Sister M. Elizabeth Lynch, IHM

Sister M. Elizabeth Lynch, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Sunday, March 31, 1929, at Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

She was born on May 4, 1857 in White Haven, PA, and given the name Rose. She was the daughter of the late Francis and Catharine Cox Lynch. She entered the IHM Congregation on November 24, 1886, received the religious habit on March 1, 1887, and made profession of her vows on August 2, 1889.

In 1903, Sister Elizabeth was one of sixteen sisters who formed the first community in inhabit the new motherhouse, Mount Saint Mary’s of the Immaculate Conception, located on the grounds of Marywood College in Scranton, PA.

Sister Elizabeth served as nurse at St. Rose Academy in Carbondale, PA; St. Joseph’s Shelter in Scranton, PA; Mount Saint Mary’s Motherhouse and Marywood College, both in Scranton, PA.

During the Spanish Influenza of 1918, Sister Elizabeth served as a nurse to those afflicted by this deadly epidemic in the greater Scranton area.

She was preceded in death by two sisters, Mary Lynch and Winifred Costello, and two brothers, John and James.

She is survived by two sisters, Catherine Ryan and Sarah Lynch, both of White Haven, PA.

The funeral will be Tuesday, April 2 at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel at Marywood College, Scranton, followed by interment at St. Catherine’s Cemetery, Moscow, PA.

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“One can imagine with what intense fervor these favored ones received their Eucharistic Guest when He came to take possession of the tabernacle His daughters of the Immaculate Heart had prepared for Him, and how they implored Him to make it for them a home of purity, peace, and prayer. The professed Sisters who formed the new community were Mother Superior, Mother Francis, Sister M. DeSales, Sister M. Charles, Sister M. Genevieve, Sister M. Theresa, Sister M. Matilda, Sister M. Felicitas, Sister M. Elizabeth, Sister M. Blanche, Sister M. Immaculata, Sister M. Urban, Sister M. Joseph, Sister M. Borromeo, Sister M. Alphonsus, Sister M. Edmund, and Sister M. Inez. The following priests were present at the first Mass celebrated at Mount Saint Mary’s: Reverend N. J. McManus, Reverend E. J. Melley, Reverend M. B. Donlin, Reverend M. E. Loftus, Reverend J. J. Moylan. Reverend J. A. O’Reilly, Reverend P. J. McManus, and Reverend J. J. Griffin. Reverend Fathers McManus and Griffin were assistants to the Right Reverend Bishop.

After the Mass the entire assemblage formed in procession and went through every part of the house, the Bishop blessing each portion as they went. Returning to the main reception hall, the Bishop invoked a blessing at the foot of the great Crucifix on the work of Christian education about to be commenced. The new mother house was named Mount Saint Mary’s of the Immaculate Conception.”

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. 281, 282

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“Meanwhile the dreaded epidemic spread so rapidly throughout the city that it was impossible to procure trained nurses for all the patients who required attention. On Saturday evening, October 5th, through the advice of our Right Reverend Bishop, a call was made for one of our Sisters to nurse one of the victims of the disease, Mr. Thomas Gerrity, whose life was fast ebbing away. Sister Elizabeth was sent to the home of the patient, but in spite of her earnest efforts to save him, Mr. Gerrity succumbed to the disease.

Sister M. Elizabeth was a forerunner in this work of mercy, for on the very next day, Mother Superior, at the request of the Right Reverend Bishop, sent many other Sisters out to the neglected poor.”

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. 442

Sister M. Elizabeth, of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died yesterday morning in the Mercy Hospital, Wilkes-Barre. Sister Elizabeth had been informarian at Marywood for a number of years and had been at her post till recently, when she was stricken with the illness of which she succumbed yesterday. She is widely known and beloved by many who knew her in her kindly ministrations at the convent. She is also well known through her family as she leaves many relatives who are well known in their respective professions in the vicinity.

Sister Elizabeth was a native of White Haven, where she was known as Rose Lynch. She entered the order of Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary forty-two years ago and has since devoted her time in the congregation for her profession of nursing. After two year’s novitiate in Carbondale, she was assigned to the convent in Dushore, where she spent a year. She afterwards was assigned to St. Rose, Carbondale, to St. Joseph’s in this city, and finally to Marywood, where she spent the greater part of her life in religion.

In her immediate family, she is survived by two sisters, Mrs. M. Ryan and Miss Sarah Lynch, of White Haven.

The funeral will be held tomorrow morning with a solemn high mass of requiem in the chapel at Marywood at 9:30 o’clock. Interment will be in the Sisters’ plot, at Moscow.

The Scranton Republican  · Scranton, Pennsylvania · Monday, April 01, 1929  · Page 20