Sister M. Gerard McFadden, IHM

Sister M. Gerard McFadden, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Wednesday, April 12, 1922, at Marywood Seminary in Scranton, PA.

She was born on May 25, 1865 in Donegal, Ireland, and given the name Frances. She was the daughter of the late Hugh and Ellen McGinley McFadden. She entered the IHM Congregation on September 8, 1890, received the religious habit on August 2, 1891, and made profession of her vows on April 3, 1893.

Sister Gerard served as a teacher at St. Rose School in Carbondale, PA; Most Holy Rosary School in Syracuse, NY; St. Joseph School in Renovo, PA; and several schools located within the Diocese of Scranton, PA.

Most recently, Sister served on the faculty of Maryknoll Seminary in Ossining, NY.

She is survived by three sisters, Sister Mary Magdalen, RSM, at St. Mary’s Convent in Wilkes-Barre, PA, Mary McFadden of Drifton, PA, and Catherine McFadden of Ireland; and three brothers, including Hugh Jr. and Dennis, all of Ireland.

The funeral will be Saturday, April 15, at 9:30 a.m. with a high Mass of Requiem at the Marywood College chapel in Scranton. Interment will follow at the Marywood College Cemetery, on the grounds of Marywood College in Scranton, 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