Sister M. Agnes Bernard Cummings, IHM
Sister M. Agnes Bernard Cummings, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Saturday, June 25, 1960 at Sacred Heart Convent in La Plata, Maryland.
She was born on July 12, 1899 in Jessup, Pennsylvania, and given the name Dora Patricia. She was the daughter of the late Bernard J. and Bridget A. Gallagher Cummings. She entered the IHM Congregation on September 8, 1926, received the religious habit on December 29, 1926, and made profession of her vows on January 2, 1929.
Sister Agnes Bernard served as a teacher at the following schools: St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Scranton, PA, from 1929 to 1931; St. Ephrem Elementary School in Brooklyn, NY, from 1931 to 1939; St. Monica Elementary School in Raleigh, NC, from 1939 to 1945; St. Matthew Elementary School in East Stroudsburg, PA, from 1945 to 1946; Mother of Mercy Elementary School in Washington, NC, from 1946 to 1947; St. Joseph Elementary School in New Bern, NC, from 1947 to 1953; and Archbishop Neale Elementary School in La Plata, MD, from 1953 to 1960.
She was preceded in death by a brother, Bernard Joseph (infant), and a sister, Mary J.
She is survived by a brother, John A. of Washington, DC, and cousins.
The funeral will be on Tuesday, June 28 at 9:30 a.m. at the Marian Convent Chapel with interment following at St. Catherine's Cemetery in Moscow, Pennsylvania. Friends may call on Monday afternoon or evening at the Marian Convent.
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 few years of Sister M. Agnes Bernard Cummings' teaching apostolate were spent in schools for white children, yet it is true to say that her religious life was devoted to the African American apostolate. At mother of Mercy, St. Joseph's, and St. Monica's, she spent herself for African American children, giving herself generously for their spiritual and temporal welfare. Later at La Plata she taught hundreds of African American children in Saturday and Sunday classes. Hers was a real dedication to her apostolate. She loved all children, and they in turn readily responded to the affection and care she showered on them. Each convent to which she was assigned was blessed by her gentle, holy spirit, for she was a model religious whose beautiful and saintly memory is a real benediction.
"Sister M. Agnes Dies; Rites Here
Sister M. Agnes Bernard, Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died Saturday afternoon at Sacred Heart Convent, LaPlata, Md. She has been ill for several weeks.
The daughter of the late Bernard J. and Bridget Gallagher Cummings, Jessup, she entered the novitiate at Marywood in September, 1926, received the religious habit in December, that year, and was professed in January, 1929. She served her community as a teacher at St. Ephrem's, Brooklyn, N.Y., St. Monica's, Raleigh, N.C., St. Matthew's Stroudsburg, Mother of Mercy, Washington, N.C., St. Joseph's New Bern, N.C., and for the last seven years at Archbishop Neale, LaPlata.
She is survived by a brother, John Cummings, Washington, D.C.
The body was taken to the Marian Convent at Marywood yesterday. The funeral will be held tomorrow with mass at the chapel of the Marian Convent at 9:30 a.m. Interment, St. Catherine's Cemetery, Moscow."
from The Tribune newspaper, published Monday, June 27, 1960
