Home About Us Our Story Archives Spirituality Missionary Cenacle Family Employment Volunteer Contacts Meet a Missionary Sisters Videos In Memory Vocation Do I have a call? MSBT Way of Life Events Resources Mission Advancement About MAO Ways to Help Events Prayer Cards Special Intentions Current Appeal MAO Staff Contact Spirituality Centers Mother Boniface Sp. Ctr. Facilities Upcoming Retreats Mornings of Prayer Reservations Spiritual Direction Directions Blessed Trinity Shrine Retreat Facilities Upcoming Retreats Shrine of the Blessed Trinity Spiritual Direction Hermitage Brochure Directions Trinita Family Life Ctr. About Trinita Directions Donate Gallery

In Memory

 

Sister Mary Albert of Our Lady of Sorrows, MSBT
October 31, 1919 - November 14, 2011

Mary Teresa Albert was born in Orange, New Jersey on October 31, 1919 and baptized at St. Vcnantis Church, in Orange. She was the eldest child of William Bernard and Mary Teresa "Daisy”Keating) Albert. She had four siblings: three sisters and one brother.
Mother Mary Frances accepted Sister Mary Albert into the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity on August 5, 1954.

Upon entering the Novitiate she was given the name Sister Rose Veronica of Our Lady of Sorrows and on March 25, 1956 she made her profession of Vows. Her final profession of vows took place on March 25, 1961.

Sister graduated from NJ State Teacher's College in Newark, NJ with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and from Seton Hall University with a Master's in Education. She obtained a Certificate in Spiritual Direction in 1989. She had additional professional updating in Religious Education from Catholic University, St. John's University in Collegeville, University of Puerto Rico, Villanova, and the Institute on Spiritual Direction in Menlo Park, CA. She was a well-qualified educator and talented teacher. She valued on-going education and her ministry history attests to her interest in spreading the faith through her teaching and retreat ministry.

Her witness to "going anywhere" was so evident in her correspondence. Over the years her ministry life took her to Roosevelt, Puerto Rico; Blessed Trinity Juniorate and formation ministry; St. Hubert's High School in Philadelphia; Dr. White Community Center in Brooklyn, NY; Newport News and Bristol VA; Holy Trinity, AL; Prison Ministry in Orange, CA; Trinity Ministries Center in Stirling, NJ; St. Ann Parish in Rock Hill, SC and, lastly, the Ministry of Prayer at the Motherhouse in 1999.

While in prison ministry in Orange, CA, our Sisters Mary Albert and Patricia Winder, working with our ST Brothers, contributed immensely to the success of the program. Sister Mary and Sr. Patricia Winder worked with youth and adults, religious education, and the training of volunteers who worked in the program. Sr. Mary began training programs in parishes to develop support groups for released inmates. This was a creative response to a need for youthful offenders to have someone who cared about them when they were released.

During this time frame the Sisters lived with the Sisters of St. Joseph at their Motherhouse in California. While there Sister Mary was actually nominated for the role of Coordinator of their Motherhouse, which she declined. Sister's file contained many words of praise and appreciation from her various ministries. To mention a couple of comments from her ministry in Rock Hill:

While serving in St. Ann Parish in Rock Hill. the Diocese of Charleston newspaper called her a "diamond", "a legend", "a great woman". In that same story she is quoted as saying, "My own idea of evangelizing fits right in with what our founder Fr. Thomas Judge said and with the way the Oratory operates: to walk with people, to help them know the Lord in the closest way possible for them. “When Sr. Mary was assigned to the Ministry of Prayer at the Motherhouse in September l999, the pastor St Ann's Parish in Rock Hill, wrote, "We here at St Ann's Parish in Rock Hill, SC are so grateful for Sister Mary Albert and her nine years of loving service to all of us."

In addition to the Ministry of Prayer, Sister Mary continued to use her gifts in teaching by tutoring Inn Dwelling students in English, with and assisting the Vocation Formation team by tutoring English with MSBT Candidates from Mexico for as long as she was physically able.

Her family and friends have been faithful in visiting. The past year has been a difficult one for her as her health steadily deteriorated. We rejoice in the witness of her long and faithful service!