Sister M. Edna Callahan, IHM

Sister M. Edna Callahan, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Wednesday, April 11, 1934 at St. Leo’s Convent in Ashley, PA.

She was born on February 10, 1871 in Marlpit, Ireland, and given the name Mary. She was the daughter of the late Patrick and Mary Kilcullen Callahan. She entered the IHM Congregation on December 8, 1892, received the religious habit on July 4, 1893, and made profession of her vows on July 1, 1895.

Sister Edna served as a teacher at the following schools: St. Alphonsus Academy in Tillamook, OR; St. Rosalia Elementary School in Pittsburgh, PA; Most Holy Rosary Elementary School in Syracuse, NY; and St. Charles Borromeo Elementary School in Sugar Notch, PA.

From 1932 until the time of her death, Sister served as a teacher at St. Leo Elementary School in Ashley, PA.

The funeral will be Saturday, April 14 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Catherine’s Church, Moscow, PA. Interment will follow at St. Catherine’s Cemetery. Moscow. Friends may call on Friday at St. Agnes Place in Elmhurst, PA.

Archival Remembrance:

Sister Edna was known in the world as Mary Callahan and was born in Marlpit, Ireland, in May, 1871. She immigrated to America and entered the novitiate of the I.H.M. at St. Rose Convent, Carbondale, in 1892. She served faithfuly in the various missions among thos who opened the mission in Tillamook, Ore. For a number of years she labored at St. Rosalia’s Convent, Pittsburgh, and later was transferred to Syracuse, N.Y., and then to Sugar Notch. Two years ago she went to Ashley. Sister Mary Edna, 62, died suddenly at Saint Leo’s Convent, Ashley, on Wednesday (April 11) afternoon at 1 o’clock.

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“Tillamook is a charming place situated between the Coast Range and the Pacific. The scenery is beautiful and the climate delightful. A night scene is enchanting. The moon and stars appear most brilliant because of the clearness of the atmosphere. The inhabitants number about eleven hundred. The principal industries are farming, cheese and butter making, and lumbering. The convent is in the centre (sic) of the prairie, the village being built around it.”

“Mother Mary sent word to the Sisters who were to take charge of the mission to make the preparations for their journey. The following Sisters were appointed: Sister M. Edward, superior; Sister M. Timothy, Sister M. William, Sister M. Edna, Sister M. Adelaide, and Sister M. Marie.

The West seemed very far off in those days and the separation and departure of the first mission band caused much sorrow among the Sisters. They left Saint Cecilia’s on Sunday at midnight. It was a bright moon- lit night, and the long stretch of Wyoming Avenue seemed a desert after the final farewells were said and the roll of the carriage wheels that bore away the dear Sisters was muffled in the distance. ”

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. 255, 256

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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