Sister M. Bernard Logan, IHM

Sister M. Bernard Logan, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Saturday, January 18, 1941, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Carbondale, PA.

She was born on February 12, 1857 in Ireland, and given the name Bridget. She was the daughter of the late Peter and Catherine Banahan Logan. She entered the IHM Congregation on June 21, 1883, received her religious habit on April 14, 1884, and made profession of her vows on August 10, 1886.

Sister Bernard served as a teacher at the following schools: St. Cecelia Academy in Scranton, PA; St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Pittston, PA; St. Michael’s Industrial School for Boys in Hoban Heights, PA; and St. Mary Elementary School in Avoca, PA. She also served as a teacher at St. Patrick’s Orphanage in Scranton, PA.

She is survived by a sister, Mary Higgins of Providence, RI; two nephews, Reverend John Higgins of Central Falls, RI, and Joseph Higgins of Providence, RI; and two nieces, Sister St. Mary Bernard Higgins, CND, of the Sisters of Notre Dame of Rhode Island, and Mary Higgins of Providence, RI.

The funeral will be Tuesday, January 21 at 10:00 am at St. Catherine’s Church in Moscow, PA. Interment will be in St. Catherine’s Cemetery, Moscow. Friends may call on Monday at St. Agnes Convent in Elmhurst, PA.

The Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary benefited from the efforts to bring young women from Ireland to Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Over the years a total of sixty-five young women became professed IHM religious. Their services were received as far west at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho at the IHM Academy and at St. Edward School, Twin Falls, Idaho. The southern missions witnessed their dedication in Washington, Raleigh, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was remarked that black children in some southern schools were speaking with an Irish brogue! The Sisters from Ireland also served in many locations in Pennsylvania, such as Dushore, Lock Haven, Exeter, Altoona, Pittsburgh, St. Michael’s School in Hoban Heights, Cresson, Pittston, Scranton, and Williamsport. New York and Rhode Island missions also received their services.

Excerpted from The Story of the Native Irish Sisters Who Entered the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Scranton Pennsylvania by Sister M. Michel Keenan, IHM, 2006, p.18