Mother Mary Joseph Shaughnessy, IHM

Mother Mary Joseph Shaughnessy, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on May 6, 1884, at St. Rose’s Convent in Carbondale, PA.

She was born on May 1, 1840, in Friendsville, PA, and given the name Mary. She entered the IHM Congregation (as part of the first band of women to join the IHM Sisters in Pennsylvania) at St. Joseph’s Convent in Susquehanna and received the religious habit on July 24, 1859, and made profession of her vows on July 13, 1860.

Mother Mary Joseph was appointed the Superior General of the new Scranton IHM by Bishop William O’Hara in 1871 and she served for six years as the Superior General until 1877. She was one of the original 12 IHMs who separated from Reading to go to Scranton at the request of the Bishop.

Mother Mary Joseph also served in child care for residents at St. Patrick’s Orphanage in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The funeral will be Friday, May 8, with Mass of Christian Burial at St. Rose’s Church in Carbondale. Interment will follow at St. Rose of Lima Cemetery in Carbondale, PA.

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“Death of a Mother Superior

Sister Mary Joseph will be well remembered by all Scranton people who ever met and conversed with her while she was the Mother Superior of St. Cecelia’s Convent on Wyoming Avenue. She died at the convent in Carbondale on Tuesday night and the funeral will be attended tomorow at that place. Her name, prior to her vows of sisterhood, was Shaughnessy. She was very popular, and deservedly so, for her kindness, her cheerfulness, her affabiluty, her exceeding luberalness of ideas for one in her position, her sympathy with all beliefs, whether constant with her own or not, and the delicate way in which she approached all on the subject of religion proved her noth only admirably adapted for the government of such an institution as that with which she was connected here, but one of the most valued and successful of the servants of the church in which she was such a devout and zealous worker. There are many Protestants in Scranton whose impressions concerning the Catholic faith and polity were very materially changed in its favor through conversations held with this gifted and accomplished lady. Her age is not stated in the report of her death, but she could not have been more than thirty-five years old.”

The Scranton Republican · Scranton, Pennsylvania · Thu, May 08, 1884 · Page 3

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“As in most cases Saint Joseph’s was nearer than Monroe, many postulants were received at Saint Joseph’s. Soon a novitiate was opened at the latter place. The first reception and profession took place at Saint Joseph’s, July 24, 1859. It was held in the chapel of the convent. The Right Reverend Bishop Neumann presided at the ceremony. He was assisted by Reverend Father O’Reilly, Reverend Father Fox, and Reverend Father Monaghan. The following young ladies received the habit: Miss Mary Shaughnessy, Friendsville, Pa., in religion, Sister Mary Joseph; Miss Mary Hogan, New York, Sister Mary Augustine; Miss Julia Griffin, Mauch Chunk, Pa., Sister M. Agatha; Miss Elizabeth Lappin, New York, Sister M. Teresa; Miss Henrietta Piston, Philadelphia, Sister M. Nepomucene; Miss Elizabeth Flynn, Philadelphia, Sister M. Bernard; Miss Catherine Eishein, Philadelphia, Sister M. Alphonsa. Two novices who had made their novitiate were professed. They were Sister M. Ignatia and Sister M. Clara.”

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.65

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“Mother Joseph, after her retirement from office labored at Saint Patrick’s in West Scranton in caring for the orphans, but her health failing, she was sent to Saint Rose’s, Carbondale, where the end came, and from which place her funeral was held. Right Reverend Bishop O’Hara preached the funeral sermon and Mother Joseph was buried on the convent grounds, close to the shrine of the Sacred Heart. Mother Gonzaga, superior of the Sisters of the Philadelphia Diocese, writing of the death of Mother Joseph to Mother Francis, says: “Mother Joseph has gone before us. God alone
knows how soon we may follow her along the path whence no traveller returns. She possessed some uncommonly good qualities, which in recollecting, I almost envy her. The charity of her conversation with me during my visit, made an indelibly edifying impression on my mind. How happy must be the gathering of so many of our cherished members under the all-protecting mantle of our Immaculate Mother.”

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, pgs. 202, 203