Sr. Stephanie Kelleher, MSBT

1914 – 2017

Who was Sr. Stephanie Kelleher?

Sr. Stephanie was a Brooklyn girl and did lay missionary work as a young member of the MCA (our lay branch) until she entered religious life. She professed her first vows as a Missionary Servant in 1942. Except for seven years in Beloit, Wisconsin Sister Stephanie’s missions were in the Northeast: Auburn, NY; Orange and Newark, NJ; Rego Park in Brooklyn and 14th Street in Lower East Side Manhattan. She always did parish work of some kind. Sister Stephanie was a model of the Cenacle Virtues of humility, simplicity, and charity.

Public Recognition

St. Anne Medal

The Diocese of Brooklyn awarded Sr. Stephanie the St. Anne Medal in 1987 for her outstanding work with Catholic Girls Scouts. The St. Anne Medal is the highest national recognition a diocese can give to adults working with Catholic girls who belong to national organizations such as the Girl Scouts. The St. Anne Medal honors outstanding service which contributes to the spiritual development of these Catholic girls.

 

This is what Missionary Servants do…

… because she focused on “preventative” work to keep Catholics at risk of losing faith connected to the Church community. Sister Stephanie’s method was to seek out parishioners and engage them as co-workers in her ministries. She strove to strengthen the faith of Catholics who were under-served: youth, elderly shut-ins, and mentally challenged adults.