Age 82
Born in County Tipperary, Ireland, Sister Johanna Nolan entered the Sisters of Mercy in St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 17 choosing the motto, “Thy Will Be Done.”
After completing her high school studies at St. Mary’s Presentation College High School in Mountmellick, Ireland, Sister Miriam received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Webster College in St. Louis, Missouri, a secondary education teaching certificate, and a master’s degree in chemistry from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. She also was a certified religious formation/spiritual director.
Sister Miriam taught high school for nine years in the Lafayette, Louisiana, Jackson, Mississippi and Natchez-Jackson, Mississippi dioceses. She ministered as a vocation and formation director for seven years before serving a six-year term as a member of the Sisters of Mercy leadership team in St. Louis, Missouri.
She established Mercy Conference and Retreat Center in St. Louis and became its first executive director. She also served on numerous Mercy Health System boards and most recently was an active volunteer at the Pratt Cancer Center in St. Louis, Missouri.