Sister M. Dominica Geraghty, IHM

Sister M. Dominica Geraghty, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Sunday, April 24, 1921, at Mount St. Mary’s Motherhouse in Scranton, PA.

She was born on June 9, 1858 in County Sligo, Ireland, and given the name Catharine. She was the daughter of the late Hugh and Catharine Gordon Geraghty. She entered the IHM Congregation on June 15, 1877, received the religious habit on May 8, 1878, and made profession of her vows on June 2, 1880.

Sister Dominica served as a teacher at St. John the Evengelist School in Pittston, PA.

She was preceded in death by 19 siblings, including Hugh, Jr., Sarah Geraghty and Bridget McGuire.

She is survived by a brother, Reverend Hugh Geraghty, of Dickson City, PA; two nieces, Mrs. Peter Hope and Mrs. Peter Schaw, both of Scranton, PA; and cousins, including Reverend Patrick Cawley of Carbondale, PA.

The funeral will be Tuesday, April 26 at 9:30 a.m. at Mount St. Mary’s Motherhouse, at Maywood College in Scranton, PA. Interment will follow at Marywood College Cemetery, on the grounds of Marywood College in Scranton.

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