Sister M. Benita Langan, IHM
Sister M. Benita Langan, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Friday, February 5, 1960 at the Marian Convent in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
She was born on December 6, 1873 in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, and given the name Julia Johanna. She was the daughter of the late John J. and Julia Burke Langan. She entered the IHM Congregation on May 1, 1902, received the religious habit on July 31, 1904, and made profession of her vows on August 2, 1914.
Sister Benita served as a teacher at the following schools: St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Pittston, PA, from 1902 to 1906 and 1936 to 1943; St. Leo Elementary School in Ashley, PA, from 1906 to 1910; St. Mary Elementary School in Hollidaysburg, PA, from 1910 to 1917; St. Joseph Elementary School in Renovo, PA, from 1917 to 1921; Holy Rosary Elementary School in Scranton, PA, from 1921 to 1922; St. Joseph Elementary School in Williamsport, PA, from 1922 to 1928; St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Bellefonte, PA, from 1928 to 1931; and St. Mary Elementary School in Avoca, PA, from 1931 to 1936.
Sister also served as a teacher and child care worker at St. Patrick's Orphanage in Scranton, PA, from 1943 to 1948 and St. Joseph's Shelter in Scranton, PA, from 1948 to 1950.
From 1950 to 1956, she served as a prayer minister at St. Agnes Place in Elmhurst, PA, and from 1956 until the time of her death she was a prayer minister at the Marian Convent.
She was preceded in death by three brothers, John, Myles, and James, and four sisters, Mary Ann, Catherine Bishop, Bridget, and Sara T. McCloskey.
She is survived by nieces and nephews.
Interment is at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, Pennsylvania.
Memorial contributions may be made to support the retired IHM Sisters c/o the IHM Sisters Retirement Fund, IHM Center, 2300 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA 18509.
Archival Remembrance:
A long life of fidelity to her holy vocation and fervent zeal in her community assignments were Sister Benita's preparation for God's summons to her eternity. She was never idle. She was a capable and kind teacher, gratefully remembered by those who were privileged to be her pupils. Two occupations absorbed her time: prayer and work. Even in her days of retirement at the Marian Convent, she served her less-able Sisters in helping to care for their needs. For years she made the Way of the Cross several times a day, always kneeling unsupported at each Station. Truly, hers was a life of prayer and her service to others was the outpouring of her love of God. May God be good to this humble, self-effacing Sister.
"Saint Leo's Convent in Ashley was opened in September, 1906. Father Hussie, the pastor, built a model parochial school, and in his selection of a teaching community naturally turned to the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart, the teachers of his own boyhood days. Sister M. Edward was superior, with Sister M. Anne, Sister M. William, Sister M. Ancilla, Sister M. Edmund, Sister M. Delphine, Sister M. Benita, and Sister M. Bonaventure as assistants. The formal opening took place Thursday, September 6th, in Saint Leo's Church, with a solemn High Mass, Coram Episcopo, celebrated by Father Camillus, C.P., of Saint Ann's Monastery, Scranton."
Excerpted from The Sisters of the I.H.M.: The Story of The Founding of The Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Their Work In The Scranton Diocese by Sister M. Immaculata Gillespie, IHM, P.J. Kenedy & Sons, NY, 1921, p. 337, 338
