Age 94
Sister Rosemary truly lived the motto in her profession ring, “Love Serves Joyfully,” while serving as a teacher, social worker and administrator.
A Chicago native, born to Irish immigrants, Rosemary entered the Sisters of Mercy upon graduating from high school at the age of 18. She received a bachelor’s degree is social sciences from St. Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois, a master’s degree in sociology from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a master’s degree in social work from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois.
After teaching in parochial schools in Chicago for 11 years, she was appointed administrator of Misericordia, then a facility that cared for children with disabilities. She had a bold dream of transforming an old orphanage building into a loving home where children a as individuals with talents and possibilities despite physical, intellectual, or development disabilities.
For more than five decades, Rosemary guided Misericordia through enormous growth, touching the lives of thousands of children and families. Refusing to send children to state facilities when they reach a certain age, Rosemary expanded Misericordia’s reach to adolescents and then adults. Today over 600 children and adults reside in a variety of on or off- campus homes and nursing care facilities that constitute Misericordia Heart of Mercy.
Sister Rosemary, a champion of people with developmental disabilities, was a recipient of the University of Notre Dame’s 2023 Laetare Medal, considered the oldest and most prestigious honor given to an American Catholic.