Sister Mary Teresa Doyle

EMMITSBURG, Maryland -5/6/2010    A Mass of Christian burial was offered for Sister Mary Teresa Doyle, Daughter of Charity, May 3, 2010, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.  Sister died Thursday, April 29, 2010, at Villa Saint Michael in Emmitsburg, where she resided for 5 years.  She was 89 years of age and 71 years of vocation.

Sister Mary Teresa was the daughter of the late Ann Regina Hopper and John Barthlomew Doyle. She had one sibling, the late Nancy Doyle Mooney.

Sister was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Sts. Philip and James Church in northeast Baltimore. Sister’s father died of tuberculosis when she was eight years old and her sister was two years old. It was during the great depression and a difficult time, but her parents’ families helped support her in many ways. Sister fondly remembered her Irish grandfather, who worked in the boiler room at Goucher College, taking her to horse races throughout Maryland; most likely she was his good luck charm.    

Sister was introduced to the Daughters of Charity through her aunt, Sister Alberta Hopper. The Daughters also ran Seton High School, one block from her home, and attended her parish church. Sister grew up in the shadow of the Sisters and “watched them closely.” There was no doubt that Sister would attend Seton High School. There she enjoyed helping the Daughters of Charity with their home visits in the local neighborhoods. By the time Sister Mary Teresa graduated from Seton High School in 1938, she knew that she wanted to become a Daughter of Charity.

Sister Mary Teresa joined the Daughters of Charity on September 8, 1938 and worked as an elementary teacher at St. Mary’s School in Norfolk, Virginia. Sister graduated from the seminary [novitiate] in 1940 and her first mission was to St. Vincent’s Home for Girls in Buffalo, New York. She had never been north of Baltimore before and remarked that Buffalo might as well be the North Pole. But she enjoyed her time in the north, and also taught at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Utica, New York from 1941 until 1956. Then she moved to Virginia and taught at St. Francis School in Staunton for three years. Next came St. Martin’s School in her home city of Baltimore for five years. Sister’s last teaching position in grammar school was at St. Peter’s Cathedral school in Wilmington, Delaware from 1965 to 1966.   

During her teaching ministries, Sister graduated from St. Joseph’s College in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in secretarial science and a minor in English. Sister took graduate courses to enhance her teaching abilities. With this education, Sister became a business teacher at the high school level, teaching at Immaculate Conception Academy, Washington, DC, from 1966 to 1971, Gibbons High School, Petersburg, Virginia, from 1971 to 1972 and her beloved alma mater Seton High School, Baltimore from 1972 to 1983.  Sister became the school secretary at Portsmouth Catholic High School in Virginia from 1984 to 1989.  

         In 1989, Sister Mary Teresa was asked to be the Director of the Marian Center at the Provincial House in Emmitsburg, Maryland. She was there for “fifteen of the happiest years of my community life.” Here her love and devotion to Mary grew as she came in contact with many people from around the world asking about or sharing their stories of the Miraculous Medal and the Green Scapular. She took a special interest in each letter received at the Marian Center.

Sister retired from active ministry and began her final ministry of prayer when she was missioned to Villa St. Michael on December 1, 2004.

Sister will be remembered for her good sense of humor and beautiful spirit of gratitude. She was a great teacher and a great friend who really loved living the community life as a Daughter of Charity. When asked if she was ready to go to heaven, she replied “I have lived ready.” Truly, she had.    

Sister is survived by her nieces Teresa Mooney and Cathy Mooney and her nephew Michael Mooney and his wife Wilma and her great nephew Kurt.

Memorial contributions in memory of Sr. Mary Teresa may be made to the Daughters of Charity Support Fund for the Elderly and Infirm Sisters, 333 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, Maryland, 21727.