester, MA, receiving her Registered Nurse Certificate in 1958. She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Maryknoll, NY on September 2^nd, 1958 (from Sacred Hearts Parish in Malden, MA.)

At her Reception into the Congregation, she was given the religious name Sister Mary Bernadette Cordis and was known as “Sister Bernadette”.  She made her First Profession of Vows at the Maryknoll Sisters Center on June 24^th, 1961 and her Final Vows on June 24^th, 1967 also at the Sisters Center.

Sister Bernadette’s first mission assignment was to Bethany (the Maryknoll Sisters Nursing Home at the time) located on the Sisters property; there she helped provide care to the elderly and sick Sisters. From 1965-1967, she studied at Salve Regina College in Newport, Rhode Island earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in 1967. She continued her studies and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health Nursing from the University of Minnesota in 1969.

In 1970, Sister Bernadette received her first overseas mission assignment to the Philippines; there she worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital (a hospital administered by the Maryknoll Sisters) in Manapla. Her mission work involved TB outpatient treatment, home visits for outpatients, and public health nursing. The hospital was also a practice facility for students in a Baccalaureate Program, Sister Bernadette enjoyed being the field work guide for the nurses in training.

She spent the next 10 years, from 1975-1985, on the Island of Mindinao in the Mountains of Upi, Maguindanao with the tribal Tiruray people and Muslim communities. There she provided aid with pregnancy complications, teaching nutrition classes about the importance of maternal/child health, conducting pre- and post-natal clinics and classes for local traditional midwives, herbal medicine techniques, marriage preparation and natural family planning classes.

Sister Bernadette returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY to serve in the Congregational Health Services/Laboratory from 1985-1988. She then spent the next 15 years, from 1989-2005, working in St. Paul’s Hospital in Shelabunia, this was a small rural hospital in Bangladesh operated by the local Sister Associates of Mary, Queen of the Apostles. There, she served as a. nurse with another Maryknoll Sister, Sister Marion Puszcz, M.M. who was the doctor in residence. For the next ten years, she continued to work at St. Paul’s Hospital while also being engaged in a variety of ministries in community health services: serving as a nurse in the local clinics located near the reserve for the Royal Bengal Tiger, resulting in a lot of tiger bite patients!

Sister Bernadette transferred to Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2006 to serve as a nurse at “Seedling of Hope Hospice”, a project administered by the Maryknoll team there which focused on caring for adult HIV/AIDS patients.

In 2008, Sister Bernadette returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY to semi-retire. She remained active in her ministry serving as a medical volunteer among the ill and elderly Sisters at the Center, accompanying them on medical appointments until 2016 when she retired.

Funeral Services: She will be buried at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, funeral services will be scheduled for a date in the future when group gatherings are deemed safe. Sister Bernadette’s family and our community remember her soul in prayer during this difficult time.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Alice Wengrzynek, M.M. died on April 30th, 2020 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 85 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 66 years.

Alice was born in Simpson, PA on September 29 th , 1934 to Anne (Dziadkowicz) Wengrzynek and Walter Wengrzynek. She had one brother, Walter and four sisters, Anne, Mary, Kathryn and Sister Rose Agnes (RSM). She is survived by only one sibling, her sister Anne.

From 1948-1952, Alice attended St. Rose High School in Carbondale, PA. She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate as a Postulant in Clarks Summit, PA on September 2nd, 1953. She made her First Profession of Vows at the Maryknoll Sisters Center on March 7th, 1956 and her Final Vows on March 7th, 1962 in Kansas City, MO.

Following her First Profession of Vows, Sister Alice was assigned to the Seminary kitchen and served as part-time Secretary to Bishop Raymond A. Lane for one year. In 1958, she enrolled in Mary Rogers College, Maryknoll, NY (located on the Sisters property) where she studied for one year. She then earned a Diploma and Registration in X-Ray Technology at St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City, MO in 1962.

Sister Alice received her first overseas mission assignment to Taiwan in 1964. There, she did clinic, youth and parish work in Changhua until 1968.

She was then assigned to Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital in Hong Kong, to serve as Director of Hospital Admissions and the Medical Records Department until1972. She then served as Executive Secretary for Hospital Administrator and Board of Directors; part-time Secretary for the Maryknoll Fathers Regional
Superior and Secretary for Asian Bishops Conferences, FABC and Caritas International from 1973-1981.

Sister Alice began a new mission assignment in Hong Kong, working with mentally and physically handicapped children and adults from 1981-1986. She helped teach them skills and techniques to be self-sufficient in their home environments. During this time, she also responded to an invitation from Education
Departments and Governments to help conduct educational workshops in various places such as (Hong Kong, Macao, China, Taiwan and India).

In 1986, Sister Alice returned to the U.S. to work in the Maryknoll Mission Archives Department for the next two years; she also did home ministry caring
for her elderly mother until 1989. She then returned to Hong Kong for a brief period, this time doing pastoral work in the New Territories in the Parish of Hung
Shui Kui, Yuen Long until 1991.

From 1991-1996, Sister Alice returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY and was appointed as Secretary to the President of the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation, Sister Claudette LaVerdiere. She continued her secretarial duties to the new Congregation President, Sister Helene O’Sullivan from 1996-2002.

She spent the next few years serving in the Maryknoll Mission Archives Department once again, this time as the curator of the Sisters collection until
2008. Sister Alice also volunteered around the Maryknoll Sisters Center serving as Assistant Sacristan and Office Assistant in the Physical Plant Department until 2016 when she fully retired.

Funeral Services: Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, funeral services will be scheduled for a date in the future when group gatherings are deemed safe. Sister Alice’s family and our community remember her soul in prayer during this difficult time.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Andrée Bernadette Normandin, M.M. died on May 1^st, 2020 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Maryknoll, NY. She was 97 years old had been a Maryknoll Sister for 73 years!

Andrée was born in Montréal, Canada on June 2^nd, 1922 to Amelia (Collette) Normandin and George Normandin. She was the third oldest in a family of four boys and four girls, all of whom have pre-deceased her. When Andrée was five months old her family moved to Fitchburg, MA; she became a U.S. Citizen on December 8^th, 1944.

From 1936-1940, Andrée attended St. Bernard’s High School in Fitchburg, MA. Following graduation, she worked as a company secretary for six years before entering the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate in Maryknoll, NY on October 5^th, 1946.  She made her First Profession of Vows at the Maryknoll Sisters Center on April 6^th, 1949 and her Final Vows on April 6^th, 1952 also at the Sisters Center.

Sister Andrée attended Yale University to study Mandarin from 1949-1951. She had hopes of being assigned to China, however, there was a ban admitting foreigners to the country at that time. She instead worked at the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers as a Secretary from 1951-1954.

In 1954, Sister Andrée finally received her first overseas mission assignment to Taiwan, there she first studied the Taiwanese language for one year. In 1955, she began her ministry at the Religious Educator Training School in Changhua, conducting classes on music and “teaching methods”. During this time, she also engaged in pastoral and catechetical work in various local villages.

Sister Andrée relocated to the mountain area of Wu She, there she continued training future teachers by conducting “teaching method workshops” from 1960-1966. She was then assigned to the Maryknoll Sisters Hostel in Taichung to work with young women residents from 1967-1971. While on mission in Taichung, she also served as the Congregation’s Coordinator and Regional Board Member for the Sisters Taiwan Region.

In 1971, Sister Andrée returned to the U.S. to further her education at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Asian Studies in 1975. She also took a CPE Course (Pastoral Education) for 11 weeks at Central Islip Hospital in Long Island and served as a Coordinator at the Maryknoll Sisters Center from 1974-1975.

Sister Andrée returned to Taiwan in 1976, she began a new mission working among young factory workers in Kaohsiung. In 1978, she joined the Pastoral Care Team at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Kaohsing, serving as Chaplain caring for terminally ill patients. She also helped the team open Samaritan Home in 1980 (a group home for unwed mothers in need). In 1983, Sister Andrée was appointed as Director of the Pastoral Care Department at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Assistant Director of Samaritan Home until 1990.

She was called back to the U.S. and spent the next nine years serving as Coordinator of Maryknoll Sisters house in Monrovia, CA until 1999. Once again she then returned to Taiwan, this time her mission work involved helping AIDS patients in need. She also spent her time working on a Maryknoll archives project, where she researched and wrote the Congregation’s entire Taiwan region history.

In 2004, Sister Andrée retired at the Maryknoll Sisters House in Monrovia, CA. She remained an active volunteer in the local community, volunteering at the Monrovia Civic Community Works and served as the Maryknoll Guild Contact Person. In 2014, she fully retired and relocated to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY.

Funeral Services: Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, funeral services will be scheduled for a date in the future when group gatherings are deemed safe. Sister Andrée’s family and our community remember her spirit in prayer during this difficult time.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Marie Christelle Zabalerio, M.M. died on April 28^th, 2020. She was 82 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 56 years. Marie was born in Lucena, Philippines on January 11^th, 1939 to Segundina (Padillo) Zabalerio and Eugeniano Zabalerio. She had one sister, Lyda and two brothers, Rolando and Generoso; she is survived by her brother Generoso.

Marie attended Maryknoll Academy High School in Lucena City, PH from 1951-1955. Following her graduation, she enrolled at Maryknoll College in Manila, where she earned a Bachelor of Education Degree in 1959. For the next two years, she taught at Maryknoll Academy High School.

On June 1^st, 1963, she entered the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate in Quezon City, PH. At her Reception she was given the religious name, Sister Marie Christelle, a name she retained throughout her life. She made her First Profession of Vows in the Philippines on March 19^th, 1966 and her Final Vows on May 17^th, 1970, also in the Philippines.

Sister Marie Christelle received her first mission assignment to the Philippines in 1966, she served as a grade school teacher at Maryknoll School in Quezon City until 1968. She was then appointed as Principal of the College of St. John the Baptist in Jimenez where she served until 1971. For the next few years, she continued to teach English, Religion and Catechetical classes at Sto. Tomas, Maryknoll High School and in the public elementary school. In 1972, Sister Marie Christelle broadened her services to include parish work at Sto. Tomas San Miguel Parish. There she took on various roles: Youth Coordinator, Advisor to Volunteer Catechists, Seminar Organizer for Women and an Active Member of the Deanery and Prelature Youth Commission.

In 1976, Sister Marie Christelle returned to the U.S. to attend Trocaire College, Buffalo, NY she earned an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing in 1978. She then returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, NY where she worked as a Nurse’s Aide at the Congregations Bethany Nursing Home until 1979. She spent the next few years working at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Montrose, NY, where she received a “Certificate of Appreciation” after 100 hours of service in 1981.

Sister Marie Christelle spent the next 11 years in Bangladesh serving as a Field Supervisor of a Natural Family Planning Program in the Kulna Region. Her work also included family counseling, pre-marriage courses, preparation of lay leaders, neighborhood Christian community involvement and training women to teach natural family planning until 1990.

She returned to the Philippines for “family ministry” in 1991, during her time there she set up special seminars for Maryknoll Sisters and engaged in ecumenical work. Following her family ministry, Sister Marie Christelle returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, NY to take special courses in religious formation. She was then appointed as a member of the Congregation’s Orientation Team. In 2001, she continued her education and earned a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Studies from Loyola College, Chicago, IL.

Sister Marie Christelle was assigned to Aileu, East Timor in 2004, where she engaged in community-based health work, taught English, was an advisor at the Catholic High School and introduced the Natural Family Planning Program.

In 2014 she returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in NY to retire.

Funeral Services: Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, funeral services will be scheduled for a date in the future when group gatherings are deemed safe. Sister Marie Christelle’s family and our community remember her soul in prayer during this difficult time.