Age 94
Sister Antonia Tognetti was a Sister of Mercy for 79 years. Sister Antonia graduated from St. Xavier Academy, Providence College, Rhode Island and Boston College, Massachusetts, and University of the Americas, Toluca, Mexico. She is remembered as a faithful, courageous Sister of Mercy who could accept and love any challenge presented to her, whether in ministry or in her many living situations throughout the years.
She began her ministry of education at Tyler School and St. Mary Academy – BayView, in Providence, Rhode Island. Following this, she was missioned to St. Catherine Academy, Belize, and then to Honduras and Nicaragua, where she worked for many years helping to build base Christian Communities and teach young women and mothers the arts of home economics. Her final ministry was as an Administrative Assistant for the director at Mt. St. Rita Health Centre for many years, which became her home until her death. In her retirement, she listened and read the news daily and immersed herself in a ministry of loving prayer and presence for all residents and staff at Mt. St. Rita’s, Cumberland, Rhode Island, as well as for the needs of the world, in particular her beloved Latin America. Sister Antonia will be remembered for her long, faithful, and generous life as a Sister of Mercy, which led her to service in parts of our world she never dreamed she would see when she entered the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy 79 years ago.